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”.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Gig launches electric car-share service in Sacramento
    May 3, 2019
    Gig has launched its an electric car-share service in Sacramento, California, and will award one member of its programme a year of free driving. Gig says members can participate in the competition by taking a trip with the service until 31 May. The company says the app allows users to see available cars and book up to 30 minutes in advance or instantly choose any of its vehicles which are display a green windshield light. The car can be unlocked via a smartphone and be driven from using a power butt
  • Ford plans AV transport in Austin in 2021
    October 4, 2019
    Ford Motor is to launch an autonomous vehicle (AV) transportation service in Austin, Texas, by 2021. Reuters says Ford is testing a self-driving system - developed with Argo AI, an AV technology company backed by Ford - in its Fusion Hybrid sedans. Sherif Marakby, chief executive of Ford autonomous vehicles, says the company is planning to launch the service using hybrids that can carry either people or goods. Argo AI says teams will manually drive the Fusion test vehicles to map the city’s streets an
  • Intertraffic Amsterdam 2016 Innovation Awards finalists
    February 1, 2016
    Smart and innovative thinking will again be awarded at the world’s largest, and best attended, trade fair for the infrastructure, traffic management, safety, parking, and smart mobility sectors, when the winners of the 2016 Intertraffic Innovation Awards are announced on 5 April during the opening ceremony.
  • ITS America: 2018 Call for Papers/ sessions now open, Detroit
    December 21, 2017
    The Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) is now accepting papers to narrate this year’s theme, Transportation 2.0, for its 27th Annual Meeting technical program. The event will take place from 4-7 June 2018, in Detroit, Michigan. Papers for this year need to be related to one of six main topics: Connectivity, Autonomy and the Future of Transportation; Cybersecurity and Privacy Opportunities and Challenges; Electrification and Infrastructure and; Regulatory and Financial Challenges