*** WORLD STREETS INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL *** (to be updated, with full approval) _ _ _

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With one eye to laying the base for our work and collaborative programs , we are currently in the process of updating and extending this list of distinguished international colleagues, each of whom is hard at work day after day on challenges, projects and programs, alone and with others, all in support of the principles of sustainable development and equity, in cities and countries around the world.  It is our intention to have the revised and expanded version of this panel listing online by end May 2019, as part of our celebration of the first ten years of our collaborative work in support of World Streets.

Since our work program is being totally shifted to the the challenge of achieving sharp near-term decreases in gases causing global warming —  CO2, CH4, N2O, PFCs, etc., — and in particular those emanating from the local mobility sector, we hope to encourage shorter or longer contributions from the members of our advisory panel on this critical topic

The revised version of this posting (end April 2020) will include some explanatory materials  to clarify the process by which this “New Mobility Majority” is in the process of overtaking the old attitudes, approaches and policies which have been largely responsible for our gross under-performance in the sector,  all the more important as the 21st century noose tightens in terms of climate, local environment, energy supply, scarce resources, the economy, congestion, poor service quality for the majority, and the long list goes on.  (In the meantime we want to hear from you with your ideas and outstanding nominations for the panel.  And if you spot errors or omissions on the following or anywhere in our work, yes please do get in touch and let us know.)

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Here is the Future of Car Sharing — and Carmakers should be Terrified (PS. They are!)

Moscow car share fleet

Looking for a share car in Moscow this morning? A sample of the 28k cars waiting for your call

Moscow’s sharing boom shows how quickly consumers can abandon the traditional car.

By Ilya Khrennikov. February 8, 2019

This from Bloomberg rings many bells and is just too good to be passed up for our students and readers.  Right up the middle of World Streets long time position on the steady global shift from ownership to use in the cities/car nexus , it is thus passed on here with thanks to the author and the publisher. The complete article with photos, graphics, a short video and references is available from Bloomberg at https://bloom.bg/2UPplxmz .   Let’s have a look.

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Op-Ed 2010 Archives: Sharing/Strategy for a Small Planet. Part I

After many decades of a single dominant city-shaping transportation pattern – i.e., for those who could afford it: owning and driving our own cars, trucks, motorcycles and bicycles, getting into taxis by ourselves, riding in streets that are designed for cars and not much else — there is considerable evidence accumulating that we have already entered into a world of new mobility practices that are changing the transportation and city landscape in many ways. It has to do with sharing, as opposed to outright ownership. But strange to say, this trend seems to have escaped the attention of the policymakers in many of the institutions directly concerned. Continue reading

Archives: Keynote address to World Share/Transport Forum II in Changzhi, China

From the World Streets archives: Eric Britton keynote to 2011 World Share/Transport Forum II in Changzhi, PRC. (with Chinese sub-titles).  For background and comprehensive details see World Streets article  at https://worldstreets.wordpress.com/2011/10/24/world-sharetransport-forum-ii-changzhi-china/

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Campaign Help Wanted: Nobel Peace Prize nomination

Dear friends,

I am in the process of preparing a formal nomination of our most creative Dutch colleague, Luud Schimmelpennink, for the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize, in recognition  of his outstanding and unique on-the-street contributions over the last half century, showing the way to sustainable transport, sustainable cities and sustainable lives. You will find a series of articles and testimonials in support of this goal here at https://worldstreets.wordpress.com/tag/thanks-luud/, with more shortly on the way.

Our immediate need is to have the support of  several more official nominators for the Prize, the exact conditions of which are spelled out here. You can reach me at: E. eric.britton@ecoplan.org. S. newmobility T. +336 5088 0787

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Grassroots 2017 campaign: Thanks Luud for all you have done, taught and inspired us.

luud-schimmelpennink-on-bike-at-80

I propose we keep this simple and collaborative.  Starting as we did yesterday with a simple announcement suggesting that perhaps this could be an idea well worth pursuing, together. And then as a next step  in this process opening up several coordinated channels for your thoughts, comments and perhaps additional articles and references on Luud’s work and contributions that may, small step by small step, start to give us a firmer foundation to pursue this idea.

So at this point I believe that my best contribution will not be to add additional essays with my own thoughts and reasons on this, but rather to open up the field for sharing your thoughts.

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(BC) Planners Bookshelf: Putting Wikipedia to work

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virtual-library-hand-book-penangFrom the beginning in the late eighties the New Mobility Agenda was conceived as a shared space for communications and didactic tools zeroing in on our chosen topic from a number of angles,  and over the last eight years World Streets has  continued in this tradition. I hope that what follows may be useful to some of you.  As you will see, I think it is an important and powerful tool — which those of us who care can help shape and put to work for the good cause.

You will also find a shelf in the Better Choices Planners Bookshelf – at https://goo.gl/fv3Giv — which provides a first set of references from WP’s vast collection.

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(BC) A “Better than Car” Mobility System

how should I get there - smallNobody is going to willingly  step down on the scale of comfort and economy. Fair enough, so let’s see how we can all step UP in terms of  life quality for all  with an equity-based transport strategy.

The objective here is to combine vision, policy, technology and entrepreneurial skills in such a way to create and make available to all a combined, affordable, multi-level, convenient, high choice  mobility system which for just about everybody should be more efficient than owning and driving a car in or into town.  Let us start with this as our goal and then see what is the work that must be done in order to turn it into a reality.

