Shaping the Ride in the On-Demand Era
National Institute for Congestion Reduction
Background and Objectives
Rapid advancements in technology and data analytics have led to the emergence of new mobility options, such as on-demand and app-based services. These new mobility options have the potential to revolutionize the way people travel, but the extent and nature of the impacts are yet to be fully understood because the business models and usage patterns of these services are still evolving. Specifically, these new options have the potential to address traffic congestion and air pollution issues by reducing private vehicle ownership and single-occupancy vehicle use, while improving overall mobility. However, to fully realize such benefits, well-designed policies and planning strategies are needed.
The concept of sharing, enabled by emerging technologies, is playing an increasingly important role in transforming and contributing to sustainable transportation. The widespread use of shared-ride services is a crucial step in addressing some of the challenging transportation issues of today. These types of services, if implemented correctly, could significantly decrease the number of cars on the road by reducing single-occupancy vehicle trips without causing significant inconvenience to passengers. Strategies for increasing pooling rates among transportation network company (TNC) users, such as incentives and promotions for shared trips, can be particularly effective in increasing the use of public transit, employment centers, and designated pickup/drop-off locations. Microtransit services, often operated in partnership with public transit agencies, are also playing a key role in filling gaps in service in areas where traditional transit has not performed well.
This study aimed to contribute to the growing body of literature on on-demand transportation services, with a particular emphasis on sharing or pooling a ride when using services such as TNCs and microtransit. The findings of this study are expected to provide valuable insights into service use and adoption patterns, as well as the potential benefits and challenges of using these services — helping researchers, practitioners, and policymakers develop strategies for promoting sustainable mobility.
Methodology
This study began with an extensive review of existing pooled travel choice studies — including factors affecting pooling, as well as existing or suggested strategies for encouraging pooled rides. The concept of pooling through TNCs and microtransit services was also considered, followed by a review of the measured benefits and potential disruptions of pooling, to provide a comprehensive resource document for transportation professionals and policy makers.
Using the insights obtained from this review, researchers developed a shared mobility survey to examine ondemand transportation services, with a focus on pooling decisions. In early 2022, the shared mobility survey was administered in both English and Spanish to an online panel of individuals 18 years old or older in selected locales across Texas that ranged from large urban areas to small cities and rural areas. The survey was designed to collect a rich set of data from more than 2,500 participants and offered a reasonably representative sample of adults in Texas. The survey respondents were asked various questions related to on-demand transportation services to gain insight into overall usage trends, behavior patterns, and perceptions. The survey data was examined using a combination of statistical methods, including univariate and bivariate descriptive statistics, as well as inferential techniques. The main goal of the analysis was to investigate patterns in the use of on-demand transportation services, particularly TNCs and microtransit services, and to study the behavior of sharing or pooling through these services. Barriers to increased sharing or pooling and potential solutions — for both current and future demand services — were examined to identify potential improvements that could be made by policy makers and agencies to make sharing or pooling a more attractive option for individual travel needs.
Research Findings
The study produced intriguing new findings that contributed to the existing body of literature, both supporting and occasionally deviating from previous findings. Demographic factors such as age, gender, household income, and ethnic background, as well as geographic and built-environment factors, were shown to play an important role in determining whether someone will opt for a shared or pooled service and/or how they perceive these services. The main considerations for travelers when it comes to using such new services were cost, travel time, and safety; however, these concerns were not homogeneous across different populations. Regardless of a previous positive or negative experience with shared rides, respondents cited unreliable or extended travel times, unpleasant fellow passengers, and discomfort interacting with strangers as the top reasons for their negative perceptions. Conversely, respondents consistently cited cost savings, convenience, and comfort, as well as being environmentally friendly, as the top benefits of shared rides when compared to other forms of transportation. For those who had not yet shared a ride on an on-demand service, the primary concern was being matched with an unpleasant passenger, particularly among female survey respondents. Regarding the use of self-driving automated vehicles (AVs) in on-demand services, respondent attitudes in general and toward sharing rides were closely aligned with their willingness to adopt newer technologies and their feelings of safety and security.
Policy and Practice Recommendations
As part of this study, respondents were presented with various operational improvements, government policies, and employer programs intended to improve shared-ride services and encourage their use. Proposed operational improvements that reduced uncertainty in shared rides and minimized inconvenience for passengers were most popular among respondents. Respondents particularly favored recommendations intended to prevent the rider’s travel time from being excessively lengthened beyond what was expected at the beginning of the trip, suggesting that travel times are more important than the lower costs/cheaper fares associated with ridesharing. Thus, it may be more important to first focus on reducing travel time uncertainties through operational improvements rather than offering financial incentives to change behaviors. Travelers who are too inconvenienced by additional travel time or unreliable service delivery from shared-ride services, particularly for trips that require punctuality, will not be adequately motivated by financial incentives to choose a shared-ride option unless other travel alternatives became prohibitively expensive.
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Respondents highlighted the importance of improved safety for on-demand services by recommending video surveillance within the vehicle and broadcasting their vehicle location to trusted family and friends during the trip. Female respondents favored setting a preference for the gender of other passengers in the shared-ride service, even though this and other policy measures would not make them more likely to share a ride. In general, this study’s findings indicated that the increased safeguards against potential safety incidents were more important to riders than the decreased personal privacy afforded through these measures. For some respondents, however, the fear of being harassed or worse while riding in a vehicle with a stranger persisted as a barrier to increased ridesharing among this group. Targeted policy and operational improvements that can better guarantee safe, as well as comfortable, shared-ride experiences will likely be needed to influence the behavior of these travelers. From a policy perspective, respondents reported that creating secure designated boarding zones and requiring private providers to report any safety incidents to local governments would improve their perceptions of safety. Financial incentives were also important for some respondents; recommended improvements deemed most useful by respondents were fare regulations, subsidies for trips, and reduced fares for trips that connect to public transit hubs. Regarding proposed employer actions to encourage ridepooling, respondents favored rewards programs, flexible and/or work-from-home schedules, and guaranteed ride-home programs. Interestingly, female respondents were less interested in recommendations related to financial incentives, especially when compared to those related to safety.
To encourage shared rides in AVs, respondents favored having pictures of other passengers in the service app, providing an on-call concierge number, and enforcing a code of conduct. Despite these proposed improvements, the willingness to share a ride on an AV did not increase for respondents who currently did not take shared-ride trips, suggesting that greater improvements need to be made to service quality to change travel behavior in the future.
Finally, regardless of the nature of improvements, policies, or programs implemented, improved public awareness and education are imperative. Perceived availability of on-demand services could be an issue for policy makers aiming to encourage ridesharing. Only one-quarter of survey respondents indicated that demand-responsive and on-demand transit services were available in their area, despite the survey targeting zip codes where public microtransit services were currently in operation. While the service zones for these microtransit services may not have covered the household locations for all respondents, this finding does indicate that providers need to do a better job of increasing awareness of available service options in their communities.
Authors: Ipek Nese Sener, Ph.D., Austin Sibu, Todd Hansen, Texas A&M University
Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation University Transportation Centers — National Institute for Congestion Reduction
Learn more and view the final report: https://nicr.usf.edu/2022/01/20/2-2-2_examiningondemandtransportation/
For more information, contact: Ipek Nese Sener
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This publication was produced by the National Institute for Congestion Reduction. The contents of this brief reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and accuracy of the information presented herein. This document is disseminated under the program management of USDOT, Office of Research and Innovative Technology Administration in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the contents or use thereof.
