Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space

"A community’s physical form, rather than its land uses, is its most intrinsic and enduring characteristic." [Katz, EPA] This blog focuses on place and placemaking and all that makes it work--historic preservation, urban design, transportation, asset-based community development, arts & cultural development, commercial district revitalization, tourism & destination development, and quality of life advocacy--along with doses of civic engagement and good governance watchdogging.

Friday, November 18, 2016

Dolly micro-move app as an element of the Sustainable Mobility Platform

I have moved beyond discussing what I call the mobility shed ("Updating the mobilityshed / mobility shed concept") to thinking more about what I am calling the Sustainable Mobility Platform.  Although I need a top notch graphic designer to express it graphically.

The concept is influenced by a graphic from an older version of the German National Bike Plan and the Sustainable Transportation Hierarchy graphic produced by Transportation Alternatives.

Cycling as a system (of Traffic)
Bicycle Traffic as a system, diagram, German National Bicycle Plan, 2002-2012
German National Bicycle Plan, 2002-2012

Mobility shed concept.  Note that the bands should vary in width depending on their catchment area.  The core point/hub is a transit station, commercial district, or major activity center.
Mobility shed diagram

Sustainable transportation hierarchy
transportation hierarchy

Some Ikea stores in Denmark provide bikes and trailers to get purchases home.
DSC09612

What I say is that the idea of the sustainable mobility hierarchy is to support a lifestyle where owning a car is not required but car use can still be an element within it, for those trips where it makes the most sense.

It's a "car light" lifestyle, and there are many reasons for communities to support it from the standpoint of transportation demand management and optimal utilization of the throughput capacity of the transportation system.

These are the elements:
  • walking
  • cycling
    • access to trailers
    • cargo bikes
  • transit
  • bicycle sharing
  • car sharing
    • one-way car sharing
    • two-way car sharing
  • scooter sharing (there's a program in San Francisco)
  • e-bikes
  • taxi type services
  • delivery services
  • car rental
Of course, most of the elements, like the car sharing or bicycle examples, can be further divided and sub-categorized, depending on rider demographics, trip characteristics, etc.  I separated out e-bikes because to my way of thinking, they are more about serving longer trips (3-20 miles) for demographics unwilling to make such trips on a regular bike.

Dolly move and delivery service.  Anyway, I just learned about Dolly, an "on-demand moving service" for a limited number of items.  It's like "Uber" for delivery. From the website:
Dolly is a marketplace that allows background-checked Helpers with pickup trucks, vans, and large SUVs to connect with people who need help with micro-moves in the city. ...

We provide a price that's determined by distance, item count, and specific details about your item(s), with the choice of Curbside delivery for a discounted price. The minimum price is $30.
Right now Dolly operates in Chicago, Denver, Salt Lake City, Seattle, and San Diego ("Meet Dolly: A new way to move bulky items (without bugging friends," GeekWire).

Granted, Zipcar car sharing is also an option, as most of the vehicle fleets have a variety of vehicles including SUVs, pick ups, and vans. I've used Zipcar a bunch of times to move a large item (bookcases, file cabinets, outdoor grill) from where I've found or purchased them.

But Dolly is a good option when you need an extra pair of hands because of the size and/or weight of the item.

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15 Comments:

At 12:58 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

the sheer waste of people all driving for holiday celebrations and shopping in this country is astounding and completely un necessary - in fact- it puts all of us at risk for running out of energy resources even sooner because all of these people think they are doing what is " absolutely essential" and that there is no other way to live or to do things. Imagine if only a quarter of the people who drive " home" on Thanksgiving actually took trains, walked, cycled- or - heretical as though it may sound- actually LIVED close by to where they wanted to have dinner- it would be so much less stressful and dangerous out there on the highways

 
At 12:26 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

car pooling vs. cabs in NYC, MIT simulation.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2017/01/03/carpools-clobber-cabs-mit-plan/GRQsGZCDAjlg3XtdIssNoK/story.html

 
At 7:05 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

http://www.tampabay.com/news/transportation/pinellas-bus-riders-can-now-grab-a-1-uber-or-taxi-ride-from-their-bus-stops/2310233

 
At 10:14 AM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

http://innovativemobility.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Impactsofcar2go_FiveCities_2016.pdf

 
At 10:11 AM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

story on shuttle services Bridg and Chariot.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2017/03/03/can-these-companies-make-taking-bus-cool/HT9iZr1jUy7yzdnH7BSZAN/story.html

 
At 6:34 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

Bandwagon taxi share app in NYC:

http://www.bandwagon.io/about-1/

Interestingly, the old form of taxi charging in DC fostered cab sharing, while the meter system does not.

 
At 11:14 AM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

a bandwagon like app could be used to coordinate school carpooling.

2. London complaining about congestion caused by minivans delivering e-commerce packages to offices during the day, suggest "click and collect" stations at transport stations.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/internet-shopping-deliveries-could-be-banned-from-london-offices-to-fight-congestion-a3488921.html

 
At 4:18 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

Via, more like a taxi collectif

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20150524/TRANSPORTATION/150529933/yet-another-ride-service-only-this-one-is-different

 
At 11:48 AM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

A night bus on weekends in London by the transport app citymapper.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jul/20/citymapper-bus-london-aldgate-east-highbury-and-islington-tfl

 
At 6:11 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

Scooter sharing in Singapore.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-41078726

 
At 5:52 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

SF to put forth regulations for private transit:

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/SF-ponders-new-rules-for-Chariot-and-other-12195826.php

spurred mostly by Chariot.

 
At 6:19 AM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

Los Angeles and Orange County seek to create (contract) their own microtransit services

http://www.dailybreeze.com/2017/10/23/la-orange-county-transit-agencies-seek-their-own-ride-sharing-services/

 
At 9:32 AM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

nonprofit transport to work program in Greater Richmond as a form of microtransit:

http://www.richmond.com/business/local/transportation-service-gotowork-offering-rides-in-richmond-area/article_f696bc6e-82c5-5109-b1bf-4696bad7fe1e.html

 
At 6:15 PM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

https://www.moderncities.com/article/2018-feb-lyft-announces-entrance-into-bike-share-in-baltimore

 
At 9:30 AM, Blogger Richard Layman said...

Ace Parking in San Diego says parking demand is down at various venues, which they attribute to "ride hailing" services like Uber.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/growth-development/sd-fi-ace-parking-uber-lyft-competition-20180222-story.html

 

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