by Innovative Mobility Research | Jan 8, 2019 |
Authors: Susan Shaheen, PhD, Nelson Chan, Helen Micheaux Date: May 2015 Abstract: Classic roundtrip carsharing has been documented as a strategy to reduce car ownership and vehicle miles/kilometers traveled in urban areas. The expansion of carsharing and other forms of shared-use mobility have led to a growing interest in understanding the latest models. In recent years, one-way carsharing has gained momentum across the globe with 18 operators providing services in ten countries worldwide. One-way carsharing does not require its users to return the vehicle to the same location from which it was accessed (in contrast to roundtrip carsharing). Users typically pay by the minute versus the hour and do not require a reservation. There are two one-way models: free-floating and station-based. Free-floating carsharing allows vehicles to be picked up and left anywhere within a designated operating area, while station-based requires users to return vehicles to an available station. In Fall 2013, the authors conducted a survey of 26 roundtrip and five one-way carsharing operators in the Americas (U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Brazil) to understand their perspectives on one-way carsharing and its future. Almost 70 % of roundtrip operators viewed one-way carsharing as a complement to roundtrip carsharing, while 19 % viewed it as a competitor. Twelve percent perceived it as both a complement and competitor. Operators noted public transit, smartcard, and electric vehicle integration as key to this model’s expansion. Half of respondents believed one-way and roundtrip carsharing have similar social and environmental impacts. Given limited understanding of its impacts, more research is needed to document the benefits of one-way carsharing and to help inform policymaking and urban mobility. View...
by Innovative Mobility Research | Jan 8, 2019 |
Authors: Susan Shaheen, PhD, Nelson Chan Date: December 2014 Abstract: Carsharing continues to grow worldwide as a powerful strategy to provide an alternative to solo driving. The viability of electric vehicles, or EVs, has been exam-ined in various carsharing business models. Moreover, new technologies have given rise to electromobility, or e-mobility, systems. This paper discusses the evolution of e-mobility in carsharing business models and the challenges and opportunities that EVs present to carsharing operators around the world. Operators are now anticipating in-creased EV proliferation into vehicle fleets over the next 5-10 years as technology, infrastructure, and public policy shift toward support of e-mobility systems. Thus, re-search is still needed to quantify impacts of EVs in changing travel behavior toward more sustainable transport. View...
by Innovative Mobility Research | Jan 8, 2019 |
Authors: Jörg Firnkorn, Susan Shaheen, PhD Date: February 2016 Abstract: The purpose of this article is to advance empirical sustainability-evaluations of carsharing-systems. Carsharing, a frequently cited example of a product–service system (PSS), is currently morphing from a niche into a mainstream mode of transportation. Carsharing has the potential to provide a more sustainable mobility-option compared to private car usage, for example by reducing the overall motor-vehicle traffic in cities. However, the quantification of this potential is complex, and few studies have analyzed the fundamental impacts of the chosen measurement-methodology on the results of empirical carsharing-evaluations. This article analyses the time- and method-interdependencies of carsharing-studies based on a generic model structuring the adaptation of the mobility-behavior of carsharing-users over time. A paradigm shift from a static to a dynamic view on impacts of the PSS carsharing is proposed, which could support policymakers enacting carsharing-regulations in cities. The analysis of generic methodological interdependencies when conceptualizing impacts as dynamic processes is generalizable to impact-assessments of new technologies changing user-behavior over time. View...
by Innovative Mobility Research | Jan 8, 2019 |
Authors: Clara Terrien, Rémi Maniak, Bo Chen, Susan Shaheen, PhD Date: September 2016 Abstract: Transforming urban mobility requires integrating public with private services into a single transportation system. Local governments and private companies face the challenge of how to coordinate themselves. An emblematic example is one-way carsharing (shared use of a fleet of vehicles that are typically free-floating throughout an urban area). Surprisingly, good practices for public and private players driving this change remain relatively undocumented. This paper proposes a systematic and balanced public-private approach to foster transportation innovation management. We review both public policy and business management literature and build a framework to help local governments and companies innovate together (organizational structures, project management processes, and profitability assessment tools). We use this framework to examine both public and private experiences through a case study analysis with five one-way carsharing services in Europe (Paris, Munich) and the United-States (San Francisco, Portland, Seattle). For each we conducted expert interviews with the local government and the private operator. This paper provides recommendations for both sectors. First, public and private players should have specific organizations, separated from the core business. Second, they should co-manage innovation since pilot projects lack certainty and require risk management. Third, a new approach that emphasizes value in the role of pilot project learning and capability building. View...
by Innovative Mobility Research | Oct 27, 2016 |
In recent years, technological and social forces have pushed smartphone applications (apps) from the fringe to the mainstream. Understanding the role of transportation apps in urban mobility is important for policy development and transportation planners. This study evaluates the role and impact of multimodal aggregators from a variety of perspectives, including a literature review; a review of the most innovative, disruptive, and highest-rated transportation apps; interviews with experts in the industry, and a user survey of former multimodal aggregator RideScout users. Between February and April 2016, researchers conducted interviews with experts to gain a stronger understanding about challenges and benefits of data sharing between private companies and public agencies. Key findings from the expert interviews include the critical need to protect user privacy; the potential to use data sharing to address integrated corridor and congestion management as well as various pricing strategies during peak hours; along with the potential benefits for improving coordination between the public and private sectors. In March 2016, researchers surveyed 130 people who had downloaded the RideScout app to evaluate attitudes and perceptions toward mobile apps, travel behavior, and modal shift. The goal was to enhance understanding of how the multimodal apps were impacting the transportation behavior. The survey did found that respondents used multimodal apps in ways that yielded travel that was less energy intensive and more supportive of public transit. Looking to the future, smartphone applications and more specifically multimodal aggregators, may offer the potential for transportation planners and policymakers to enhance their understanding of multimodal travel behavior, share data, enhance collaboration, and identify opportunities for public-private partnerships....
