Uber enters the safe streets advocacy fray by offering a new publicly available data tool and launching a coordinated advocacy campaign.
Shin-pei Tsay, director of Policy, Cities & Transportation for Uber, announced this week a new "City Mobility Campaign" to "create and support legislation at the state, local and federal level to increase funding for infrastructure to help protect cyclists and pedestrians."
In a post published on the Uber Newsroom website, Tsay also shares a letter written by Uber—on behalf of PeopleForBikes, the North American Bikeshare Association, and the League of American Bicyclists—to the Housing Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure calling for federal policies and programs to prioritize the safety of vulnerable roadway users.
Tsay also announced the creation of a new free data tool. The tool combines JUMP bike volume with a complete city street view. "We are making this public so that cities and citizens alike can understand and advocate for the best bike infrastructure possible," writes Tsay. "This tool allows for data-driven decision making to improve bike safety throughout the city and can be used to compare weekday and weekend volume, and be filtered based on the time of day."
Hat tip to Katie Pyzyk for sharing the news and for providing insight about the implications of the announcement—noting especially the significance of Uber's expanded role as a safe streets advocate.
FULL STORY: Uber Announces New Mobility Infrastructure Initiative for Safe Streets
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