Bay Area Bike Share Casual Users Survey Report

Authors: Susan Shaheen, Ph.D., Matthew Christensen, Isabel Viegas de Lima Published: May 2015 Abstract: This report examines two groups of individuals who are inherently not well understood to Bay Area Bike Share and other public bikesharing operators: casual users and non-users (i.e., individuals who examine the system but choose not to use it). Using publicly available data from Bay Area Bike Share’s website, researchers conducted a preliminary analysis to determine when and where intercept surveyors should be stationed. Two survey instruments were tailored specifically to casual and non-users. From the survey instruments, the researchers were able to glean information regarding demographics, socioeconomics, common trip purposes, reasons for choosing or not choosing to use Bay Area Bike Share, and other related data. Findings suggest that Bay Area Bike Share casual users are similar to annual members in educational attainment, income, and race but they differ in trip purpose, trip duration, and home city. Furthermore, researchers found that the majority of casual users did not fully understand the pricing structure, specifically relating to the fees applied to trips over 30 minutes. The pricing structure and the limited distribution of bikesharing stations were the two most frequently cited issues with the system by users and non-users. Overall, casual user satisfaction with BABS was relatively high....

Mobility and the Sharing Economy: Impacts Synopsis – Spring 2015

Authors: Susan Shaheen, PhD, and Nelson Chan Published: March 2015 Abstract: Shared-use mobility includes carsharing, personal vehicle sharing (or peer-to-peer (P2P) carsharing), bikesharing, scooter sharing, shuttle services, ridesharing, and on-demand ride services. It can also include commercial delivery vehicles providing flexible goods movement. Shared-use mobility has had a transformative impact on many global cities by enhancing transportation accessibility while simultaneously reducing ownership of personal automobiles. In the context of carsharing and bikesharing, vehicles and bicycles are typically unattended, concentrated in a network of locations where the transaction of checking out a vehicle or bicycles is facilitated through information technology (IT) and other technological innovations. Usually, carsharing and bikesharing operators are responsible for the cost of maintenance, storage, parking, and insurance/fuel (if applicable). In the context of classic ridesharing (carpooling and vanpooling) and on-demand ride services, such as transportation network companies (TNCs), many of these providers employ IT to facilitate the matching of riders and drivers for trip making. View...

Shared-Use Mobility Summit: Retrospective from North America’s First Gathering on Shared-use Mobility

Authors: Susan Shaheen and Matt Christensen Date: June 06, 2014 Abstract: Shared-use mobilitythe shared use of a vehicle, bicycle or other low-speed modeis an innovative transportation solution that enables users to have short-term access to a transportation mode. In North America, shared-use mobility encompasses the submarkets of carsharing, bikesharing, ridesharing, on-demand ride services, scooter sharing, shuttle services, and other emerging industries. In October 2013, the University of California, Berkeley’s Transportation Sustainability Research Center (TSRC) hosted the inaugural Shared-Use Mobility Summit in San Francisco, California. The summit was a two-day event that facilitated a dialogue among nearly 300 participants representing close to 200 organizations. Participants included mobility providers, policymakers, governmental agencies, non-profits, technologists, academics, media, other stakeholders, and affiliated industries. One hundred and five (105) private companies attended the summit, and 62 governmental agencies were represented at the summit. Additionally, 44 academics from 17 universities participated. Of the 194 organizations represented, 26 were affiliated with carsharing, 16 with bikesharing, and 6 were associated with ridesharing and ondemand ride services or transportation network companies (TNCs). In recent years, economic, environmental, and social forces have quickly pushed shared-use mobility from the fringe to the mainstream, and its role in urban mobility has become a frequent point of discussion. The summit provided a diverse array of stakeholders the opportunity to advance the discussion by addressing key issues and helping to shape the future of shared-use mobility. This white paper, generously supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, discusses the state of the industry and trends in major shared-use mobility sectors: carsharing (including roundtrip, one-way, and peer-to-peer), bikesharing, ridesharing, and on-demand ride services (e.g., TNCs). The paper also...