In cities around the country, Lyft is launching green, multimodal initiatives aimed at providing "all of the above" transportation options.
It's a busy time for the nation's second-biggest ride-hailing company. Lyft recently set a goal of 100 percent renewable energy and carbon neutrality, integrated scooters and public transit info into its mobile app, and delivered its five-thousandth ride in an autonomous vehicle as part of a Las Vegas pilot program.
In an interview with The Planning Report, Lyft's transportation policy head Lilly Shoup outlines where the platform's multimodal expansion is headed and how the company views its relationship with cities, especially in light of a growing trend of first/last-mile partnerships between ride-hailing services and public transit agencies.
The new initiatives serve Lyft's overarching goals of "decoupling the right to mobility from auto ownership" and reducing vehicle miles traveled, Shoup says. In that vein, scooter and bikesharing operations will be structured around four key policy principles: transportation equity, Vision Zero, transit integration, and environmental sustainability.
When it comes to filling in first/last-mile gaps in public transit service, Shoup says the company will likely focus on "lower-density suburban areas, where it's less efficient to run a bus service." That approach echoes the recommendations of a recent survey of such partnerships around the country.
Read the full interview in The Planning Report.
FULL STORY: Lyft's Lilly Shoup on Crafting a 'Full Mobility Package'
Coming Soon to Ohio: The Largest Agrivoltaic Farm in the US
The ambitious 6,000-acre project will combine an 800-watt solar farm with crop and livestock production.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
Colorado Bill Would Tie Transportation Funding to TOD
The proposed law would require cities to meet certain housing targets near transit or risk losing access to a key state highway fund.
Dallas Surburb Bans New Airbnbs
Plano’s city council banned all new permits for short-term rentals as concerns about their impacts on housing costs grow.
Divvy Introduces E-Bike Charging Docks
New, circular docks let e-bikes charge at stations, eliminating the need for frequent battery swaps.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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.