D.C. groups oppose city’s real-time vehicle location tracking policy

A Washington, D.C., neighborhood advocacy group passed a resolution this week opposing the city’s adoption of a data-sharing process that would allow it to track the location of ride-hailing vehicles, dockless e-scooters, bicycles and mopeds in near-real time.

The group, called the DC Federation of Civic Associations, is the latest to voice opposition to an amendment made in February by the D.C. Department of Transportation. A change to the department’s “2020 Dockless Bike and Scooter Share” policy included a requirement that ride-hailing and dockless vehicle companies like Uber, Lyft and Lime share trip data “as close to real-time as possible, but with no more than a 3 minute delay.” That data, which is required to be shared using a set of APIs called Mobility Data Specifications, includes trip coordinates and times.