What's the 'Big' Deal with Shared Micromobility? Evolution, Curb Policy, and Potential Developments in North America

Shared micromobility – or short-term access to shared bikes and scooters – provides a flexible alternative for households living in urban areas, individuals seeking first- and last-mile connections to public transportation, and those without access to a private vehicle trying to reach jobs and essential services. In this paper, the authors discuss the history, growth, and evolution of bike and scooter sharing in North America; summarize the demographics and impacts of shared micromobility; and explore shared micromobility policies and practices for managing devices and operations such as: device caps, service area limitations, designated parking areas, fees, equipment/operational requirements, and enforcement. In the future, enhancements in device automation, battery range, charging times, and weight are likely to contribute to the evolution and development of additional devices and service models, which could allow improved range and e-hail for shared micromobility devices.

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Assessing the First and Last Mile Problem for Intercity Passenger Rail Service

2018 Joint Rail Conference ◽

10.1115/jrc2018-6172 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Lisa Lorena Losada Rojas ◽

Konstantina “Nadia” Gkritza ◽

V. Dimitra Pyrialakou

Keyword(s):

Public Transportation ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Short Distance ◽

Service Providers ◽

Public Transit ◽

Passenger Rail ◽

Last Mile ◽

Study Results ◽

Rail Service

The first and last mile of a trip has been used to describe passenger travel with regards to getting to and from transit stops/stations. Solving the first and last mile (FMLM) problem extends the access to transportation systems and enlarges the number of passengers from a remote community, such as rural areas. The FMLM problem has been addressed in different public transit contexts, mainly within urban areas. However, it is also an important part of the journey in an intercity trip; yet, limited research efforts have been undertaken to examine the FMLM problem that intercity passenger train riders face. This paper fills in this gap and further, aims to identify the best strategies that could serve as a FMLM solution for short distance intercity passenger rail service (i.e., corridors that are less than 750 miles long according to the Passenger Rail Improvement and Investment Act, 2008). The Hoosier State Train (HST) service, a short-distance intercity passenger rail that connects Chicago and Indianapolis four days a week, was chosen as a case of study. The HST has four intermediate stops located in Indiana. For some of those intermediate stops HST is the only intercity public transit service offered to reach either Chicago or Indianapolis. In order to explore opportunities to enhance the HST ridership, an on-board survey was conducted in November and December 2016. The findings of this survey suggested that there are riders who travel from counties further away from a county with a station to reach and complete their journey on the train. Moreover, it was found that most of the respondents drove or rented a car, or were dropped off to reach a train station in Indiana. Unlike the results from the Chicago station, the majority of riders boarding the train from one of the Indiana stations did not use ridesharing services or public transportation. These findings suggest that there is a possible gap into the FMLM travel options for intercity rail riders and alternative options to fill this gap should be considered. This paper discusses the case study results of an accessibility analysis aiming to identify the areas in need of first/last mile service where there are no public transportation services and/or it is costly to reach a station from a desired origin. To that end, a cost surface for the different modes available in the area of study was created to determine the average travel cost to the nearest station. The analysis was carried out in ArcGIS using origin-destination data from the on-board survey, transportation network information from the U.S. Bureau Transportation Statistics, and general transit feed specification (GTFS) data. Subsequently, some of the best strategies identified were modeled around the station (e.g., shuttle buses to/from the station) in order to examine how the accessibility would increase after a strategy implementation. The results of this study may have far-reaching implications for planning strategies that can enhance access to the train stations. Finally, the FMLM strategies could assist intercity passenger rail service providers attract a larger number of passengers.

