Skip to main content

Detroit pilots new data standard for dockless mobility

Several organisations are coming together in Detroit, US, to pilot a new tool to analyse mobility data for dockless bikes and scooters. The aim is to allow urban authorities which work with dockless mobility providers to share and analyse trip data, including trip origins and destinations, neighbourhood availability, travel times and usage. This should give them the chance to allocate street space to sustainable transportation, improve safety and provide more equal access to transport services. Detroit M
November 16, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Several organisations are coming together in Detroit, US, to pilot a new tool to analyse mobility data for dockless bikes and scooters.


The aim is to allow urban authorities which work with dockless mobility providers to share and analyse trip data, including trip origins and destinations, neighbourhood availability, travel times and usage.

This should give them the chance to allocate street space to sustainable transportation, improve safety and provide more equal access to transport services.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) and SharedStreets made the announcement, and will be using scooter data provided by Bird and Lime.

SharedStreets will lead the work to establish what it calls “an open-source data ecosystem that allows cities and companies to work from consistent transportation datasets while rigorously protecting personal privacy”.

“In just one year, scooters have completely transformed mobility,” says Duggan. “In Detroit, we took a forward-looking view on this new option to understand how it could make it easier for Detroiters to get around. Our next step is to use data to better inform our decisions, whether it’s providing more mobility options in more neighbourhoods or making sure scooters aren’t blocking the right of way.’”

“Our cities are open to new forms of transportation, but the public sector needs the data on how the public gets around,” said Seleta Reynolds, president of NACTO.

278 Ford Motor Company, 8336 Uber and 8789 Lyft agreed last month to %$Linker: 2 Internal <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 4 36955 0 link-external share data false /categories/utc/news/ford-uber-and-lyft-to-share-data-through-sharedstreets/ false false%> through the SharedStreets platform, saying that such partnerships “give cities unparalleled access to data, allowing them to make better planning and investment decisions”.

Related Content

  • LA launches own ‘Green New Deal’
    August 15, 2019
    Los Angeles, once a temple to the automobile, has followed the Democrats in launching its own Green New Deal – and the city has made big pledges on urban mobility investment The Democratic Party has started something. The Green New Deal, one of whose most high-profile supporters is new congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, intends to persuade the public that swift action is necessary to combat climate change. Now the city of Los Angeles has followed suit, releasing what it calls ‘LA’s Green New Deal’.
  • Lyft offering free rides for cancer patients in Atlanta
    June 27, 2018
    Lyft is offering free trips for cancer patients seeking treatment in Atlanta, US. The initiative is part of an extended partnership with the American Cancer Society (ACS). ASC uses Lyft’s Concierge web platform to request rides on behalf of patients who do not have a ride or who are unable to drive themselves, according to media reports. The programme will also launch in Cincinnati, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New Jersey, Philadelphia and St. Louis.
  • Ex-Conduent CEO: ‘I am not a career transportation person’
    June 11, 2019
    Just prior to resigning as Conduent Transportation CEO, Mick Slattery talked to Adam Hill about the importance of digital and how tech can transform ITS. "I am not a career public sector person,” declares Mick Slattery, chief executive officer of Conduent Transportation, at the beginning of his interview with ITS International. “I am not a career transportation person. I am new to this industry, effective August last year. At my core I’ve spent my career creating and launching new opportunities for clie
  • Honeywell and Volocopter sign air taxi testing deal
    April 16, 2019
    German urban air taxi manufacturer Volocopter has signed a deal with Honeywell to jointly develop new navigation and automatic landing systems. They will be used on Volocopter’s vertical take-off and landing aircraft - perhaps as early as this year, the companies suggest. “A key goal of our collaboration is to fly a Honeywell inertial measurement-based attitude reference system solution in one of our Volocopters in 2019,” says Jan Hendrik Boelens, chief technology officer, Volocopter. Urban air mob