Shared Mobility

“Three Ps in a MOD:” Role for mobility on demand (MOD) public-private partnerships in public transit provision

Emma Lucken, Karen Trapenberg Frick, Susan Shaheen
2019

The growing number of public transportation agencies partnering with Mobility on Demand (MOD) or Mobility as a Service (MaaS) companies raises the question of what role MOD companies can, should, and currently play in the provision of public transport. In this article, we develop a typology reflecting 62 MOD public-private partnerships (MOD PPPs) in the United States and present lessons learned. We conducted 34 interviews with representatives from four MOD companies and 27 public agencies. The interviews spanned October 2017 to April 2018. The resulting MOD PPP typology consists of...

Shared ride services in North America: definitions, impacts, and the future of pooling

Susan Shaheen, Adam Cohen
2018

Shared ride services allow riders to share a ride to a common destination. They include ridesharing (carpooling and vanpooling); ridesplitting (a pooled version of ridesourcing/transportation network companies); taxi sharing; and microtransit. In recent years, growth of Internet-enabled wireless technologies, global satellite systems, and cloud computing - coupled with data sharing – are causing people to increase their use of mobile applications to share a ride. Some shared ride services, such as carpooling and vanpooling, can provide transportation, infrastructure, environmental, and...

Mobility on Demand Planning and Implementation: Current Practices, Innovations, and Emerging Mobility Futures

Susan Shaheen, Adam Cohen, Jacquelyn Broader, Richard Davis, Les Brown, Radha Neelekantan, Deepak Gopalakrishna
2020

This report provides Mobility on Demand (MOD) planning and implementation practices and tools to support communities. The report discusses different stakeholders in the MOD ecosystem and the role of partnerships in filling spatial, temporal, and other service gaps. Additionally, the report discusses how MOD can be integrated into transportation planning and modeling. The report also discusses shared mobility implementation considerations, such as rights-of-way management, multimodal integration, data sharing, equity, labor impacts, and the role of pilot evaluations. Finally, the...

Shared Mobility Policy and Modeling Workshop

Susan Shaheen, PhD; Adam Cohen; and Emily Farrar
2019

The market for personal mobility is changing rapidly due to shifting social and cultural trends, as well as technological advances, such as smartphones, information processing, widespread dataconnectivity, sharing, and vehicle automation. Shared, on-demand mobility represents asustainable vision for future mobility with a reliable network of multimodal options that areavailable to all travelers. On March 22, 2019, the Local Government Commission (LGC)...

Bay Area mass transit could start to resemble Uber or Lyft

August 21, 2020
Sam Whiting

Susan Shaheen - in a navy patterned blouse and black pants - sits on a circular bench on the platform at the Orinda BART station in Orinda, California.

Transportation Sustainability Research Center Co-Director Susan Shaheen discusses the potential future of public transit and shared mobility during recovery from and response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the full article...

Uber breaks into public sector with California deal

June 17, 2020
Dave Lee

uber sign

Uber has signed a deal to manage public transport in Marin County, in the San Francisco Bay area, with its software.

Residents in Marin, which has a population of 250,000, will be able to book rides on public minibuses through Uber’s app, which will match riders travelling in the same direction.

Rides will cost $4 per mile, or $3 for those with disabilities or other mobility issues, with the fee going...

Going My Way? The Evolution of Shared Ride and Pooling Services

May 29, 2020
Susan Shaheen

man driving vehicle

Sharing rides is a longstanding tradition that predates even horse-and-buggy travel. Recent innovations, however, make sharing a ride easier, more convenient, and more efficient. Innovative mobility services premised on pooling — getting multiple riders into the same vehicle — can lower travel costs, mitigate congestion, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They also offer travelers more mobility choices...

Improving California’s Bay Area Rapid Transit District Connectivity and Access with Segway Human Transporter and Other Low-Speed Mobility Devices

Susan Shaheen, Caroline Rodier, Amanda Eaken
2005

To evaluate the potential for low-speed modes to improve transit access, the EasyConnect field test will offer shared-use Segway Human Transporters (HT), electric bicycles, and bicycles linked to a Bay Area Rapid Transit District station and surrounding employment centers in California. Because of safety concerns, research was conducted to understand the risks associated with these modes and potential risk factors. A review of the safety literature indicates that user error is the major cause of low speed mode crashes, and significant risk factors are poor surface conditions and...

Mobility on Demand in the United States

Susan Shaheen, PhD and Adam Cohen
2020

The growth of shared mobility services and enabling technologies, such as smartphone apps, is contributing to the commodification and aggregation of transportation services. This chapter reviews terms and definitions related to Mobility on Demand (MOD) and Mobility as a Service (MaaS), the mobility marketplace, stakeholders, and enablers. This chapter also reviews the U.S. Department of Transportation’s MOD Sandbox Program, including common opportunities and challenges, partnerships, and case studies for employing on-demand mobility pilots and programs. The chapter concludes with a...

Eight Viewpoints on Mobility Post Coronavirus

April 14, 2020
Fleet Forward Staff

Illustration of city street

Fleet Forward asked eight subject matter experts from various corners of the travel, transportation, and mobility spectrums to assess the short- and long-term impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on mobility.

We asked them: What will be the state of shared mobility/carsharing in the near future and further out? Will the pandemic accelerate certain mobility options, or will latent hesitancies...