While ride-hailing is on the horizon for the Canadian city, the experience so far without the mode provides useful insight into its effects on regional mobility.
Vancouver, British Columbia, does not have ride-hailing services, and David Zipper considers how this might have affected transportation trends in the area. Overall, the percentage of residents commuting by transit, walking, and cycling rose between 2013 and 2017, and carsharing is a popular transportation option.
Zipper also notes that ridership on TransLink, Vancouver’s regional transportation network, increased by almost 7 percent in 2018, which is significant as most U.S. transit systems saw ridership decreases.
Still, ride-hailing will likely be coming to Vancouver soon, with many residents supporting legislation that would legalize it. "FOMO may be playing a role; [Andrew] McCurran notes that many Vancouverites have tried ride-hailing elsewhere and don’t understand why they can’t use it at home," writes Zipper.
Vancouver policymakers are also looking at measures—such as a cap on the number of ride-hail vehicles and a per-ride tax—to alleviate the difficulties other cities have faced in integrating this mode into their larger transportation systems.
Read the full story: What’s It Like Living in a City Without Uber or Lyft?
Making Climate Change a Priority for Transportation Planning
The threat of climate change has not guided transportation planning in Chicago, and the city and region could be doing much more to promote sustainable transportation, according to the article.
Keeping An Open Mind: How Some Cities Are Reducing Emissions While Supporting Economic Vitality
As cities swell and car use soars, U.S. cities should take note of some bold, even radical, emissions-reducing policies being deployed around Europe.
Building Along Busy Corridors? Public Health Experts Urge Caution
Plans to densify a busy Vancouver corridor have prompted concern among public health experts.
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