Didi, Lyft, Ola, Uber, Via, Zipcar, Keolis among companies to announce joint vision for the future of cities

February 1, 2018—Fifteen of the world’s leading transport and technology companies signed the Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities today, pledging to prioritize people over vehicles, lower emissions, promote equity and encourage data sharing, among other goals. The companies include: BlaBlaCar, Citymapper, Didi, Keolis, LimeBike, Lyft, Mobike, Motivate, Ofo, Ola, Scoot Networks, Transit, Uber, Via and Zipcar.

City streets are a finite resource that are getting increasingly congested and polluted. The 15 companies that signed the principles have a massive impact on how people live, work and play in cities across the world. Together they account for 77 million passenger trips per day and inform the travel decisions of 10 million people each day.

New technologies and modes of transport are already disrupting the status quo and changing the way people move. The pace of innovation is rapid and filled with opportunity, as well as risk, because decisions made today will lock in infrastructure for decades to come. The Shared Mobility Principles provide a clear vision for the future of cities and create alignment between the city governments, private companies and NGOs working to make them more livable.

The principles were developed by Robin Chase, Zipcar co-Founder, and a consortium of leading city and transport organizations including: the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, Natural Resources Defense Council, Partnership on Sustainable Low Carbon Transport (SLoCaT), Transportation for America (T4America), Rocky Mountain Institute, Shared-Use Mobility Center, and WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities.

"For most cities, urban planners, legislators and residents, there is a cacophony of advice," said Chase, a WRI Board Director. "Our goal is to align cities, the private sector and civil society around a shared vision to ensure we harness the good and avoid the bad of new business models and technologies. These companies represent some of the biggest players and we are thrilled to see we share common goals, like a commitment to zero-emission vehicles and efficient use of urban roads."

"WRI is a proud signatory and founding supporter of the Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities,” said Ani Dasgupta, Global Director of WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. “We believe strongly that the future of cities depends on new mobility services that are sustainable and work for everyone. These companies, often competitors, are some of the most important actors in the urban ecosystem and their commitments today represent a step toward a common vision for the future of cities.”

The Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities:

  1. We plan our cities and their mobility together.
  2. We prioritize people over vehicles.
  3. We support the shared and efficient use of vehicles, lanes, curbs, and land.
  4. We engage with stakeholders.
  5. We promote equity.
  6. We lead the transition towards a zero-emission future and renewable energy.
  7. We support fair user fees across all modes.
  8. We aim for public benefits via open data.
  9. We work towards integration and seamless connectivity.
  10. We support that autonomous vehicles in dense urban areas should be operated only in shared fleets.

To learn more about the principles, visit www.sharedmobilityprinciples.org.

ADDITIONAL QUOTES:

"BlaBlaCar was founded on the belief that shared mobility can help meet travel aspirations in a resource-efficient way, whilst bringing people together," said Nicolas Brusson, Co-Founder & CEO at BlaBlaCar. "We are committed to the Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities, and to its group of stakeholders. It will take all of us thinking creatively and collaboratively together to transition to smarter mobility at scale."

"Didi is committed to working with communities and partners to solve the world’s transportation, environmental and employment challenges using big data-driven deep-learning algorithms that optimize resource allocation," said Wensong Zhang, Senior Vice President and Chief Scientist at Didi Chuxing. "By continuously improving the user experience and creating social value, we strive to build an open, efficient, collaborative and sustainable transportation ecosystem."

"As a leader in public transport, Keolis has a solid foundation for the mobility of the future, which we see as being connected, autonomous, shared and electric. These elements are key to addressing the world’s rapid urbanization, as we all strive to make life in cities more pleasant and livable," said Bernard Tabary, CEO International at Keolis. "Through our diverse portfolio of mass transit solutions and on-demand transport services, our innovative approach is already benefiting many communities. This partnership with its guiding vision of more liveable cities comes at the perfect time. Keolis is a proud signatory and partner for this charter. We feel that we share a common vision with all those businesses involved to work tirelessly to deliver mobility solutions that enhance urban environments across the world."

