After months of speculation and calls for transportation network companies to share data that might be helpful in refining the transportation systems of cities, Uber has announced a partnership with Boston that could do just that.
Emily Badger reports: "Uber is announcing plans to share its data more broadly with local governments in a gesture that's both an act of good will and a bid for good press after a rough few months of criticism."
The data sharing program will begin with a pilot program of sorts in Boston, by "sharing quarterly anonymized trip-level data with the city in a model that Uber says will become its national data-sharing policy. The data will include date, time, distance traveled and origin and destination locations for individual trips, identified only by zip code tabulation area to preserve privacy," according to Badger.
Moreover, "this information will be open to records requests, meaning that the public (and researchers) will have access to it, too."
The article goes on to provide a lot more detail about the politics and policy behind the privacy considerations.
FULL STORY: Uber offers cities an olive branch: your valuable trip data
Boston-Uber Data Partnership Falling Short of Expectations
A data-sharing partnership announced in January 2015 has so far produced underwhelming results.
Boston-Area Bikeshare Findings Help Identify Planning Priorities
An analysis of Lime bikeshare data from Boston suburbs is providing useful information about travel behavior and trends.
How Much of Traffic is Created by Uber and Lyft?
New data from Fehr & Peers shows services like Uber and Lyft account for a larger share of the total traffic than previously thought, especially in city centers.
Seattle Legalizes Co-Living
A new state law requires all Washington cities to allow co-living facilities in areas zoned for multifamily housing.
NYC Officials Announce Broadway Pedestrianization Project
Two blocks of the marquee street will become mostly car-free public spaces.
The City of Broken Sidewalks
Can Los Angeles fix 4,000 miles of broken sidewalks before the city hosts the 2028 Olympic Games?
Study: Automobile Dependency Reduces Life Satisfaction
Automobile dependency has negative implications for wellbeing. This academic study finds that relying on a car for more than 50 percent of out-of-home travel is associated with significant reductions in life satisfaction.
San Diego School District Could Accelerate Workforce Housing Program
A proposal to build housing on five district-owned properties could yield 1,000 housing units for low- and moderate-income district employees.
Denver Transit Board Approves $1.2 Billion Budget
The 2025 budget for the Regional Transportation District is the largest in the agency’s 55-year history.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
Village of Glen Ellyn
City of Laramie
American Planning Association, Sustainable Communities Division
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Cambridge, Maryland
Newport County Development Council: Connect Greater Newport
Rockdale County Board of Commissioners