Dive Brief:
- During a featured South by Southwest (SXSW) session dubbed "The Future of Transportation," panelists unveiled the Streets for All Coalition, a group intended to advocate for "improved mobility, equitable access and reduced car dependence in communities everywhere."
- The coalition will share expertise and best practices to execute on a number of principles, such as supporting access to sustainable modes of transportation; advancing Vision Zero principles; protecting pedestrian rights-of-way and sharing data. It has not yet detailed the concrete ways it will execute on these goals; Streets for All Coalition has not responded to Smart Cities Dive's request for comment.
- The founding members of the coalition include Bikemore, Bird, the California Bicycle Coalition, Circulate San Diego, the Climate Action Campaign, Forth Mobility, Monday Motorbike, New Jersey Bike & Walk Coalition, Razor, Spin and the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.
Dive Insight:
The coalition mirrors previous organizational efforts to promote shared mobility and discourage single-occupancy vehicles, such as the Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities and Smart Growth America's National Complete Streets Coalition. Cities around the world are increasingly piloting and implementing new mobility strategies to reduce vehicle congestion and curb carbon emissions, and as this trend continues, coalitions like Streets for All is crucial for to provide cohesive guidance and ensure systems are sustainable.
Bird's Chief Policy Officer David Estrada, who sat on the panel, said combating climate change is a driving force of the coalition, which is where the expertise of groups like the Climate Action Campaign will come into play. "We need a swift mode shift that replaces gas guzzling car trips with clean energy micromobility options" Estrada said in a statement.
While the coalition is made up of significant leaders in shared mobility and transportation, it lacks representation from local governments, which are key micromobility stakeholders. Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) general manager Seleta Reynolds said in a statement that her organization "shares the principles" of the coalition and "looks forward to this remarkable partnership." However LADOT has not yet been confirmed as a member of the coalition. No other municipal government is listed is a founding member of the coalition.
Micromobility giants such as Uber, Lyft and Lime are also missing from the list, though as the coalition develops, it is still possible those operators (and local governments) could join in. Lime hinted at participation in a comment to Smart Cities Dive, noting, "It’s great to see so much support for micromobility and the many benefits it offers communities around the globe, and we’re excited to continue our conversations with Streets for All and further engaging with the industry to help advance this new and evolving technology."