"At Lyft, we believe our cities should be built around people not cars. That's why we've committed to the Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities and are excited to join them in supporting policies that encourage shared rides, fair use fees, and truly multi-modal communities. Working together we can have a real impact on congestion, making our cities easier to get around and more enjoyable to live in." Joseph Okpaku, Vice President of Public Policy, Lyft.

"In cities around the world, people's lives improve significantly from the responsible expansion of shared transportation options including bikes, rides and cars," said Davis Wang, CEO and co-founder, Mobike. "As a group, we all have the same goal of improving quality of life in cities, and now, united, we have a framework for how our systems can collectively work toward this goal."

"At Motivate, we have always worked in close collaboration with cities to design bike share solutions that work for them and that reflect the priorities enshrined in the Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities," said Jay Walder, CEO of Motivate International, Inc. "No two cities — or even two neighborhoods — are exactly alike, and mobility providers need to understand the unique needs of distinct communities. But everyone can unite around the idea that cities need to move quickly to become more sustainable, more equitable, and more livable. The mobility sector has a key role to play in enabling that revolution, and we’re proud to be at the forefront and to support this new partnership."

"At our core, ofo is committed to creating a more equitable, accessible world, and we know our greener, more affordable bike-sharing platform can have a significant and lasting effect, greatly transforming cities for the best," said Chris Taylor, head of North America, ofo. "As a leader in the dockless bike-sharing revolution, we’re proud to join such an impressive group in signing onto the Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities, all equally as committed to improving lives and communities around the world."

"Ola, India's most popular mobility platform, shares and supports the vision of Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities. At Ola, we are committed to always building solutions that are smart and sustainable for our cities. We are on the mission of building mobility for a billion people and strongly believe that the future of mobility is shared, connected, and electric," said an Ola spokesperson.

"Scoot was created as a model of principled transportation and with the mission of offering Electric Vehicles for Everyone. Before launching the first mass-affordable, urban electric vehicle service, I was an urban planner, environmentalist, and advocate for open transportation data. I am proud that Scoot is joining with other new mobility services, local governments, and communities to make life in cities more livable," said Michael Keating, founder & CEO, Scoot Networks.

"From the start, Transit has promoted sustainable, equitable, open and connected transportation," said Jake Sion, COO of Transit. "Our mission is to make it easy to get around without your own car, so we integrate not only public transportation, but also the latest bikeshare, carshare and ridehail options. At a time when technology is evolving quickly, it's important to have a foundational set of values and a clear vision for the future. The Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities articulate that vision, and we are proud to endorse them."

"We’re proud to support the Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities. At Uber, we believe the goal of reducing private car ownership is one we share with people and cities around the world. On its own, technology is not a solution for urban problems. But done right—and in partnership with others—we believe shared mobility has the potential to contribute to a better world for all," said Andrew Salzberg, Head of Transportation Policy and Research, Uber.

"As a leading technology developer and provider of on-demand, dynamically routed shared rides, Via is thrilled to endorse these principles," said Andrei Greenawalt, Vice President for Public Policy, Via. "We support policies that discourage the use of vehicles with only one passenger, and that incentivize true sharing. We also believe that to most effectively reduce congestion, free up space for better uses, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and improve livability, cities should only allow the operation of autonomous vehicles as part of shared fleets. We look forward to working with this group to ensure that advances in technology help transform our communities for the better."

"As a category-defining leader in shared mobility, supporting the principles is a natural fit for Zipcar. We have nearly two decades of experience managing a distributed, shared fleet and a seamless, integrated member experience that provides access to sustainable mobility. We have routinely partnered with both public and private entities to further our vision of a shared mobility future," said Justin Holmes, director of corporate communications and public policy, Zipcar. "At Zipcar, we are driven by a mission—to enable simple and responsible urban living—and we believe that by joining together with this coalition, we can better realize our common goal of shared, autonomous, sustainable and equitable mobility for all."