The town of Innisfil, Ontario, has a transit problem but instead of going the traditional route, they’re partnering up with Uber. Although the ride-share service has proven controversial in major cities across North America – including Toronto – Innisfil’s council approved the deal with the tech company in March. Pinellas County in Florida (US) was one of the earliest adopters of this approach. Several smaller communities followed.

Mayor Gord Wauchope said the decision came after a transit feasibility study was completed in 2015. The study recommended the town start with a one bus route that would have cost nearly $300,000. But the route would only service a small portion of the town. In 2016, the town’s planning department suggested going a different way – Uber. “To run a transit system in a town at this present time is too expensive. You’d have a lot of taxpayers paying taxes on a transit system they wouldn’t even be able to use,” Wauchope explained.

“This was a great way to have everyone in the town participate in using the Uber system … Hopefully it will be a great benefit for the town of Innisfil and its residents.” Part of the appeal is the lower cost of running Uber versus a traditional transit system. “We all know transit systems lose money. This way we’re going to lose some money but it’s not going to be in the hundreds of thousands, it’s going to be $100,000 maybe $125,000,” Wauchope said.

Residents will pay a base fee to travel around the town and the city will foot the bill for the rest of the fare. Uber will offer discounted trips to certain destinations in the town. “We were thrilled when the Town of Innisfil approached us last year as they were interested in running a dynamic ridesharing-based transit service to test the feasibility of such a service in the Town,” Uber said in a statement.

“Since then, we have worked closely with Town staff to develop a public transit partnership that will provide affordable and cost effective transit to their residents.” Wauchope said taxis will still operate in Innisfil and offer services not available through Uber, such as accessibility transportation. The project will officially launch May 1.

Read more: http://www.citynews.ca/2017/04/04/town-innisfil-partners-uber-solve-transit-problems/

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/innisfil-ont-chooses-uber-over-buses-in-canadian-first-1.3355348?autoPlay=true

• Uber now offering (cheaper) solutions for public transport.

On March 22 and 23 the Brabant Kempen House (The Netherlands – near Eindhoven) organized the first conference for rural areas in Europe,

The Rural Summit 2017. The conference was a follow-up to the nomination of the Brabantse Kempen as one of the 21 smartest rural regions of the world in 2016. The conference drew a picture of the challenges that rural regions face in terms of economic growth, sustainability, aging and the new opportunities created by the (extended) use of digital applications.

More than 200 participants from 12 countries shared their ideas and experiences on the question if the difference between urban and rural is fading because of the possibilities created by internet and broadband. International speakers presented their examples of digitally connected regions which lead to stronger economic and more vital rural regions with a more robust connection to urban areas.

The conference was attended by delegates and directors from different European regions. To ensure more attention and policies for rural regions in Europe, the Commissioner of King Wim van de Donk encouraged everyone to commit themselves to enhancing connections between European rural regions.

Companies and organizations from the Brabant Kempen region participated in ‘best practices’ during thematic sessions. The Brabant Kempen House looks back on an inspiring, informative and connecting convention. The conference was made possible by, chairwoman and Mayor Anja Thijs-Rademakers of the municipality Eersel, in cooperation with the Kempen municipalities, the Province of Brabant, the Metropolitan Region Eindhoven, Brainport Development, industry and education partners and the Intelligent Community Forum.

The Brabant Kempen House is going to build the European network of smart rural regions further and seeks to work on concrete projects with partners that contribute to a sustainable vital Kempen in the Brainport region, but also those of other European rural areas.

• The First Rural Summit was held in the Brabantse Kempen.

Hotel room? Check. Flight? Check. Taxi to the airport? Check. What about getting from the airport to your hotel in the city centre? An airport transfer bus could be the best option. Chances are, if you’re an inbound or infrequent traveller, you will wonder where to search and book this last leg. Imagine if that was taken care of through your travel retailer, removing all the uncertainty and stress, just as you would book a flight.

This scenario can now become a reality. With market liberalisation and growing competition, the bus is showing itself more and more to be a promising travel alternative. Now, it’s time to grow at full speed. In a bid to make this travel option much more attractive, accessible and convenient, Amadeus is today announcing new partnership with Distribusion Technologies.

