by Innovative Mobility Research | Nov 22, 2021 |
Authors: Susan Shaheen, PhD, Wesley Darling, Jacquelyn Broader, and Adam Cohen Date: August 1, 2021 Abstract: Transportation network company (TNCs) rides that are shared amongst users (i.e., pooled) can offer a variety of benefits including increased mobility and reduced transportation emissions. However, very few TNC users select pooled trips and not all pooled rides are matched with other riders. This report supports increased poolingby exploring different pooling strategies and incentives. TNC userswere actively engagedto offer insightsthrough the photovoice methodology (a participatory research method that allows community members to use photography to communicate their personal experiences and perceptions). The researchers gathered further information through interviews with four photovoice experts and 10 pooling stakeholders, four photovoice groups and one individual interview with a total of15 TNC users, and a workshop with five expert stakeholders and 12 photovoice group participants. The different researchmethods resulted in the development of four key takeaways and five policy recommendations. View...
by Innovative Mobility Research | Nov 18, 2021 |
Authors: Elliot Martin, PhD, Susan Shaheen, PhD, and Adam Stocker Date: November 1, 2021 Abstract: Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) like Lyft, Uber, and their global counterparts have expanded around the world over the past decade and have changed the way that people travel around cities and regions. The individual mobility benefits provided by TNCs have been clear. Passengers can summon a vehicle quickly via smartphone from almost anywhere to take them almost anywhere, with advance communication on estimated wait time, travel time, and cost. TNCs may also provide users with added mobility benefits, especially for those living in areas where public transit service is infrequent or non-existent. However, the growing popularity of TNCs has forced important questions about their impacts on the overall transportation network. While past research has focused on many different aspects of TNC impacts, including their effects on travel behavior, modal shift, congestion, and other topics, there are still many important questions. This report advances the understanding of TNC effects on vehicle miles traveled (VMT), greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and personal vehicle ownership. The research also explores key questions regarding the impact of pooled TNC services, Lyft Shared rides and uberPOOL, and further investigates how TNCs alter the use of other transportation modes, including public transit. View...
by Innovative Mobility Research | Oct 4, 2021 |
Authors: Susan Shaheen, PhD, Adam Cohen Date: May 17, 2021 Abstract: Urban Air Mobility (UAM, also known as advanced air mobility) is an emerging concept that envisions a safe, sustainable, affordable, and accessible air transportation system for emergency management, cargo delivery, and passenger mobility within or traversing a metropolitan area. While numerous societal concerns have been raised about these approaches (e.g., privacy, safety, security, social equity), on-demand aviation has the potential to provide options for emergency services, goods delivery, and passenger mobility in urban and rural areas using small piloted and autonomous aircraft. This chapter provides a short overview of developments in on-demand aviation and a discussion of the potential impacts and challenges of UAM on communities. Potential challenges include safety, financial, and community acceptance, among others. Research that seeks to understand the potential societal barriers can help to identify challenges and mitigate potential UAM concerns. Research on the potential impacts of UAM, coupled with thoughtful planning and implementation, are needed to balance commercial interests, technology innovation, and the public good. View...
by Innovative Mobility Research | Oct 4, 2021 |
Authors: Colleen Reiche, PhD, Frank Brody, Christian McGillen, Joel Siegel, and Adam Cohen Date: November 21, 2018 Abstract: Urban Air Mobility (UAM), a subset of advanced air mobility,is a concept that envisions safe, sustainable,affordable, and accessible air transportation for passenger mobility, cargo delivery, and emergency management within or traversing a metropolitan area. In recent years, several companies have designed and tested enabling elements of this concept, including; prototypes of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, operational concepts, and market studies to understand potential business models. While UAM may be enabled by the convergence of several factors, a number of barriers such as weather could present challenges to scaling operations.This research discusses the potential weather challenges for operations in adverse conditions. This report presents a comprehensive seasonal and diurnal climatology analysis using historical observations across anticipated operational altitudes (surface –5000 ft AGL) at ten metropolitan areas across the United States for the NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD). View...
by Innovative Mobility Research | Sep 29, 2021 |
Authors: Advanced Air Mobility: Demand Analysis and Market Potential of the Airport Shuttle and Air Taxi Markets Date: June 2021 Abstract: Advanced air mobility (AAM) is a broad concept enabling consumers access to on-demand air mobility, cargo and package delivery, healthcare applications, and emergency services through an integrated and connected multimodal transportation network. However, a number of challenges could impact AAM’s growth potential, such as autonomous flight, the availability of take-off and landing infrastructure (i.e., vertiports), integration into airspace and other modes of transportation, and competition with shared automated vehicles. This article discusses the results of a demand analysis examining the market potential of two potential AAM passenger markets—airport shuttles and air taxis. The airport shuttle market envisions AAM passenger service to, from, or between airports along fixed routes. The air taxi market envisions a more mature and scaled service that provides on-demand point-to-point passenger services throughout urban areas. Using a multi-method approach comprised of AAM travel demand modeling, Monte Carlo simulations, and constraint analysis, this study estimates that the air taxi and airport shuttle markets could capture a 0.5% mode share. The analysis concludes that AAM could replace non-discretionary trips greater than 45 min; however, demand for discretionary trips would be limited by consumer willingness to pay. This study concludes that AAM passenger services could have a daily demand of 82,000 passengers served by approximately 4000 four- to five-seat aircraft in the U.S., under the most conservative scenario, representing an annual market valuation of the 2.5 billion USD. View...
