The coming of autonomous vehicles and the related increase in e-commerce deliveries promise to change many things: infrastructure, access and mobility, land consumption, emissions, retailing, urban form, and many more. It’s not clear that we will have policy in place to maximize the upsides and manage the downsides of these trends. A new report aims to prepare policy makers in one area that is sure to be affected—municipal budgets and finance.
finance
The quest for market share: Is Uber’s business model sustainable?
A new analysis of the scant information on Uber’s profits and losses—information normally confined to investor meetings at this privately held company—calls into question the long-term sustainability of the company. It also raises concerns about whether Uber will be the transportation solution that some cities and transit companies have looked for.
VMT in the news: A warning to investors, a policy lesson for Congress, a reality check on climate policy, and charts
Flat-to-declining highway transportation demand has been with us for about a decade, and consensus is building for the position that it is not a historic aberration but rather a durable trend. A roundup of recent VMT-related news.
Demand for transit continues to grow; underfunded transit agencies work to meet the need
While demand for public transit continues to grow nationally, transit agencies are facing decreasing federal and state aid. In response, cities and counties served by transit are working with the private sector and other public agencies to develop nontraditional partnerships for funding the growth in their systems. Innovative partnerships—and revenues through levying local taxes—allow transit agencies that are bursting at the seams to improve service, make capital investments, and offer more efficient routes that often result in further ridership increases.