Populus And Lime Team Up To Share Vehicle Data Through Mobility Platform For Cities
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. December 4, 2018 — Populus, a platform that helps cities access and utilize data from shared bikes and scooters for policy and planning, has signed an new agreement with Lime to provide data to the Seattle Department of Transportation to support their recent launch of free-floating car-sharing, known as LimePod.
Through this new partnership, Populus will receive real-time data from Lime’s shared car fleet through a standardized format to report on parking utilization and deliver other key insights to the City of Seattle. With the mass arrival of dockless bikes and scooters, cities around the world have mandated and received locational data from bikes and scooters for policy and planning. This summer, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) introduced the Mobility Data Specification to help cities receive private mobility data in a consistent format; Populus and Lime will use this new standard to facilitate data sharing for the LimePod fleet.
This new agreement between Populus and Lime marks the first agreement by a major operator of shared cars to proactively deliver GPS based fleet data through a trusted, third-party platform for data transparency to a city. Although cities across the country have been successful in requiring that dockless bike and scooter data be shared with third-party platforms such as Populus since they first began to arrive on city streets, this expansion with Lime for car-sharing reporting and parking validation is significant because it paves a much-needed path forward for cities and private mobility operators to coordinate for efficient curbside utilization of shared vehicles.
“Lime is committed to partnering with local governments as we launch new services,” said Emily Warren, Senior Director of Policy and Public Affairs at Lime. “We’re excited to work with Populus to deliver data that will help the City of Seattle evaluate the use of curb space and develop new parking strategies that will help reduce vehicle ownership.”
Populus is the first mobility data platform to provide cities with insights with data directly from operators of shared bikes, scooters, and cars. By working collaboratively with the public sector and mobility operators, Populus delivers essential insights to cities on how people’s transportation choices and travel patterns are changing.
“As new mobility services continue to expand, cities need access to better information for policy and planning. Populus is a leader in delivering shared mobility data to cities to evaluate how they are being used and to plan for the future,” says Don MacKenzie, an engineering professor at the University of Washington and expert on shared mobility.
The Populus platform is currently being used by cities from coast to coast to evaluate and plan for shared mobility services, including dockless electric scooters and bikes. Their secure, third-party solution, Populus Mobility Manager, helps cities easily access real-time data from private operators develop data-driven policies and plan infrastructure to accommodate new mobility solutions.
“Populus works hand-in-hand with cities and mobility operators to help deliver safer, more efficient streets for all people - through better data.” said Regina Clewlow, CEO and Co-Founder of Populus. “We’re excited to partner with Lime in Seattle to deliver a solution that can help the city assess curb use with shared vehicle data. Mobility services such as free-floating car-sharing, dockless bikes and scooters are providing new alternatives for people to get around without owning a car. With access to data on how these services are being used, cities and the private sector can work more collaboratively to design a better transportation future.”
About Populus
Populus helps cities and private mobility providers deliver safe, efficient, and equitable streets through better data and analytics. Founded by transportation PhDs from MIT and UC Berkeley who are leading experts on shared mobility and the future of transportation, the Populus team combines over 30 years of experience building software for cities and facilitating partnerships between the public sector and private mobility operators. Populus is headquartered in San Francisco, California.