BLURRED VISION

New urban mobility options are here. Fleets of private vehicles now use the streets to provide transit- and taxi-like services. Is this the new dual-mode, dubbed DMT in the 1970s?  What does it mean to urban transport officials?

Increasingly smart cars and streets will make us safer.

Robocars are changing the modus operandi of citizens, government, businesses, especially food delivery services. It is already happening. Uber and others are transforming the taxi industry and impacting mass transit. Podcars -- automated on exclusive guideways at high complexity that off-line stations require -- are advancing on many fronts. What guidance is there from Washington?

Vision in Washington

“Silo mentality” is a term often heard in and about Washington DC. FHWA does it highway thing. FTA is a separate silo doing its transit thing. Hardly ever do the twain meet in DC. That maybe was adequate in 1975. 

Today we face a situation where silo officials have to blur there vision. Since 1975 private vehicles have dominated roads and highways largely funded by the FHWA. Public transit edged forward in a separate program and funding silo. Taxis and private buses lurched in the sidelines, with paratransit filled niche roles. It has remained pretty much highway versus transit.

Blurred Modalities

How ironic that we want USDOT officials to get blurry!

Multi-modal shared streets - sketch by Charles Harris

Uber and other ride-sharing groups now allow private vehicles to act as passenger-focused transit, blurring the line between public and private. For passengers with smarter and smarter phones, new apps make it easier to use mobility services from private vehicles operating on public roads.

With GPS someone knows where everyone else is. With the coming of shared cars and rides and robocars, the lines between public and private dim. Bring on dual-mode thinking!