Ride-hailing Companies Diversify Their Business Models as States, Cities Try to Strike Regulatory Balance

By
Sean Slone
|
Friday, July 27, 2018 at 10:56 AM

The first seven months of 2018 have been a time of significant transition for the nation’s largest ride-hailing companies, Lyft and Uber. With new acquisitions, the companies are re-writing their corporate stories and seeking a future as not just tech-enabled taxi services but full-service, multimodal mobility providers. Meanwhile, policymakers around the country are exploring how to address the impacts of ride-hailing on cities, public transit, the ride-hailing workforce, the economy, the taxi industry, equity of access to transportation and other areas. Here’s a look at what’s happening with ride-hailing in a number of states, along with a collection of links to articles on recent industry developments and the latest research on ride-hailing’s impacts and policy implications.

Shuster’s Bill Seeks to “Further the National Conversation” on Infrastructure

By
Sean Slone
|
Tuesday, July 24, 2018 at 02:58 PM

U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster has offered a discussion draft of an infrastructure bill that speaks to a number of longstanding, difficult issues, including the future of the Highway Trust Fund, the short- and long-term future of the federal gas tax and the speed with which transportation projects are delivered. While most predict the bill has little chance of making it all the way through the process this year—at least prior to the midterm election—Shuster said in a statement the discussion draft is “intended to further the national conversation about the current state of America’s infrastructure and highlight some of the major roadblocks to funding and improving our transportation network.”

States Explore Ways to Address Infrastructure Challenges

By
Sean Slone
|
Friday, July 20, 2018 at 03:17 PM

A wide variety of reports have come out in recent works that provide a glimpse of the state of the nation’s infrastructure. And while state governments are doing what they can—often working within severe fiscal limitations—there is also plenty of evidence of just how daunting the task will be to shore up that infrastructure and get it ready for the future. Here are some recent updates on infrastructure conditions, state and local funding strategies being deployed and other infrastructure-related news.

Utah Demonstration Projects to Address Social Determinants of Health

By
Debra Miller
|
Thursday, July 12, 2018 at 11:00 AM

A new organization in Utah, the Utah Alliance for the Determinants of Health, has been formed to improve overall community health by addressing social needs such as housing instability, utility needs, food insecurity, interpersonal violence and transportation. These are all non-medical factors that influence a person’s health. Public health researchers suggest that social determinants of health may account for up to 60 percent of health outcomes.

States Explore Public-Private Partnerships for New Infrastructure Assets but Face Challenges

By
Sean Slone
|
Friday, July 6, 2018 at 12:14 PM

While a number of states have deployed public-private partnerships (P3s) to tackle infrastructure projects over the last decade, many believe the P3 industry in this country still has yet to take off in the way it has elsewhere in the world. That’s despite demonstrated success of P3s in traditional areas like managed lane projects and promising developments in a variety of new asset classes including airports, broadband projects and high-tech applications. And while the Trump administration looks to encourage more P3s and institutionalize their practices in federal programs, there are many factors that could limit growth in the industry and prevent any kind of a much-needed infrastructure push from ever getting off the ground in the years ahead. Those were just some of the takeaways from the Inframation Group’s U.S. P3 Infrastructure Forum 2018 held June 13-14 in New York City. The annual event brings together state and federal public officials and regional transportation authorities, along with infrastructure developers, investors and financiers to talk about the issues shaping the P3 industry’s future.