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Short-Term Rental Forecast of Urban Public Bicycle Based on the HOSVD-LSTM Model in Smart City

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s20113072 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (11) ◽

pp. 3072 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Dazhou Li ◽

Chuan Lin ◽

Wei Gao ◽

Zihui Meng ◽

Qi Song

Keyword(s):

Time Series ◽

Prediction Model ◽

Public Transportation ◽

Smart City ◽

Tensor Decomposition ◽

Multiple Time ◽

Short Term ◽

Last Mile ◽

Source Data ◽

Higher Order Tensors

As a kind of transportation in a smart city, urban public bicycles have been adopted by major cities and bear the heavy responsibility of the “last mile” of urban public transportation. At present, the main problem of the urban public bicycle system is that it is difficult for users to rent a bike during peak h, and real-time monitoring cannot be solved adequately. Therefore, predicting the demand for bicycles in a certain period and performing redistribution in advance is of great significance for solving the lag of bicycle system scheduling with the help of IoT. Based on the HOSVD-LSTM prediction model, a prediction model of urban public bicycles based on the hybrid model is proposed by transforming the source data (multiple time series) into a high-order tensor time series. Furthermore, it uses the tensor decomposition technology (HOSVD decomposition) to extract new features (kernel tenor) from higher-order tensors. At the same time, these kernel tenors are directly used to train tensor LSTM models to obtain new kernel tenors. The inverse tensor decomposition and high-dimensional, multidimensional, and tensor dimensionality reduction were introduced. The new kernel tenor obtains the predicted value of the source sequence. Then the bicycle rental amount is predicted.

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Towards a Sustainable Public Transportation: Replacing the Conventional Taxis by a Hybrid Taxi Fleet in the West Bank, Palestine

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17238940 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (23) ◽

pp. 8940 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Fady M. A. Hassouna ◽

Mahmoud Assad

Keyword(s):

Public Transportation ◽

Urban Areas ◽

West Bank ◽

Transportation Systems ◽

The West ◽

Environmental Impact Assessments ◽

The Future ◽

Vehicle Technologies ◽

Public Transportation Systems ◽

Transportation Agencies

Recently, developing sustainable public transportation systems has been highlighted by decision makers and transportation agencies, due to the development of urban areas and the related environmental problems. Implementing new vehicle technologies has been introduced as an appropriate alternative to the conventional taxis. Hybrid electrical vehicles (HEVs) have been the potential candidates for replacing the conventional taxis, since they are more eco-friendly than conventional ones and even more reliable than electric vehicles (EVs) as a mode of public transportation. In this study, current and future environmental impact assessments have been determined for the taxi fleet in the West Bank, Palestine, and the implications of using new vehicle technologies (hybrid taxis) as a replacement of the conventional taxi fleet have been investigated. In order to perform this study, firstly, the data of the number of taxis for the period of 1994–2018 have been collected and a prediction model for the future number of taxis has been developed. The expected total amounts of consumed fuels have been then estimated. Finally, the current and the future N2O and CO2, and emissions, have been estimated and the expected influences of hybrid taxis have been determined. The results of the analysis have concluded that replacing 50% of conventional taxis with a hybrid fleet could achieve 42.3% and 28% reductions in N2O and CO2, respectively, in the next 10 years. A 395% increase in CH4 could be obtained due to the higher amount of CH4 that is produced by the gasoline combustion compared to the diesel fuel, since hybrid vehicles have gasoline-based engines (GHG in terms of CO2-equivalent could be increased by 28.2%).

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Feasibility Study of a Building-Integrated PV Manager to Power a Last-Mile Electric Vehicle Sharing System

International Journal of Photoenergy ◽

10.1155/2017/8679183 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2017 ◽

pp. 1-12 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Manuel Fuentes ◽

Jesús Fraile-Ardanuy ◽

José L. Risco-Martín ◽

José M. Moya

Keyword(s):

Public Transportation ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Positive Energy ◽

Energy Storage Devices ◽

Case Scenario ◽

Total Energy Consumption ◽

Worst Case ◽

Last Mile ◽

Mobility System ◽

Electric Bicycle

Transportation is one of the largest single sources of air pollution in urban areas. This paper analyzes a model of solar-powered vehicle sharing system using building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), resulting in a zero-emission and zero-energy mobility system for last-mile employee transportation. As a case study, an electric bicycle sharing system between a public transportation hub and a work center is modeled mathematically and optimized in order to minimize the number of pickup trips to satisfy the demand, while minimizing the total energy consumption of the system. The whole mobility system is fully powered with BIPV-generated energy. Results show a positive energy balance in e-bike batteries and pickup vehicle batteries in the worst day of the year regarding solar radiation. Even in this worst-case scenario, we achieve reuse rates of 3.8 people per bike, using actual data. The proposed system manages PV energy using only the batteries from the electric vehicles, without requiring supportive energy storage devices. Energy requirements and PV generation have been analyzed in detail to ensure the feasibility of this approach.

