If you spend any time of your day driving during the commuting hours, you’re very familiar with traffic. But what are transit authorities doing to address the ever-growing traffic problems many cities are now afflicted with? If you’ve been asking that question, you won’t want to miss this episode.
If you’d like to read a transcript of this podcast, please click here.
Intro
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Today I’m talking with Joshua Schank
- First-ever Chief Innovation Officer for the LA County Metro
- Urban planner by trade
- A realist – he can really speak to the biggest challenges facing transit, congestion pricing, etc.
Intro to Joshua Schank
- Chief Innovation Officer for the Los Angeles County Metro
- Background in urban planning
- Dislikes traffic – now works in LA!
- Day to day job involves solving transportation problems in LA in creative ways
Challenges Facing LA Transportation
- The way we use our transportation network is the issue
- Efficiently allocate space
- Traffic does not have to be our default
- Testing new ways to address transportation in a major city
Solutions for Addressing Transportation Issues
- Congestion pricing – is it feasible?
- Attacking Uber/Lyft is easy – but not necessarily the best way to go!
- Issues are more systemic than TNCs
- Combine the best of TNCs with the best of the public sector
Mobility on Demand
- Partnership with Via
- Best of TNC and best of Metro
- Pilot program (grant program)
- Uses TNC to get to Metro stations – first/last mile
- Just approved for a second year – outperformed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Upcoming Innovative Transit Opportunities
- Incentives – Travel Rewards Program
- Partnering with TNCs to encourage people to not drive alone
- Work with employers around LA to incentivize people to not drive alone
- Encourage a mode shift
Outro
- Big thanks to Dr. Schank for coming on the podcast and chatting all about the current and future states of mobility in LA
- I’m very excited about the pilots coming out – it’s not just studies anymore
- Cities still have a ways to go, but clearly there are hardworking and talented people working on this
- Follow along with the Request For Proposal (RFP) process – LA Metro website below – they’re not just for big companies!
Show Notes
- Dr. Joshua Schank on Twitter @JoshuaSchank
- LA Metro Website
- The Source: Transportation News & Views