The Automotus team is excited to share that we’ve joined the Open Mobility Foundation (OMF), a non-profit organization committed to the development of open-source software that helps cities better manage their streets — and Aryan Davani, Head of Policy and Partnerships at Automotus, will help lead its new Curb Management Working Group as a member of the steering committee.
Working alongside leading cities, such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York, and some of the most innovative mobility companies, such as Ford AV, Waymo, Spin, and Coord, Automotus will contribute to Mobility Data Specification (MDS) — a digital tool that standardizes communication and data-sharing between cities and private mobility providers, such as e-scooter and bike share companies. However, until now data specifications for curb management specifically have not existed, making it difficult for cities to keep up with the rapidly evolving needs of their residents.
Today that’s changing. As part of the Curb Management Working Group, our team will contribute open code for our leading curb management solutions, including data collection standards used by cities to capture and analyze multimodal curbside use and occupancy. Other members of the steering committee include Waymo, Ford AV, Los Angeles Department of Transportation, City of Minneapolis, and San Francisco MTA. This kind of consensus-building and creation of standardized APIs will transform the way cities manage their curbs, from new options for dynamic ride-hailing and food delivery pick-up/drop off spaces to time restricted freight/delivery zones. Simply put: common standards for managing the curb will mean safer, less congested, and more equitable streets for our communities.
The best solutions are always the product of varying viewpoints, expertise, tech, and people — and we’re honored to collaborate with the diverse group of cities and innovators across the globe to solve our shared mobility challenges at a time when we’re all working to keep up with the rapidly evolving demands on mobility and our streets.