How We Get Around

Traffic engineering has everything to do with how we get around. It doesn't matter how many neighbors sign a petition for new sidewalks, or more crosswalks, protected bike lanes, bus rapid transit, road diets… Everything goes through traffic engineering analysis. Listen up to learn why good engineers earn bad grades. *** https://www.andyboenau.com/ (https://www.AndyBoenau.com) https://twitter.com/boenau (https://twitter.com/boenau) https://linkedin.com/in/boenau (https://linkedin.com/in/boenau) *** https://andyboenau.com/ (Andy Boenau) explores emerging trends that are altering How We Get Around.  You're scratching your head about electric scooters,   You wonder if bike share could work in the suburbs,  You feel bad that buses aren't used more, You have an opinion about autonomous vehicles, Your walking shoes need more wear, and You wish you didn't have to drive so much. Mobility freedom, equitable access, emerging technology, subscription culture, and traffic safety. We have a lot to cover.

Not everyone can afford to own their own car. And even if everyone could, they should not be forced to spend their money to own and operate a personal car. Transportation equity should be about giving people the same access to homes, jobs, food, and services.  If this is one of your soap box issues, it's worth taking a little internet adventure researching new urbanism and human-scale design.  *** https://www.andyboenau.com/ (https://www.AndyBoenau.com) https://twitter.com/boenau (https://twitter.com/boenau) https://linkedin.com/in/boenau (https://linkedin.com/in/boenau) *** https://andyboenau.com/ (Andy Boenau) explores emerging trends that are altering How We Get Around.  You're scratching your head about electric scooters,   You wonder if bike share could work in the suburbs,  You feel bad that buses aren't used more, You have an opinion about autonomous vehicles, Your walking shoes need more wear, and You wish you didn't have to drive so much. Mobility freedom, equitable access, emerging technology, subscription culture, and traffic safety. We have a lot to cover.

Can you buy a self-driving car today? Right now, today, in early 2022, can you visit a dealer or hop on a website and purchase your own self-driving car? In the internet age, you'd think there'd be no confusion. But most people aren't sure of the answer. That's a education problem that has real-world consequences. *** https://www.andyboenau.com/ (https://www.AndyBoenau.com) https://twitter.com/boenau (https://twitter.com/boenau) https://linkedin.com/in/boenau (https://linkedin.com/in/boenau) *** https://andyboenau.com/ (Andy Boenau) explores emerging trends that are altering How We Get Around.  You're scratching your head about electric scooters,   You wonder if bike share could work in the suburbs,  You feel bad that buses aren't used more, You have an opinion about autonomous vehicles, Your walking shoes need more wear, and You wish you didn't have to drive so much. Mobility freedom, equitable access, emerging technology, subscription culture, and traffic safety. We have a lot to cover.

The Infrastructure Report Card is published every year by the American Society of Civil Engineers. It sounds like something you'd get in school, but the big difference is that this one is abstract and subjective. But once engineers get out of school, the grading system is more like art class. Here's what you need to know. *** https://www.andyboenau.com/ (https://www.AndyBoenau.com) https://twitter.com/boenau (https://twitter.com/boenau) https://linkedin.com/in/boenau (https://linkedin.com/in/boenau) *** https://andyboenau.com/ (Andy Boenau) explores emerging trends that are altering How We Get Around.  You're scratching your head about electric scooters,   You wonder if bike share could work in the suburbs,  You feel bad that buses aren't used more, You have an opinion about autonomous vehicles, Your walking shoes need more wear, and You wish you didn't have to drive so much. Mobility freedom, equitable access, emerging technology, subscription culture, and traffic safety. We have a lot to cover.

Professional land use planners and traffic engineers look in the rearview mirror to see what's through the windshield. It's an embarrassing form of fortune telling. Inevitably, a long-range land use or mobility plan includes outdated assumptions. It doesn't have to be that way! *** https://www.andyboenau.com/ (https://www.AndyBoenau.com) https://twitter.com/boenau (https://twitter.com/boenau) https://linkedin.com/in/boenau (https://linkedin.com/in/boenau) *** https://andyboenau.com/ (Andy Boenau) explores emerging trends that are altering How We Get Around.  You're scratching your head about electric scooters,   You wonder if bike share could work in the suburbs,  You feel bad that buses aren't used more, You have an opinion about autonomous vehicles, Your walking shoes need more wear, and You wish you didn't have to drive so much. Mobility freedom, equitable access, emerging technology, subscription culture, and traffic safety. We have a lot to cover.

