Private dockless bikeshare companies are encroaching on territory controlled by public, docked bikeshare companies.
Adam Vaccaro reports on the emergence of a "bike-share border war" in Boston and surrounding cities.
In the first — but probably not the last — flare-up in an inevitable bike-share border war, Boston is seizing vehicles from a Cambridge startup called Ant Bicycle, whose sudden incursion has tested the city’s ability to keep up with the fast-changing bike-rental industry.
Ant Bicycle's private dockless system has crossed into the territory of a public, traditional system called Blue Bikes (formerly Hubway). According to Vaccaro, "officials in the Blue Bikes municipalities say the dockless systems aren’t welcome, because the Blue Bikes contract designates the company as the sole bike system."
The city of Boston has responded by impounding Ant bikes. Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone has warned the company that it will also take punitive action of Ant bikes start to appear on the streets of that nearby city.
As if that weren't enough potential for drama, "[the] issue will become more complex this summer, when thousands of dockless bikes from other companies are deployed in 15 Boston suburbs, including Milton, Newton, and Medford," reports Vaccaro.
Read the full story: A bike-share border war has started in Boston
Boston's Bikeshare System Gets a New Partner, Rebranding
Blue Cross will pay $18 million for a six-year sponsorship of the Boston-area bikeshare system formerly known as Hubway.
Long Awaited Green Line Extension Opens Today North of Boston
The Green Line Extension project, in the works for decades, is now providing rail transit service from Boston north into Somerville.
The State of the Micromobility Industry
The North American Bikeshare Association released the first-ever state of the industry report for active forms of micromobility—i.e., bike share and electric scooter rental companies.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
Satanic Place Names
From streams and lakes to valleys and canyons, I mapped more than 1,000 places named after the Devil.
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO resigns after $600,000 scandal
Under Ian Choudri, the authority used taxpayer dollars to fund first class flights and trips to nightclubs.
Want to study the Missouri River? Soon, you may need unanimous approval from 10 states
Legislation would require 10 governors’ permission to study or build projects moving water outside the basin.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority