Let’s Talk About Mobility
Since its founding in 2016, Cityfi has believed that, together, excellent business practices, prudent policymaking, and the appropriate technology can generate positive outcomes for people, our planet, and profit. With you, our clients, we have applied this mindset to initiatives across sectors, geographies, and domains, expanding our services and reach over time. Mobility intersects with everything we do, so we wanted to share how we are thinking about the space today.
Cityfi is excited to be at the forefront of strategies and systems promoting equitable transportation. This week, Partner Karina Ricks penned her thoughts on the impacts of reliable mobility and the opportunity for Universal Basic Mobility (UBM) to address transportation insecurity.
Catch Cityfi Partner Gabe Klein’s feature in the Tomorrow’s Build video, “Why IKEA Doesn’t Want You to Drive,” which examines the role of cars in cities and future urban planning efforts. Gabe contemplates how mobility impacts a city’s identity and why a triple bottom line strategy is attainable.
As you bid adieu to August and look ahead at the last third of 2022, how can we work together to drive change and achieve your goals? The Cityfi team would love to support and connect with you, so please reach out. Happy Labor Day weekend!
Universal Basic Mobility and the Road to Transportation Security
One in four American adults are transportation insecure – meaning they lack the ability to regularly move from place to place in a safe and timely manner. According to a forthcoming paper in Socius by leading University of Michigan researchers, transportation insecurity is 2.5 times more prevalent than food insecurity and afflicts more than half of all adults in poverty. While staggering, that finding is sadly unsurprising.
Transportation mobility is fundamental to economic mobility. Low-wage workers commonly occupy entry-level positions where they must commute to work. But their commutes are fragile – one missed bus, one flat bicycle tire, or one deferred car repair can easily spell job loss…again. Transportation insecurity traps them in a game of Chutes and Ladders in which there are only chutes. Repeat tardiness denies them opportunities for raises or promotions. Over the course of a working life, this amounts to thousands of dollars of foregone earnings and wealth-building. And it affects more than individuals. The destabilizing effects of transportation insecurity cascades through families, communities, and the economy as a whole.
While a handful of studies have examined the utilization and effectiveness of fledgling Universal Basic Mobility (UBM) pilots, few have tabulated and quantified the social and economic costs of the status quo: lost wages, missed medical appointments, school tardies or truancy, social isolation and incohesion, or the host of other consequences of transportation insecurity.
That is about to change. Earlier this month, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) released a notice of funding opportunity to develop a program to quantify, in economic terms, the cost of transportation insecurity (and conversely the return on investment of UBM) to both individuals and society. The FTA research program is modeled on pioneering pilots and research in Pittsburgh and Los Angeles.
Cities and states from coast to coast know the high price of transportation insecurity and are leading an array of diverse pilots to test mitigations. In March, Boston launched a two-year, three-route, fare-free transit program. Last month, Chicago launched a free bicycle distribution program for income-eligible households. In 2019, Portland, Oregon launched a demonstration of a transportation wallet for residents of affordable housing. CalTrans’ Integrated Travel Project (Cal-ITP) has developed a suite of tools to aid transit and shared mobility use and payment. Michigan’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification (OFME) is building on all these efforts in its mobility wallet challenge.
Meaningfully addressing transportation insecurity, and capturing the social and economic benefits of reliable mobility, requires user-oriented and mode-agnostic solutions. Our mobility system is fragmented and one mode can rarely do it all. Transit is the unequivocal backbone of any viable, affordable, and effective urban transportation system…. and sometimes the bus is late, or doesn’t run late enough, or a trip requires too many transfers for timely travel. Trip demands are different with different needs at different times. Transportation security demands an “all of the above” approach that integrates and unlocks all shared mobility services. Use of the multimodal system should be simple and straightforward - available in a single place while combining trip options across modes. Program design must contemplate how forms of subsidies would encourage or obstruct desired movement, and then trace the actual performance of the subsidy through auditing and reporting. Accordingly, payment channels must be simple, but flexible; accommodating stored value, credit, passes, subsidies, benefits, and incentives. Funds need to remain maximally liquid - not prematurely and permanently turning U.S. dollars into exclusive transit, scooter, or bike currency. Finally, solutions to address transportation insecurity can’t forget the informal transportation services such as jitneys or gypsy cabs, that are a trusted and essential mode of travel for many women and low income travelers in the U.S. and around the world.
Cityfi has been on the forefront of strategies and systems to break the cycle of transportation insecurity. We are proud of our contributions in bringing together cities, mobility providers, platform providers, open data integrators, and users themselves to craft integrated mobility, payment, and incentive systems through human-centered design that work for all users.
The ability to regularly move from place to place in a safe and timely manner is a basic human right. We cannot alleviate poverty if we do not first alleviate transportation insecurity. The return on investment in UBM is huge. The time to do it is now.
