Almost 500 people representing over 100 cities met in Chicago last week to discuss the future of shared transit at the Shared Use Mobility Summit (SUMC). The conference shed light on many changes occurring on our streets including implications of autonomous vehicles, rapid growth in ride  and bike sharing, and changing consumer preferences for automobiles, . 

Executive Director of SUMC, Sharon Feigon started the conference by pointing out that transportation is the #2 household expense in America, averaging 29% of household income. Much of this is driven by the cost of car ownership. She reiterated the mission of the Shared Mobility Use Center: making it possible to live well without owning a car through a multi-modal transit system available for all. ​Those shared modes include car sharing, bike sharing, and ride sharing. 

Last fall, I interviewed the founder of Pittsburgh Bike Share to gain a behind the scenes look at bike sharing. At the time, Pittsburgh Bike Share was only 5 months into operations. ​In this second article on the The Future of Bike Sharing, I checked-in to hear what they have learned after two busy seasons and one winter of operations. Erin Potts, Director of Marketing & Community Outreach shared her perspective on lessons learned as well as the future direction