One of Virginia's snowstorms made national news because portions of I-95 were shut down. Some people were trapped for almost 30 hours in the freezing cold. It was crazy. Thousands of people hemmed in with no way to get unstuck. Imagine having to clear out thousands of electric vehicles with dead batteries. When people see headlines about banning gas-powered cars and shifting to electric cars, it's fair to ask "what happens to people stuck on I-95?" *** https://www.andyboenau.com/ (https://www.AndyBoenau.com) https://twitter.com/boenau (https://twitter.com/boenau) https://linkedin.com/in/boenau (https://linkedin.com/in/boenau) *** https://andyboenau.com/ (Andy Boenau) explores emerging trends that are altering How We Get Around.  You're scratching your head about electric scooters,   You wonder if bike share could work in the suburbs,  You feel bad that buses aren't used more, You have an opinion about autonomous vehicles, Your walking shoes need more wear, and You wish you didn't have to drive so much. Mobility freedom, equitable access, emerging technology, subscription culture, and traffic safety. We have a lot to cover.

In the last year, the biggest selling electric vehicle was a bicycle. E-bikes outsold E-cars 2:1 in the U.S.: 300,000 electric cars sold, with 60,000 places to securely charge them. 600,000 electric bikes sold, with 8 places to securely charge them. Planners, architects, engineers: pleeeease start incorporating secure charging for the highest selling form of EV. *** https://www.andyboenau.com/ (https://www.AndyBoenau.com) https://twitter.com/boenau (https://twitter.com/boenau) https://linkedin.com/in/boenau (https://linkedin.com/in/boenau) *** https://andyboenau.com/ (Andy Boenau) explores emerging trends that are altering How We Get Around.  You're scratching your head about electric scooters,   You wonder if bike share could work in the suburbs,  You feel bad that buses aren't used more, You have an opinion about autonomous vehicles, Your walking shoes need more wear, and You wish you didn't have to drive so much. Mobility freedom, equitable access, emerging technology, subscription culture, and traffic safety. We have a lot to cover.

Wayyyy back in 2020, I spoke at a conference about the danger of authorities controlling personal data, including travel habits. Locations, frequency, companions, purpose, etc. China tracks its subjects and decides who's allowed to travel and for what purposes. Well here we are in 2022, and Canadian officials admitted they've been tracking 87% of their citizens. Americans are rightly skeptical of giving over their data to authorities. If government agencies control Mobility-as-a-Service platforms, for example, people worry about the use of data. *** https://www.andyboenau.com/ (https://www.AndyBoenau.com) https://twitter.com/boenau (https://twitter.com/boenau) https://linkedin.com/in/boenau (https://linkedin.com/in/boenau) *** https://andyboenau.com/ (Andy Boenau) explores emerging trends that are altering How We Get Around.  You're scratching your head about electric scooters,   You wonder if bike share could work in the suburbs,  You feel bad that buses aren't used more, You have an opinion about autonomous vehicles, Your walking shoes need more wear, and You wish you didn't have to drive so much. Mobility freedom, equitable access, emerging technology, subscription culture, and traffic safety. We have a lot to cover.

This is a short reaction to an article from Bloomberg's CityLab: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-18/an-architect-asks-can-the-u-s-build-big-again?srnd=citylab ("Can the U.S. Build Big Again?") Here's the pull quote they use to make urban planners nod in agreement, as if this is a moderate position. There is a sweet spot between Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses, and we must find it.The author is making the case that big transportation fixes come when power is consolidated. I have a different point of view. *** https://www.andyboenau.com/ (https://www.AndyBoenau.com) https://twitter.com/boenau (https://twitter.com/boenau) https://linkedin.com/in/boenau (https://linkedin.com/in/boenau) *** https://andyboenau.com/ (Andy Boenau) explores emerging trends that are altering How We Get Around.  You're scratching your head about electric scooters,   You wonder if bike share could work in the suburbs,  You feel bad that buses aren't used more, You have an opinion about autonomous vehicles, Your walking shoes need more wear, and You wish you didn't have to drive so much. Mobility freedom, equitable access, emerging technology, subscription culture, and traffic safety. We have a lot to cover.

