Cross-posted at streets.mn: Access by Nice Ride Access by Nice Ride by David Levinson on April 21, 2014 in Bicycling I took my first Nice Ride last week. I had ridden a bicycle before, and I had used bike rental before (though not one of the modern automated systems), and I had used transportation vehicle “sharing” before (see e.g. ZipCar and Car2Go with mixed […]
I get quoted by Todd Leopold of CNN for one of their 10 Ideas: Self-Driving Cars Yes, flying cars and portable jetpacks are still, for the most part, the province of science fiction. But another popular sci-fi idea, self-driving transportation, is rapidly becoming reality. It’s no secret that Google has been working steadily on an automated […]
I am a skeptic of carsharing. I have used Zipcar in the past, but stopped due its inconvenience and cost. Minneapolis has a new system that has gotten good reviews, so upon the urging of some fellow transportationists, I used Car2Go today to go to a meeting at MetroTransit (hoping to maximize irony). I reserved […]
Despite major proposals for investment in high-speed rail, intercity passenger rail in the US remains and will remain a small mode unless there is some sustained exogenous shock to the system such as higher fuel prices, very stringent environmental regulations, an unforeseen war, or act of terrorism that constrains air transportation. As a mode, rail […]
Avis Budget announced it would acquire Zipcar, the to-date essentially profitless carsharing company, for $500 Million. The stock today is trading at $12.22 a share. It is worth noting Zipcar’s Stock Price History. It went public in April 2011, and is off $15.24 per share (55.55 % after today), from an an initial opening shy […]
Two related points, the first from Pedestrian Observations in Surreptitious Underfunding Not all “transit” funding is really for transit and the second from Getting Around Minneapolis in Do Bloomington, don’t mind the Pedestrian Barriers Not all “pedestrian” funding is really for pedestrians. Two related points from San Francisco, where land is scarce: Wired: Scoot Bringing […]
TechCrunch says: Strategic Sharing: Zipcar Leads $13.7M Investment In Campus Car-Sharing Startup Wheelz: “Well, you have to hand it to the strategy team over at Zipcar. Arguably the largest on-demand car-sharing network, Zipcar went public last year and not long after saw its market cap cross $1 billion. It’s since fallen back, and with collaborative […]
Some TED Talks about Transportation Bill Ford: http://www.ted.com/talks/bill_ford_a_future_beyond_traffic_gridlock.html Shai Agassi http://www.ted.com/talks/shai_agassi_on_electric_cars.html Robin Chase http://www.ted.com/talks/robin_chase_on_zipcar_and_her_next_big_idea.html Sebastian Thrun http://blog.ted.com/2011/03/31/googles-driverless-car-sebastian-thrun-on-ted-com/ Dennis Hong http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/dennis_hong_making_a_car_for_blind_drivers.html Dean Kaman http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/dean_kamen_on_inventing_and_giving.html Paul Moller http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/paul_moller_on_the_skycar.html Gary Lauder http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/gary_lauder_s_new_traffic_sign_take_turns.html Jaime Lerner http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jaime_lerner_sings_of_the_city.html Steven Levitt http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/steven_levitt_on_child_carseats.html
GOOD asks: Why Are Car Seats So Poorly Designed? : The difficulty of installing a car seat affects the market for car rentals, trains, planes, buses, and taxis. It is also hard to make it thorough childhood without purchasing three or more seats, and there are dire warnings against using a pre-owned one. If the […]
Nice Ride Minnesota launched recently, it is a bike sharing program for Minneapolis. Some photos of one of their campus, and their Dinkytown site are below. They seem to have more bikes than Zipcar has cars, which befits our position as one of the best cities for biking. I even saw someone using it. The […]
David Levinson, Transportist 
You must be logged in to post a comment.