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The Future of Muslim Education in the United States: An Agenda for Research

American Journal of Islam and Society ◽

10.35632/ajis.v20i3-4.524 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 20 (3-4) ◽

pp. 46-82

Author(s):

Fathi Malkawi

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

The United States ◽

American Education ◽

Future Trends ◽

Muslim Community ◽

Short Term ◽

The Future ◽

Muslim Education ◽

Future Plans

This paper addresses some of the Muslim community’s concerns regarding its children’s education and reflects upon how education has shaped the position of other communities in American history. It argues that the future of Muslim education will be influenced directly by the present realities and future trends within American education in general, and, more importantly, by the well-calculated and informed short-term and long-term decisions and future plans taken by the Muslim community. The paper identifies some areas in which a wellestablished knowledge base is critical to making decisions, and calls for serious research to be undertaken to furnish this base.

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Selecting Freight Transportation Modes in Last-Mile Urban Distribution in Pamplona (Spain): An Option for Drone Delivery in Smart Cities

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14164748 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (16) ◽

pp. 4748

Author(s):

Adrian Serrano-Hernandez ◽

Aitor Ballano ◽

Javier Faulin

Keyword(s):

Public Transportation ◽

Smart Cities ◽

Freight Transportation ◽

City Center ◽

Analytic Hierarchy ◽

Freight Logistics ◽

Transportation Modes ◽

Last Mile ◽

Urban Distribution ◽

The City

Urban distribution in medium-sized cities faces a major challenge, mainly when deliveries are difficult in the city center due to: an increase of e-commerce, weak public transportation system, and the promotion of urban sustainability plans. As a result, private cars, public transportation, and freight transportation compete for the same space. This paper analyses the current state for freight logistics in the city center of Pamplona (Spain) and proposes alternative transportation routes and transportation modes in the last-mile city center distribution according to different criteria evaluated by residents. An analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was developed. A number of alternatives have been assessed considering routes and transportation modes: the shortest route criterion and avoiding some city center area policies are combined with traditional van-based, bike, and aerial (drone) distribution protocols for delivering parcels and bar/restaurant supplies. These alternatives have been evaluated within a multicriteria framework in which economic, environmental, and social objectives are considered at the same time. The point in this multicriteria framework is that the criteria/alternative AHP weights and priorities have been set according to a survey deployed in the city of Pamplona (Navarre, Spain). The survey and AHP results show the preference for the use of drone or bike distribution in city center in order to reduce social and environmental issues.

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Electric Mobility in Cities: The Case of Vienna

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14010217 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 217

Author(s):

Amela Ajanovic ◽

Marina Siebenhofer ◽

Reinhard Haas

Keyword(s):

Electric Vehicles ◽

Future Development ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Renewable Energy Sources ◽

Road Transport ◽

Electric Mobility ◽

Policy Framework ◽

The Future ◽

Historical Developments

Environmental problems such as air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions are especially challenging in urban areas. Electric mobility in different forms may be a solution. While in recent years a major focus was put on private electric vehicles, e-mobility in public transport is already a very well-established and mature technology with a long history. The core objective of this paper is to analyze the economics of e-mobility in the Austrian capital of Vienna and the corresponding impact on the environment. In this paper, the historical developments, policy framework and scenarios for the future development of mobility in Vienna up to 2030 are presented. A major result shows that in an ambitious scenario for the deployment of battery electric vehicles, the total energy demand in road transport can be reduced by about 60% in 2030 compared to 2018. The major conclusion is that the policies, especially subsidies and emission-free zones will have the largest impact on the future development of private and public e-mobility in Vienna. Regarding the environmental performance, the most important is to ensure that a very high share of electricity used for electric mobility is generated from renewable energy sources.