"Multimodal balance" is the idea that equal priority should be given to all types of transport - buses, cars, bicycles, delivery trucks, fire trucks, scooters, and walking. There's a huge problem with this concept. *** https://www.AndyBoenau.com (https://www.AndyBoenau.com) https://twitter.com/boenau (https://twitter.com/boenau) https://linkedin.com/in/boenau (https://linkedin.com/in/boenau) *** Andy Boenau (https://andyboenau.com/) explores emerging trends that are altering How We Get Around.  You’re scratching your head about electric scooters,   You wonder if bike share could work in the suburbs,  You feel bad that buses aren’t used more, You have an opinion about autonomous vehicles, Your walking shoes need more wear, and You wish you didn’t have to drive so much. Mobility freedom, equitable access, emerging technology, subscription culture, and traffic safety. We have a lot to cover. Support this podcast

Lyft declared a  commitment to reach 100% electric vehicles on their platform by 2030. Is it feasible? Financially sustainable? The economy needs profitable mobility businesses. Otherwise, we’re all just engaging in academic and philosophical exercises.  Will Lyft have a fully-electric fleet by the year 2030? I hope so.  But I hope it happens because the market demands it, not because big corporates engineer laws and policies that drive away innovation in favor of cronyism. *** https://twitter.com/boenau (https://twitter.com/boenau) https://linkedin.com/in/boenau (https://linkedin.com/in/boenau) *** Andy Boenau (https://andyboenau.com/) explores emerging trends that are altering How We Get Around.  You’re scratching your head about electric scooters,   You wonder if bike share could work in the suburbs,  You feel bad that buses aren’t used more, You have an opinion about autonomous vehicles, Your walking shoes need more wear, and You wish you didn’t have to drive so much. Mobility freedom, equitable access, emerging technology, subscription culture, and traffic safety. We have a lot to cover. Support this podcast

John Ellis gave a TEDx talk called Zero Dollar Car: How big data will transform the transportation industry. There's a business model here for transport in a car, bus, train, scooter, bicycle, or self-driving pod. *** https://twitter.com/boenau (https://twitter.com/boenau) https://linkedin.com/in/boenau (https://linkedin.com/in/boenau) *** Andy Boenau (https://andyboenau.com/) explores emerging trends that are altering How We Get Around.  You’re scratching your head about electric scooters,   You wonder if bike share could work in the suburbs,  You feel bad that buses aren’t used more, You have an opinion about autonomous vehicles, Your walking shoes need more wear, and You wish you didn’t have to drive so much. Mobility freedom, equitable access, emerging technology, subscription culture, and traffic safety. We have a lot to cover. Support this podcast

With all the recent news about autonomy, I thought I’d do my part to educate the masses about the different levels.  The transition from where we are today to where we’ll be in the not-to-distant future.  The Society of Safe Engineers defines 6 levels of engineering automation ranging from 0 (fully manual) to 5 (fully autonomous). These levels have not been adopted by the National Society of Professional Engineers. *** https://twitter.com/boenau (https://twitter.com/boenau) https://linkedin.com/in/boenau (https://linkedin.com/in/boenau) *** Andy Boenau (https://andyboenau.com/) explores emerging trends that are altering How We Get Around.  You’re scratching your head about electric scooters,   You wonder if bike share could work in the suburbs,  You feel bad that buses aren’t used more, You have an opinion about autonomous vehicles, Your walking shoes need more wear, and You wish you didn’t have to drive so much. Mobility freedom, equitable access, emerging technology, subscription culture, and traffic safety. We have a lot to cover. Support this podcast

Amazon delivers 2-3 billion packages per year. In 2019, they went from delivering 20% of their own packages to 50%. Amazon announced in February that they ordered 100,000 electric vans from a company called Rivian, based in Michigan. *** https://twitter.com/boenau (https://twitter.com/boenau) https://linkedin.com/in/boenau (https://linkedin.com/in/boenau) *** Andy Boenau (https://andyboenau.com/) explores emerging trends that are altering How We Get Around.  You’re scratching your head about electric scooters,   You wonder if bike share could work in the suburbs,  You feel bad that buses aren’t used more, You have an opinion about autonomous vehicles, Your walking shoes need more wear, and You wish you didn’t have to drive so much. Mobility freedom, equitable access, emerging technology, subscription culture, and traffic safety. We have a lot to cover. Support this podcast

