Shared Mobility

Policy Brief: Pooling Passengers and Services

Teddy Forscher and Susan Shaheen, PhD
2018

In the past ten years, passenger and goods movement transportation systems have evolved rapidly. Shared mobility providers are filling gaps in service and creating new markets for delivery; vehicle fleets continue to electrify; and pooled services are increasing vehicle occupancy. The uptake of innovative pooled services, as well as automation, promise to continue the trend of transformative change. As the private sector continues to advance, there is a great need for institutional flexibility in managing and coordinating all users of transportation infrastructure, particularly on...

Policy Brief: Impacts of Shared Mobility

Susan Shaheen, PhD and Adam Cohen
2018

Shared mobility modes have reported a number of environmental, social, and transportation-related impacts. Several studies have documented the reduction of vehicle usage, ownership, and vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Cost savings and convenience are frequently cited as popular reasons for shifting to a shared mode. Shared modes can also extend the catchment area of public transit, potentially playing a pivotal role in bridging gaps in existing transportation networks and encouraging multi-modality by addressing the first-and-last mile issue related to public transit access....

Policy Brief: Road Usage Charging (RUC)

Teddy Forscher, Alexandre Bayen, PhD and Susan Shaheen, PhD
2018

Pricing transportation infrastructure, either to achieve a desired outcome or to raise revenue, is a concept that has been present in economics and transportation since the early to mid-20th century. Different approaches to pricing (e.g., area-wide pricing, vehicle miles traveled, express lanes, etc.) have been adopted in parts of Europe and Asia; some strategies cover all road users, some only passenger vehicles, and others only commercial and goods movement vehicles. Pricing, as a revenue source, has recently gained momentum in the U.S., driven by federal legislation (MAP-21; FAST...

Future of Mobility White Paper

Susan Shaheen, PhD, Hannah Totte, and Adam Stocker
2018

Transportation is arguably experiencing its most transformative revolution since the introduction of the automobile. Concerns over climate change and equity are converging with dramatic technological advances. Although these changes – including shared mobility and automation – are rapidly altering the mobility landscape, predictions about the future of transportation are complex, nuanced, and widely debated. California is required by law to renew the California Transportation Plan (CTP), updating its models and policy considerations to reflect industry changes every five years. This...

Shared Mobility Policy Briefs: Definitions, Impacts, and Recommendations

Susan Shaheen, PhD and Adam Cohen
2018

In 2017, researchers from UC Berkeley’s Transportation Sustainability Research Center and Institute of Transportation Studies produced eight policy briefs on shared mobility. Shared mobility – the shared use of a vehicle, bicycle, or other travel mode – services are experiencing rapid growth and expansion. This is, in part, due to the launch of innovative business models across California, and their use of the smartphone as a way to enable on-demand transportation options. There is a need to clarify emerging terms and best practices for policymakers amidst the fast-paced developments...

Is It Time for a Public Transit Renaissance?

Susan Shaheen, PhD and Adam Cohen
2018

Travel behavior is undergoing a period of significant change in the United States. In 2016, public transit ridership fell in almost all major U.S. metropolitan regions. While Americans are still heavily dependent on the personal automobile for mobility, technological and societal changes are transforming how mobility is accomplished. This paper reviews the convergence of five trends leading to fundamental changes in public transportation: (1) changing generational behavior toward suburbanization and automobility; (2) new attitudes toward information communications technology; (3)...

Transportation Research Circular: U.S. Department of Transportation’s Mobility on Demand Initiative

Susan Shaheen, PhD, Adam Cohen, and Elliot Martin
2018

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, and widespread data connectivity. Mobility on Demand (MOD) is an innovative transportation concept. On the supply side, transportation providers manage mobility rather than traffic through demand-responsive service, shifting use to alternate modes. On the demand side, mobility consumers reserve, dispatch, or use innovative mobility, public transportation, and goods delivery strategies in place of privately...

Managing the Transition to Shared Automated Vehicles: Building Today While Designing for Tomorrow

Susan Shaheen, PhD, Adam Cohen
2018

In an automated future, cities could change in three fundamental ways:

The density of urban centers is likely to increase, as shared automated vehicles impact reliance on private vehicle ownership and use. Even if privately owned, automated vehicles would no longer need to be parked in a city’s highest valued real estate. Instead, these vehicles could self-drive and park away from residential, employment, and other activity centers. As such, auto-oriented land uses, such as parking, gas stations, and auto dealerships, could be redeveloped into housing, offices, and other land uses...

Understanding How Cities Can Link Smart Mobility Priorities Through Data

Susan Shaheen, PhD
Elliot Martin, PhD
Mikaela Hoffman-Stapleton
Peter Slowik
2018

This white paper presents a generalized evaluation framework that can be used for assessing project impacts within the context of transportation-related city projects. In support of this framework, we discuss a selection of metrics and data sources that are needed to evaluate the performance of smart city innovations. We first present a collection of projects and applications from near-term smart city concepts or actual pilot projects underway (i.e., Smart City Challenge, Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Mobility on Demand (MOD) Sandbox, and other pilot projects operating in the...