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 | Sep 22, 2021 |
Mobility on Demand (MOD) Sandbox Demonstrations Independent Evaluation (IE) – Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) of Pima County Adaptive Mobility with Reliability and Efficiency (AMORE) Project Evaluation Plan Date: August 2018 Author(s): Cordahi, Gustave; Shaheen, Susan; Martin, Elliot Abstract: The Mobility on Demand (MOD) Sandbox Demonstration Program provides a venue through which integrated MOD concepts and solutions – supported through local partnerships – are demonstrated in real-world settings. For each of the 11 MOD Sandbox Demonstration projects, the MOD Sandbox Independent Evaluation includes an analysis of project impacts from performance measures provided by the project partners, as well as an assessment of the business models used. This report constitutes the Evaluation Plan for the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) of Pima County Adaptive Mobility with Reliability and Efficiency (AMORE) Sandbox project. It includes the following chapters: project overview; evaluation approach and process; evaluation schedule and management; and data collection & analysis plan. View...
by Innovative Mobility Research | Mar 4, 2021 |
Authors: Susan Shaheen, PhD, Jessica Lazarus, Juan Caicedo, Alexandre Bayen, PhD Date: February 1, 2021 Abstract: On-demand mobility services including transportation network companies (also known as ridesourcing and ridehailing) like Lyft and Uber are changing the way that people travel by providing dynamic mobility that can supplement public transit and personal-vehicle use. However, TNC services have been found to contribute to increasing vehicle mileage, traffic congestion, and greenhouse gas emissions. Pooling rides ⎯ sharing a vehicle by multiple passengers to complete journeys of similar origin and destination ⎯ can increase the average vehicle occupancy of TNC trips and thus mitigate some of the negative impacts. Several mobility companies have launched app-based pooling services in recent years including app-based carpooling services (e.g., Waze Carpool, Scoop) that match drivers with riders; pooled on-demand ride services (e.g., Uber Pool and Lyft Shared rides) that match multiple TNC users; and microtransit services (e.g., Bridj, Chariot, Via) that offer on-demand, flexibly routed service, typically in larger vehicles such as vans or shuttles. However, information on the potential impacts of these options is so far limited. This research employs a general population stated preference survey of four California metropolitan regions (Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, and the San Francisco Bay Area) in Fall 2018 to examine the opportunities and challenges for drastically expanding the market for pooling, accounting for differences in emergent travel behavior and preferences across the four metropolitan regions surveyed. The travel profiles, TNC use patterns, and attitudes and perceptions of TNCs and pooling are analyzed across key socio-demographic attributes to enrich behavioral understanding of marginalized and price sensitive users of on-demand ride...
by Innovative Mobility Research | Jun 15, 2020 |
Authors: Stephen Wong, Jacquelyn Broader, and Susan Shaheen Date: June 2020 Abstract: Ensuring social equity in evacuations and disasters remains a critical challenge for many emergency management and transportation agencies. Recent sharing economy advances – including transportation network companies (TNCs, also known as ridehailing and ridesourcing), carsharing, and homesharing – may supplement public resources and ensure more equitable evacuations. To explore the social equity implications of the sharing economy in disasters, we conducted four focus groups (n=37) of vulnerable populations impacted by California wildfires in 2017 or 2018. To structure these data, we employed the Spatial Temporal Economic Physiological Social (STEPS) equity framework in an evacuation context. We contribute to the literature by: 1) summarizing the focus groups and their opinions on the sharing economy in evacuations; 2) capturing wildfire evacuation obstacles through the STEPS transportation equity framework; and 3) linking STEPS and focus group results to explore the future potential of shared resources. Using STEPS, we also expand our shared resource exploration to 18 vulnerable groups. We found that all focus groups were highly concerned with driver availability and reliability and the ability of vehicles to reach evacuation zones, not necessarily safety and security. Each group also expressed specific limitations related to their vulnerability. For example, individuals with disabilities were most concerned with inaccessible vehicles and homes. Using the STEPS framework, we found that while multiple vulnerable groups could gain considerable benefits from shared resources, 10 of the 18 groups experience three or more key challenges to implementation. We offer several policy recommendations to address equity-driven planning and shared resource limitations. View...