MaaS is a digital platform that has 3 key ingredients: plan a trip, book the trip on 1 or more modes, and pay for the trip.  It can use different brands and vehicles in different markets. It can be pay-as-you-go or subscription. High-occupancy transit should be a primary feature in urbanized areas. Think of it as the trunk of the mobility tree, with other modes as the branches. Out in the rural areas, on-demand transit will be the primary feature. Who is the rightful owner of the digital platform that makes these customer dreams a reality? *** https://twitter.com/boenau (https://twitter.com/boenau) https://linkedin.com/in/boenau (https://linkedin.com/in/boenau) *** Andy Boenau (https://andyboenau.com/) explores emerging trends that are altering How We Get Around.  You’re scratching your head about electric scooters,   You wonder if bike share could work in the suburbs,  You feel bad that buses aren’t used more, You have an opinion about autonomous vehicles, Your walking shoes need more wear, and You wish you didn’t have to drive so much. Mobility freedom, equitable access, emerging technology, subscription culture, and traffic safety. We have a lot to cover. Support this podcast

Most of us have always lived in a car culture, so new forms of mobility are a jolt. It feels foreign to consider an environment where we aren’t burdened by personal car ownership and storage. Autonomous shuttles… self-parking mopeds… senior citizens on bicycles… these are big leaps for us, so we need some evidence that some fringe ideas can become ubiquitous. As a beacon of hope, I’m going to help you understand how developing a new transportation culture is exactly like introducing a new product to the frozen food aisle in the grocery store. *** https://twitter.com/boenau (https://twitter.com/boenau) https://linkedin.com/in/boenau (https://linkedin.com/in/boenau) *** Andy Boenau (https://andyboenau.com/) explores emerging trends that are altering How We Get Around.  You’re scratching your head about electric scooters,   You wonder if bike share could work in the suburbs,  You feel bad that buses aren’t used more, You have an opinion about autonomous vehicles, Your walking shoes need more wear, and You wish you didn’t have to drive so much. Mobility freedom, equitable access, emerging technology, subscription culture, and traffic safety. We have a lot to cover. Support this podcast

One of the questions I get the most about shared mobility is "Do you think bike share will last?" So, I will give you 3 predictions because I know exactly what the future holds. And I will give you 3 reasons why I have no idea what the future holds. *** https://twitter.com/boenau (https://twitter.com/boenau) https://linkedin.com/in/boenau (https://linkedin.com/in/boenau) *** Andy Boenau (https://andyboenau.com/) explores emerging trends that are altering How We Get Around.  You’re scratching your head about electric scooters,   You wonder if bike share could work in the suburbs,  You feel bad that buses aren’t used more, You have an opinion about autonomous vehicles, Your walking shoes need more wear, and You wish you didn’t have to drive so much. Mobility freedom, equitable access, emerging technology, subscription culture, and traffic safety. We have a lot to cover. Support this podcast

One of the purposes of compulsory schooling is social uniformity. Homogeneity.  From the time we’re young, we’re trained to stifle critical thought and innovation. It’s socially risky for children and adults to challenge widely held beliefs. In the name of public safety, The Peanut has become the ultimate boogeyman. For every person lost to a peanut allergy, 30,000 are lost to preventable traffic crashes. The most dangerous threat facing American children is the drive to school or soccer games, not the snacks they share. *** Andy Boenau (https://andyboenau.com/) explores emerging trends that are altering How We Get Around.  You’re scratching your head about electric scooters,   You wonder if bike share could work in the suburbs,  You feel bad that buses aren’t used more, You have an opinion about autonomous vehicles, Your walking shoes need more wear, and You wish you didn’t have to drive so much. Mobility freedom, equitable access, emerging technology, subscription culture, and traffic safety. We have a lot to cover. *** https://twitter.com/boenau (https://twitter.com/boenau) https://linkedin.com/in/boenau (https://linkedin.com/in/boenau) Support this podcast

Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) is a digital platform where you can plan a trip, choose multiple modes - like trains, bus, car, bikes, and pay for the trip. All within one platform. Three key things: plan, book, pay. You might compare Mobility-as-a-Service to Movies-as-a-Service, or as normal people might say - Netflix. Netflix is a platform where you can search for available movies, select one or more genres you want to watch, and pay for it. All in the same platform without having to jump to another app or website.  Imagine if you had to deal with each and every movie studio separately. Dealing with their terms and conditions separately. Imagine some required PayPal, others required Stripe, and others required a minimum rental amount.   But that’s how it is when you and I want to access transport services. We have to deal with each production house separately. All the fleets are separate. Such a pain.  A MaaS platform combines all the steps in one place to give you and me - the customer - a seamless experience.  *** Andy Boenau (https://andyboenau.com/) explores emerging trends that are altering How We Get Around.  You’re scratching your head about electric scooters,   You wonder if bike share could work in the suburbs,  You feel bad that buses aren’t used more, You have an opinion about autonomous vehicles, Your walking shoes need more wear, and You wish you didn’t have to drive so much. Mobility freedom, equitable access, emerging technology, subscription culture, and traffic safety. We have a lot to cover. *** https://twitter.com/boenau (https://twitter.com/boenau) https://linkedin.com/in/boenau (https://linkedin.com/in/boenau) Support this podcast

I own hundreds of CDs and DVDs. Ever since I started earning money pushing a lawnmower, I was spending it on music and movies that I was convinced needed to be at my fingertips. Sure, I'd never be able to own every piece of audio-visual art I enjoyed, but it didn't stop me from buying. Then along came Music as a Service...and Movies as a Service. Customers were asked to pay a monthly subscription for access to a huge catalog to consume anytime, rather than purchasing each and every release. And you know what? I converted. My options were expanded to a scale I still can't comprehend. Any genre, any time. If I need to teach my kids about 90s hip-hop while traveling, no problem. I connect to shared libraries without dealing with the cost and inconvenience of personal storage space. Mobility as a Service is a new term describing alternatives to personally-owned automobiles. A MaaS subscriber pays for access to transport rather than their own vehicle, maintenance, taxes, insurance, and so on. It’s clear to me that subscription to multimodal transport is the future of urban mobility. *** Andy Boenau (https://andyboenau.com/) explores emerging trends that are altering How We Get Around.  You’re scratching your head about electric scooters,   You wonder if bike share could work in the suburbs,  You feel bad that buses aren’t used more, You have an opinion about autonomous vehicles, Your walking shoes need more wear, and You wish you didn’t have to drive so much. Mobility freedom, equitable access, emerging technology, subscription culture, and traffic safety. We have a lot to cover. *** https://twitter.com/boenau (https://twitter.com/boenau) https://linkedin.com/in/boenau (https://linkedin.com/in/boenau) Support this podcast

Personal car ownership has the allure of freedom, giving Americans the ability to drive anywhere at a moment’s notice. The reality of modern travel is that most trips are less than a few miles. We like transportation on demand, but we don’t go far. Local governments across North America have some common goals. Here are three: (1) safe neighborhoods, (2) clean air and , and (3) be smart about limited budgets.  Mobility is often overlooked as a measurable way to achieve those goals. In fact, modern transportation habits tend to run counter to public health and safety goals. The real and perceived need for personal cars introduces all kinds of trouble. Personal car ownership is a pain for communities, and shared mobility is the painkiller. *** Andy Boenau (https://andyboenau.com/) explores emerging trends that are altering How We Get Around.  You’re scratching your head about electric scooters,   You wonder if bike share could work in the suburbs,  You feel bad that buses aren’t used more, You have an opinion about autonomous vehicles, Your walking shoes need more wear, and You wish you didn’t have to drive so much. Mobility freedom, equitable access, emerging technology, subscription culture, and traffic safety. We have a lot to cover. *** https://twitter.com/boenau (https://twitter.com/boenau) https://linkedin.com/in/boenau (https://linkedin.com/in/boenau) Support this podcast

