Ride-Hailing & the Future of Sustainable Transportation

 

Thursday, July 16, 2020
11 AM – 12 PM PT
Via Zoom

Since ride-hailing platforms burst onto the scene a decade ago, they have revolutionized the way people move around the urban environment. Their sudden rise in ridership has meant existing transportation systems and local governments have had to work rapidly to try and keep pace with and adapt to the burgeoning industry and changes in rider behavior. Panelists will look at the current and potential sustainability of ride-hailing, including questions surrounding sector emissions and the utilization of electric vehicles, systemic fit with public transportation, and labor and economic equity.

 

 

Moderator: Jordan Diamond, Executive Director, Center for Law, Energy & the Environment 

Panelists:

Deepak Rajagopal is an Associate Professor in the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and Dept. of Urban Planning. He holds a Ph.D. in Energy and Resources (UC Berkeley), Master of Science degrees in Ag. and Resource Economics (UC Berkeley), and Mechanical Engineering (U. of Maryland, College Park) and Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering (Indian Institute. of Technology, Madras). Prior to joining UCLA, he was a Post-doctoral researcher at the Energy Biosciences Institute, UC Berkeley. He also three years of experience as a Structural Engineer at United Technologies Research Center in Hartford, Connecticut. His fields of research include Industrial Ecology and Life cycle assessment, Energy Economics and Policy with focus on sustainable transportation, electric vehicles and bioenergy.

Presentation: Barriers to Battery electric vehicles in ride-hailing 

 

Joshua Skov is an Industry Mentor and Instructor at the Lundquist College of Business and the Center for Sustainable Business Practices at the University of Oregon. He has spent the last twenty years as a consultant to business and government on sustainability, carbon accounting, and climate change strategy. He has served on technical working groups of World Resources Institute and the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies. He currently serves on the Lane Transit District board of directors, to which he was appointed by Oregon Governor Kate Brown.

Presentation: The Carbon Footprint of Ride-Hailing: Greenhouse Gas Inventory Methodology for Rapid Use and Policy Engagement 

 

Adam Stocker is a transportation researcher with the Sustainable Economies Law Center and UC Berkeley’s Transportation Sustainability Research Center, where he studies the travel behavior, societal, and environmental effects of shared mobility services. His recent report examines peer-to-peer platform cooperatives as more equitable and sustainable alternatives to commercial ‘sharing economy’ platforms through a case study of a ride-hailing group in Austin, Texas called Arcade City. He holds a master’s degree in transportation engineering from UC Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree from UC Davis.

Presentation: Platform Cooperatives–A More Sustainable and Equitable Business Model

 

Additional Resources 

Institute for Development and Transportation Policy- Three Revolutions in Urban Transportation

Full Arcade City Study- Evaluating the Potential of Cooperative Ridesourcing: A Case Study of Arcade City in Austin, Texas

 

 

 

 

 

Learn more about the Project on the Energy and Environmental Impacts of the Digital Economy here. Thank you to The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for making this event and project possible.