In August, Uber and Lyft jointly released an analysis conducted by Fehr & Peers examining how their vehicles are contributing to VMT in six major cities: Boston, Chicago, L.A., San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. The study found that Uber and Lyft vehicles account for just 1-3 percent of total VMT in the metro regions. However, they are contributing a significantly larger share in the core counties of several of these regions.
San Francisco
Compact fire trucks: A controversial issue simplified
The San Francisco Fire Department is welcoming new and compact fire trucks that will allow for more pedestrian-friendly street design throughout the city. The arrival of the compact fire trucks is part of the Vision Zero policy, which commits the City and County of San Francisco to improve street design to eliminate traffic fatalities by 2024.
Traffic enforcement observations target Uber and Lyft drivers as largest offenders
A recent scan from San Francisco’s Police Department found that Uber and Lyft drivers were responsible for nearly 65 percent of traffic infractions in bike- and transit-only lanes. The overwhelming majority of these tickets, for all vehicles and for Uber and Lyft vehicles, cited San Francisco Code 7.2.72 TC (see below), “Driving in a Transit Lane,” which comes with a $69 fine. There were also three felony and 29 misdemeanor arrests associated with this traffic report, indicating more serious incidents.
San Francisco updates planning code with TDM measures
San Francisco has approved an amendment to its existing planning code that incorporates an ambitious transportation demand management program for future residential and commercial development. Working to manage its transportation system across modes in the growing city, San Francisco will now require TDM measures for new developments for a variety of land uses.
Beset by complaints, BART’s Twitter resorts to unvarnished honesty
The Bay Area Rapid Transit system’s Twitter account went viral March 16 when, faced with a larger than usual number of complaints, it began replying “This is our reality,” accompanied by brief—this being Twitter—descriptions of the system’s SOGR and capacity challenges.
San Francisco approves Transportation Sustainability Fee
San Francisco hopes to generate nearly $20 million annually with a recently updated transit impact fee on new development. The new Transportation Sustainability Fee will help the city keep up with its exploding growth by allocating all generated revenue to the area’s Muni transit system or to bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
Caltrans achieves first state road award from Greenroads
The Presidio Parkway Phase I in San Francisco is the first state highway to be awarded a Greenroads certificate, indicating a high level of environmental sensitivity and sustainability during design and construction of the roadway. The project received a Bronze Rating. Key elements recognized by Greenroads in the project’s certification included an extensive public involvement process with special attention paid to biological, cultural, and natural resources.
Beyond mobility—prioritizing accessibility in urban transportation
The San Francisco Transit Accessibility Map is a new online tool showing how much of the city is accessible by transit or walking within a selected travel time. Although the map is useful as is, it also presents an enormous opportunity to develop a richly layered analysis that could be used to understand accessibility more broadly by adding data on non-work as well as work destinations. It could also highlight the need to improve accessibility for underserved areas.
San Francisco Bay Area MPO launches interactive performance measure portal
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which has drawn attention for its rigorous performance measure-driven transportation plan, is expanding its use of performance measures with a publicly accessible portal called Vital Signs. Launched on January 28, Vital Signs is “an interactive tool that Bay Area residents can use to track the region’s progress toward reaching key transportation, land use, environmental and economic policy goals,” MTC said in a press release.
Not being evil: Google pays for bus passes for low-income kids
Google is funding bus passes for more than 30,000 low- and moderate-income youth in San Francisco. This announcement is seen by many as a first step toward greater civic engagement by Silicon Valley tech giants, and city government thinks it is a good first step for partnering with the tech industry more generally.