Distribusion brings over 300 airport bus transfer & intercity bus operators in 2.500 destinations to Amadeus’ travel seller network. A single gateway to all this content means travel sellers can easily broaden their offer, attract new types of customers and drive revenues, all while forgetting about costly one-to-one setup and commercial relationships. With content, search, booking, payment, ticketing and settlement capabilities covered, travel agencies can focus on adapting this new offer to travellers, and in turn, bus companies will be more visible to new customers in new channels, ultimately driving sales growth. Initially, Amadeus travel sellers in central, eastern and southern Europe will be able to access Distribusion bus content with more across the world expected to join soon.

“Travelling by bus is an attractive choice for many, but could be for many more. Bus operators now have a complete package to unlock growth and make a significant footprint in the global travel industry. Our two partnerships with Betterez and Distribusion could not come at a better moment, when new entrants and market dynamics are pushing towards improving the overall offer and experience” said Antoine de Kerviler, Head of Rail & Ground Travel at Amadeus. “Imagine booking a convenient airport bus transfer on top of your flight and a weekend getaway by rail – all on the same itinerary through your travel retailer – this is door-to-door travel at its best.”

Julian Hauck, Founder & CEO of Distribusion said “Travel sellers are paying more attention to bus travel to continue enriching their offer to travellers, and have been longing to add this kind of content in a simple, standardised and effective way for some time. The combination of our market leading bus content with Amadeus’ travel seller network will open the door to new travellers. We’re really looking forward to this new phase with Amadeus.”

• Bus booking made as simple as flight booking: Distribusion joins Amadeus.

Have you even wanted a quick update on the major developments in the taxi, PHV and larger mobility world? Put yourself completely in the picture? And network with many colleagues in the taxi and mobility world?

Then you need to register for Taxi & Mobility Update 2017, a two-day annual international event held in Brussels on May 4 and 5, which will give you a fairly complete picture of changing mobility from various perspectives: operators, aggregators, regulators, academics, mobility specialists, public transport…. Come and join us in Brussels on May 4 and 5 and REGISTER NOW.

What will we be talking about in Brussels? About ‘All change!’ Mobility is changing rapidly. Mobility solutions are getting more personalised. Apps and different providers are making the mobility landscape more individualised. Yet the players of tomorrow won’t be today’s transport providers. Who drives tomorrow’s mobility?

Tomorrow’s mobility will be more tailormade. Even before autonomous vehicles appear on our streets, Taxi and For Hire Vehicles, Transportation Network Companies (TNC’s), public transport operators, coach companies and bike and carsharing systems will each fill in part of the mobility puzzle. And how close are we to that autonomous future? Come to Brussels and find out!

Who’s going to do what? Which operator or company is going to take the lead? What will be the new business models? And what will be the role of governments and regulators –local ones, the ones on state level, national institutions or even international ones like the EU? Will mega-cities have a say? Let us provide you with the answers!

The international two-day annual Taxi & Mobility Update – unique in this area, straddling various forms of transport – gives an in-depth overview of the mobility industry and provides (smart) answers to solving the mobility puzzle. More like an international masterclass, this event unites various players from a number of different industries. We traditionally provide ample opportunities for networking.

After our very topical keynote speakers (soon to be revealed) this time we have planned exciting sessions on:

• The future (and drivers) of urban mobility: quo vadis public transport?
• Mobility on Demand (MOD) and Mobility as a Service (MaaS): who’s in the driving seat?
• New business models: the taxi and FHV industry’s fightback
• The latest on autonomous vehicles: what’s the taxi industry’s role?
• Regulatory changes on various levels: EU, regional and local
• International consolidation: why buy a cab or FHV-company?
• Technological change: accessible vehicles, meters and IT-solutions
• Electromobility: plug-in or hydrogen?
• International challenges – local responses. Why?

In the heart of Europe, specialists from all over the world will provide our target-audience (taxi and FHV-operators, public transport specialists, TNC’s, regulators, mobility associations, academics, consultants, politicians and suppliers to the mobility industry) with answers to solving the mobility puzzle: Who’s in the driving seat?

Join us in Brussels on May 4 and 5! Follow us on www.taxiintelligence.com and www.mobilityintell.com and register here for Taxi & Mobility Update 2017: http://www.mobilityintell.com/update-2017/

• Taxi & Mobility Update 2017: Register now!