Auckland Transport plans to remove kerbside parking from more areas to make space for more cycleways and bus lanes. Photo / Stephen Parker, File
Auckland Transport plans to remove kerbside parking from more areas to make space for more cycleways and bus lanes. Photo / Stephen Parker, File
Opinion
OPINION
At Uber, we know a lot about the demand for modern convenience. We revolutionised on-demand rideshare and we understand our customers want more things faster than ever contemplated before.
As the world finally moves again there also comes a renewed expectation for policymakers to consider how infrastructure can service businesses and communities efficiently and sustainably.
In a 2020 report analysing Future Ready Kerbside, we learned that by freeing up space for transit, new mobility, walking, and cycling, policymakers support local businesses by creating more space for outdoor dining, food and goods delivery, and improving access for people.
The kerb is a crucial piece of infrastructure in our cities. But it is often overlooked as a passive infrastructure asset reflecting an outdated approach to planning when the private car was deemed the future of transport.
With increased competition from mobility innovations including shared, electric and automated transport and a rapidly expanding delivery economy, competition for the kerb will only continue to swell.
At the heart of Auckland Transport's plan is an initiative targeting a 48 per cent increase in non-car mode share across the region by 2050, showing alternative modes are vitally important for thriving metropolitan areas - a view Uber shares.
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Elements of Auckland Transport's plan clearly reflect the Global Shared Mobility Principles, of which Uber and other mobility companies, governments and NGOs are signatories, to prioritise people over vehicles and support the shared and efficient use of vehicles, lane curbs, and land.
As Bernard Orsman's article on Auckland Transport's plan to remove kerbside parking for cycleways and bus lanes (NZ Herald, March 29) noted - "the approach to parking needs to change substantially over the next decade".
While it's true that policy implementation must be undertaken sustainably, it's also true that mindsets need to shift today in order to create cities of tomorrow.
Lucas Groeneveld. Photo / Supplied
Car-shaming is not the answer. But learning from cities around the world that are approaching old challenges with new ideas may bring us closer to the infrastructure solutions to create more liveable cities.
We're proud to have launched WSP's Future of Delivery report in Paris recently where it emerged that micro-mobility - defined as transportation over short distances by lightweight, usually single-person vehicles - is the smartest and most sustainable way to meet the growing demand to move goods through urban areas.
Like Auckland, Paris has also taken bold steps to enable the shift towards micro-mobility through policy reform and productive infrastructure. Some examples include lowered speed zones in high pedestrian areas, the construction of pick up and drop off spaces in restaurant-dense neighbourhoods and a plan to ban private vehicles from transiting through the historic heart of the city by early 2024.
The City of Paris' National Plan For Cycle Logistics is also seeking to triple the share of deliveries by non-polluting transport by 2024. They're doing this not by punishing car owners, but by incentivising people to purchase cargo bikes. Not only that, in the next three years they are offering up to $3 for each parcel delivered by cargo bikes.
Auckland is credited in the same report for its strong policy leadership and initiatives to meet its goal of a 64 per cent reduction in transport emissions by 2030.
The city has taken a number of steps to encourage mode shift away from personal cars including creating preparedness in its on-demand and shared mobility roadmaps; encouraging a shift to micro-mobility by embedding conditions during the planning stage; reform in funding allocation; and strong industry collaboration.
Cities from New York to London to Bogota, are already leveraging micro-mobility to reduce emissions and create more vibrant metros. Auckland is following with a truly holistic upgrade to infrastructure from roads to kerbs to appealing mass transit options.
The opportunities of embracing micro-mobility will touch the economy, the environment, and even our health. A global shift towards increased cycling could save cities $30 trillion by 2050 in lower energy use, a reduction in CO2 emissions, and savings in direct costs to citizens.
The city's goal to decarbonise the last mile with more efficient use of infrastructure is a very real possibility. It's something we should seize. But we need to frame it right in the hearts and minds of citizens across the globe.
Bringing together thought leaders from business, planning, design, and policy to ensure that cities, citizens, business, and the people who live, work, and travel on shared infrastructure all benefit from a safer, smarter multimodal approach is the way forward.
Auckland has taken the first steps.
• Lucas Groeneveld is general manager of Uber Eats NZ.