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iBikeSafe: A Multi-Parameter System for Monitoring, Evaluation and Visualization of Cycling Paths in Smart Cities Targeted at Cycling Adverse Conditions

Smart Cities ◽

10.3390/smartcities4030056 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 1058-1086

Author(s):

Franklin Oliveira ◽

Daniel G. Costa ◽

Luciana Lima ◽

Ivanovitch Silva

Keyword(s):

Urban Areas ◽

Smart Cities ◽

Large City ◽

Health And Safety ◽

Parameter System ◽

Urban Centers ◽

Adverse Conditions ◽

Last Mile ◽

Real Scenario

The fast transformation of the urban centers, pushed by the impacts of climatic changes and the dramatic events of the COVID-19 Pandemic, will profoundly influence our daily mobility. This resulted scenario is expected to favor adopting cleaner and flexible modal solutions centered on bicycles and scooters, especially as last-mile options. However, as the use of bicycles has rapidly increased, cyclists have been subject to adverse conditions that may affect their health and safety when cycling in urban areas. Therefore, whereas cities should implement mechanisms to monitor and evaluate adverse conditions in cycling paths, cyclists should have some effective mechanism to visualize the indirect quality of cycling paths, eventually supporting choosing more appropriate routes. Therefore, this article proposes a comprehensive multi-parameter system based on multiple independent subsystems, covering all phases of data collecting, formatting, transmission, and processing related to the monitoring, evaluating, and visualizing the quality of cycling paths in the perspective of adverse conditions that affect cyclist. The formal interactions of all modules are carefully described, as well as implementation and deployment details. Additionally, a case study is considered for a large city in Brazil, demonstrating how the proposed system can be adopted in a real scenario.

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Future Changes in Tropical Cyclone and Easterly Wave Characteristics over Tropical North America

Oceans ◽

10.3390/oceans2020024 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 429-447

Author(s):

Christian Dominguez ◽

James M. Done ◽

Cindy L. Bruyère

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

North Atlantic Ocean ◽

Mitigation Strategies ◽

Track Density ◽

Caribbean Region ◽

Tropical Cyclogenesis ◽

Future Scenarios ◽

Southern Mexico ◽

The North ◽

The Future

Tropical Cyclones (TCs) and Easterly Waves (EWs) are the most important phenomena in Tropical North America. Thus, examining their future changes is crucial for adaptation and mitigation strategies. The Community Earth System Model drove a three-member regional model multi-physics ensemble under the Representative Concentration Pathways 8.5 emission scenario for creating four future scenarios (2020–2030, 2030–2040, 2050–2060, 2080–2090). These future climate runs were analyzed to determine changes in EW and TC features: rainfall, track density, contribution to seasonal rainfall, and tropical cyclogenesis. Our study reveals that a mean increase of at least 40% in the mean annual TC precipitation is projected over northern Mexico and southwestern USA. Slight positive changes in EW track density are projected southwards 10° N over the North Atlantic Ocean for the 2050–2060 and 2080–2090 periods. Over the Eastern Pacific Ocean, a mean increment in the EW activity is projected westwards across the future decades. Furthermore, a mean reduction by up to 60% of EW rainfall, mainly over the Caribbean region, Gulf of Mexico, and central-southern Mexico, is projected for the future decades. Tropical cyclogenesis over both basins slightly changes in future scenarios (not significant). We concluded that these variations could have significant impacts on regional precipitation.

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Specialist infantry and defence engagement

BMJ Military Health ◽

10.1136/bmjmilitary-2020-001455 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. bmjmilitary-2020-001455 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jonathan Blair Thomas Herron ◽

K M Heil ◽

D Reid

Keyword(s):

Armed Forces ◽

Short Term ◽

The Future ◽

Uk Government ◽

The Uk ◽

Insight Into

In 2015, the UK government published the National Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) 2015, which laid out their vision for the future roles and structure of the UK Armed Forces. SDSR 2015 envisaged making broader use of the Armed Forces to support missions other than warfighting. One element of this would be to increase the scale and scope of defence engagement (DE) activities that the UK conducts overseas. DE activities traditionally involve the use of personnel and assets to help prevent conflict, build stability and gain influence with partner nations as part of a short-term training teams. This paper aimed to give an overview of the Specialist Infantry Group and its role in UK DE. It will explore the reasons why the SDSR 2015 recommended their formation as well as an insight into future tasks.

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