Cityfi Assists With Bay Area Mobility Hub Pilots
In partnership with Nelson\Nygaard and Civic Edge, Cityfi is providing technical assistance for seven mobility hub pilots funded through the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's (MTC) Mobility Hub Pilot Program. Prior to serving in a technical assistance capacity, Evan Costagliola, Cityfi Senior Principal, led the development of MTC's Mobility Hub Implementation Playbook and supported the agency as it built the Mobility Hub pilot grant program. Now as the Pilot Program's technical assistance lead, Cityfi is supporting seven Pilot Project sponsors, including Bay Area Rapid Transit, Burlingame, Millbrae, Mountain View, San Francisco MTA, San Ramon, and Vallejo. The technical assistance ranges from hub design review and pilot evaluation to grant administration and ad hoc pilot design questions.
In July and August, Cityfi developed an evaluation framework and data collection protocol for all seven sponsors. Cityfi also convened two office hours for the sponsors to learn about the proposed pilot evaluation framework, exchange ideas, and ask their project specific questions amongst their pilot peers. The office hours yielded robust conversations about complex right-of-way conflicts, procurement strategy, right-sizing data collection requirements, and more. As we continue our technical assistance over the next fourteen months, we look forward to updating you as hub planning and implementation turns to operation and monitoring.
USDOT RAISE Grants Demonstrate Commitment to Safety and Place
Federal Highway Deputy Administrator Stephanie Pollack visited Pittsburgh last week to present the city with an $11.3 million grant for the Hill District. The source of funding is a U.S. Department of Transportation Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant, The plan, developed under the leadership of Cityfi Partner Karina Ricks, is a human-focused infrastructure investment in safety and dignity in a neighborhood that has long experienced neglect and marginalization. “It’s about people and what [infrastructure] will do to improve their lives every day,” Pollack said. The Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI), now led by Director Kimberly Lucas, will rebuild sidewalks and public steps throughout the neighborhood, improve intersections for safety, enhance transit amenities and create dynamic streetscapes. “This is how we rebuild the vibrancy of the Hill District. This is how we create economic opportunity,” Mayor Ed Gainey said. “This is what we do in order to restore what was taken from this neighborhood.”
Also last week, New York City received $7.25 million to expand the greenway network across all its boroughs with priority given to historically underserved, lower-income areas lacking affordable transportation and jobs. This is the city’s first comprehensive greenway vision plan in thirty years. Objectives of this project include addressing gaps in the greenway network, improving infrastructure to enhance cyclist and pedestrian safety, and affording the public more green transportation and waterfront access. New York City is beginning with five “Early Action” corridors of low and moderate-income communities beyond Manhattan that will gain more space for walking and cycling. The vision plan will involve robust engagement with communities and stakeholders, including NYC Greenways Coalition.
California to Ban Sales on New Gas Cars by 2035
The California Air Resources Board, the state’s air regulator, voted to approve new rules banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. California would be the first state to enact a ban. This transformation from gas to electric cars would significantly reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The board also set rules to establish interim quotas for zero-emission vehicles. Beginning with 2026 models, 35% of new cars, SUVs and small pickups sold in California would be required to be zero-emission.
EV Owners Are Frustrated With Broken Charging Stations
JD Power recently released its survey of 11,554 EV and plug-in hybrid owners. To put it mildly, owners are frustrated with broken charging stations and “janky software.” Satisfaction with Level 2 chargers declined by 10 points from a year ago. While the public charging infrastructure continues to grow, severe problems with downtime still plague them. Federal funding coming to states to build a viable national charging network could enhance consumer confidence.
New National Strategy Incorporates Natural Assets in Economic Decisions
A new draft of a National Strategy was released last week and invites the public for input to inform this important work. The strategy outlines recommendations for advancing “Statistics for Environmental-Economic Decisions” and recommends the federal government produce a set of ongoing statistics to reflect the state of our natural assets and the impact that has on our country’s economic strength. The draft strategy aims to rectify the current disconnect of the national accounts from "the realities of the natural world." Nature will finally reflect on the nation's balance sheet through this new economic model that would put a price tag on preserving our natural resources. The draft national strategy also provides several specific recommendations, including:
● The natural capital accounts developed from this strategy should be integrated into the broader existing U.S. economic statistics system, using the expertise that Federal agencies already possess, so that these accounts can be as useful as possible to decision-makers at the Federal, State, Tribal, and local levels, as well as to the private sector—which has repeatedly called for government leadership in developing these statistics.
● The natural capital accounts and environmental-economic statistics should measure our progress over time.
● The U.S. government should follow a 15-year phased approach that will generate new information early in the process while iteratively and rigorously building a long-lasting set of statistical products that are regularly reported.
What We’re Reading
● Can Anacostia Build a Bridge Without Displacing Its People?
● Too many Americans live in places built for cars — not for human connection
● Could Coal Waste Be Used to Make Sustainable Batteries?