Is the aim of this story to turn people against Lyft? Or to suggest politicians should have the power to decide how businesses are run? Whatever the purpose, it’s manufactured outrage.  Here we go: “A city supervisor hopes to force Lyft to keep accepting cash for its bike rental service. Lyft announced quietly this week that it would stop accepting cash payments for its bikeshare. City officials and transportation advocates have been quick to criticize the move for cutting out people with low incomes, and potentially immigrants, from accessing a service already largely seen as catering to affluent white men.” - SF Examiner, Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez Ok, let me stop there. Lyft is a company making an effort to (1) give people mobility options other than a car, and (2) giving low income residents an affordable bikeshare membership. The program at the heart of this story, Bikeshare for All, is a program designed for low-income residents. You might say it’s the opposite of catering to affluent white men. *** Andy Boenau (https://andyboenau.com/) explores emerging trends that are altering How We Get Around.  You’re scratching your head about electric scooters,   You wonder if bike share could work in the suburbs,  You feel bad that buses aren’t used more, You have an opinion about autonomous vehicles, Your walking shoes need more wear, and You wish you didn’t have to drive so much. Mobility freedom, equitable access, emerging technology, subscription culture, and traffic safety. We have a lot to cover. *** https://twitter.com/boenau (https://twitter.com/boenau) https://linkedin.com/in/boenau (https://linkedin.com/in/boenau) Support this podcast

The year 2020 is upon us, so you’ll find a slew of articles recapping the last 10 years. I’ve read several on urban planning that highlight the dramatic role of the humble bicycle. This one is from Forbes. Guess what? The best city planning idea is to design for the fundamental modes of travel - walking and bicycling.  *** https://twitter.com/boenau (https://twitter.com/boenau) https://linkedin.com/in/boenau (https://linkedin.com/in/boenau) *** Andy Boenau (https://andyboenau.com/) explores emerging trends that are altering How We Get Around.  You’re scratching your head about electric scooters,   You wonder if bike share could work in the suburbs,  You feel bad that buses aren’t used more, You have an opinion about autonomous vehicles, Your walking shoes need more wear, and You wish you didn’t have to drive so much. Mobility freedom, equitable access, emerging technology, subscription culture, and traffic safety. We have a lot to cover. Support this podcast

I'm reading from one of the thousands of opinion pieces about the dangers of autonomous technology as it relates to cars. I react to these claims: “...as with any new technology, especially one involving the transportation of human beings from point A to point B, there are inherent dangers involved.” and “...there are not enough solid facts to create a baseline for safety standards. As yet, the industry is unregulated which is excellent for manufacturers but bad for consumers.” *** https://twitter.com/boenau (https://twitter.com/boenau) https://linkedin.com/in/boenau (https://linkedin.com/in/boenau) *** (https://andyboenau.com/) Andy Boenau (https://andyboenau.com/) explores emerging trends that are altering How We Get Around.  You’re scratching your head about electric scooters,   You wonder if bike share could work in the suburbs,  You feel bad that buses aren’t used more, You have an opinion about autonomous vehicles, Your walking shoes need more wear, and You wish you didn’t have to drive so much. Mobility freedom, equitable access, emerging technology, subscription culture, and traffic safety. We have a lot to cover. Support this podcast

“Porsche is expanding its app-based subscription service to four new cities in the U.S. and Canada, deepening its experiment i n flexible car ownership even as other automakers back away. Monthly subscribers can drive as many as 20 different model variants, have vehicles delivered to them, and only pay for gas. Insurance and maintenance are included.” - Bloomberg, Gabrielle Coppola Porsche tried out the Passport subscription service in Atlanta for about 2 years. Almost 200 people joined, and 80% of them had never owned a Porsche before. That’s a big deal. These are new customers, paying for access to luxury and performance -- not a single vehicle, but 20 different models. *** Andy Boenau (https://andyboenau.com) explores emerging trends that are altering How We Get Around.  You’re scratching your head about electric scooters,   You wonder if bike share could work in the suburbs,  You feel bad that buses aren’t used more, You have an opinion about autonomous vehicles, Your walking shoes need more wear, and You wish you didn’t have to drive so much. Mobility freedom, equitable access, emerging technology, subscription culture, and traffic safety. We have a lot to cover. *** https://twitter.com/boenau (https://twitter.com/boenau) https://linkedin.com/in/boenau (https://linkedin.com/in/boenau) Support this podcast