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“Ils sont fous ces suedois” (The Swedes show us how to sort out taxis, “taxis”, Uber, ridesharing, carpooling, and the rest)

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Smart Phone Applications Primer: Transforming Mobility

smartphones-car-dashboard

Smartphone apps are transforming mobility by improving access to transportation services, increasing mobility, and enhancing traveler engagement. These apps are spawning new businesses, services, and mobility models. For example, within a short period, app-based innovations leapfrogged the livery industry with services, such as Uber, Lyft, and Flywheel. Using smartphones to facilitate mobility is becoming the new norm. Smartphone apps have transformed the way that many travelers arrange for-hire vehicle services, plan for trips, or get real-time transportation information.

This primer, sponsored by the US Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Office of Operations and carried out by theUniversity of California, Berkeley’s Transportation Sustainability Research Center, is intended to demonstrate how vital smartphones are becoming to the transportation network and provide public agencies, transportation managers, and elected officials with a perspective and understanding the role of smartphones in identifying services and choices for individuals and influencing travel behavior.

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SHARED MOBILITY: A Primer on US Policies, Practices & Principles

share-mobility-illustratoin-photo-with-smartphone-and-carWorld Streets is pleased to introduce to our 4419 international readers signed in from 149 countries from all continents, a valuable reference source for transportation and city planners, public agencies, researchers, environmentalists, students, NGOs, companies, transporters and others who are looking for new ways to get around in our daily lives, hopefully with more and better choices. The Shared Mobility Primer from the University of California, Berkeley’s Transportation Sustainability Research Center offers a practical guide with resources, information, and tools for local governments and public agencies seeking to implement emerging services or to manage existing shared mobility services.

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RETHINKING NEW MOBILITY IN PENANG: The search for Values, Vision, Competence, Strategies, Tactics . . and Happiness.

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Through the Looking Glass: Liftsharing UK 18 years later

ali clabburn in car

Ali Clabburn, Founder, MD, and Possiblist of the UK ridesharing group Liftshare (at right above) reminds us 18 years later of how much has changed in the world of ridesharing, but also the whole spectrum of sustainable transport thinking and practice.

Ali’s personal story with ridesharing got started by accident.

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World Streets Reader Favorites: 2009-2016

ws-newsstandWhat do the 4,448  readers (today) turn to when they check into Word Streets in the morning? It never fails to surprise us. The variety of choice is enormous, and it often happens that articles which we consider minor if still interesting suddenly take off, because it turns out that our readers make up their own minds for their own reasons. Take the most read posting over the last half-dozen years for example — Why Free Public Transport is perhaps a bad idea.  We thought it was an interesting and timely topic, but never suspected the depth of interest and that in time it would attract more than ten thousand readers. And what is more continue to show up on the most read list day after day.

In any event once a year we sit down and review the most popular articles going all the way back to the first one published in March 2009, and share the top contenders with our readers and anyone who might be curious about what sort of thing shows up here. In this spirit you will find below the most consulted articles of more than 1,720 that have appeared in these pages. These are the issues that our 4,455 readers in 149 countries on all continents show they care about.

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Free Public Transport? Hmm, are you quite sure?

free public transport standing bus

Anything missing?

There are a good number of proponents around the world — politicians and activists for the most part —  supporting the idea that public transport should be free. It certainly is a tempting idea on a number of grounds. And if we here at World Streets have  our own thoughts on the subject (stay tuned),  it is always good practice to check out both sides of the issues. to get the ball rolling, just below you will find four short statements  taken from the Wikipedia entry, setting out arguments against FPT. More to follow on this but in the meantime we are interested in hearing from our readers and colleagues around the world both with (a) their comments on these criticisms and (b) yet other critical views. (This is sure to be a bit exciting.)

* Note: See numerous, extensive comments below.

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Who is reading World Streets where today? 1 August 2016

 

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* * Click map for higher definition version * *

The above map reports the locations of 561 readers checking into World Streets over the last five days. (Of our total 4,484 registered readers as of this date.)

But what about them? Where? And what do they read?

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Is World Streets doing its job? (Canada)

* We asked 100 world experts for their views – – and 101 responded

Chris Bradshaw of Ottawa, comments:
Chris Bradshaw-colorI met Eric 20 years ago at the OECD Sustainable Transportation Conference in Vancouver. His passion and links to the other passionate and informed people was impressive from the start.
The fact that this field continues to grow is in large part a tribute to his energy and insights into the many components that make it up.
His choice of a focus on streets brings the local scale into focus: a trip is a trip; we all must ensure its ‘footprint’ is no larger than necessary. The car too often is the enemy of this perspective; the solution is a seamless network of walking&rolling options. Our travels should always connect us to the places we are in.
Chris Bradshaw, Ottawa, Canada.
Planner, activist and social innovator
Founder, Vrtucar, Ottawa’s Carsharing Provider
The KyAUTO*WALK Project;
Hearth Health – Building the Walkable Fabric of Communities
Regional Municipality Planning Department (retired)
Email: hearth@ties.ottawa.on.ca

Victoria Transport Policy Institute. Spring 2016 Newsletter

This carefully compiled seasonal report from Todd Litman of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute is a fine tool and up to date source guide for researchers and policy makers worldwide. We are pleased to present it in its entirety here, together with references you will find handy to take these entries further. Thanks for your fine continuing contributions Todd.

Vtpi Litman Canada

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