Shared Mobility

Equity Implications of TNC Fare Variation: A Case Study of Didi Chuxing, Shanghai, 2015

Xu, Ruoying
Chatman, Daniel G.
2019

The rise of transportation network companies (TNCs) such as Uber, Lyft and Didi Chuxing has been well documented, and is viewed with concern by some policy makers and planners. Some have advocated regulating TNCs to address perceived problems, which include unfair competition with existing taxis, a perception that TNCs may be less safe than conventional taxis, road congestion caused by a proliferation of ride-hailing vehicles, and a belief that TNCs may reduce transit ridership. Possible regulations to address these problems include background checks for drivers, safety standards,...

Reliability- and Median-Based Identification of Toll Locations in a Connected Vehicle Context

Moylan, Emily
Skabardonis, Alexander
Transportation Research Board
2015

In anticipation of pervasive onboard navigation and electronic payment associated with connected vehicle technology, universal dynamic tolling is a promising possibility for future congestion management. In order to take advantage of these advancements, planners must consider which metrics should be used for the selection and performance evaluation of tolls. This work considers two metrics: median travel time and reliability measured with the 80th percentile travel time index. Each metric is tested for the identification of candidate tolling facilities and for the evaluation of the toll’s...

Charging Ahead: How Income and Home Access Shape Electric Vehicle Adoption among Ridehailing Drivers

Shaheen, Susan
Martin, Elliot
Ju, Mengying
2025

Transportation network companies (TNCs), also known as ridehailing, such as Uber and Lyft, have contributed to increased vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and associated emissions in California’s urban areas over the past decade. In response, Senate Bill (SB) 1014 – the Clean Miles Standard – requires TNCs to achieve 90% electric vehicle (EV) miles traveled and zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per passenger mile by 2030. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) oversee implementation and enforcement of these targets.

Charging Ahead: Perceptions and Adoption of Electric Vehicles Among Full- and Part-Time Ridehailing Drivers in California

Ju, Mengying
Martin, Elliot
Shaheen, Susan
2025

California’s SB 1014 (Clean Miles Standard) mandates ridehailing fleet electrification to reduce emissions from vehicle miles traveled, posing financial and infrastructure challenges for drivers. This study employs a mixed-methods approach, including expert interviews (n = 10), group discussions (n = 8), and a survey of full- and part-time drivers (n = 436), to examine electric vehicle (EV) adoption attitudes and policy preferences. Access to home charging and prior EV experience emerged as the most statistically significant predictors of EV acquisition. Socio-demographic variables,...

Driving Equity: Can Electric Vehicle Carsharing Improve Grocery Access in Underserved Communities? A Case Study of BlueLA

Yassine, Ziad
Deakin, Elizabeth
Martin, Elliot W.
Shaheen, Susan A.
2025

Carsharing has long supported trip purposes typically made by private vehicles, with grocery shopping especially benefiting from the carrying capacity of a personal vehicle. BlueLA is a one-way, station-based electric vehicle (EV) carsharing service in Los Angeles aimed at improving access in low-income neighborhoods. We hypothesize that BlueLA improves grocery access for underserved households by increasing their spatial-temporal reach to diverse grocery store types. We test two hypotheses: (1) accessibility from BlueLA stations to grocery stores varies by store type, traffic conditions,...

Transitioning Ridehailing Fleets to Zero Emission: Economic Insights for Electric Vehicle Acquisition

Ju, Mengying
Martin, Elliot
Shaheen, Susan
2025

Under California’s Clean Miles Standard (or SB 1014), transportation network companies (TNCs) must transition to zero-emission vehicles by 2030. One significant hurdle for TNC drivers is the electric vehicle (EV) acquisition and operating costs versus an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle. This study therefore evaluates net TNC driving earnings through EV acquisition pathways—financing, leasing, and renting—along with EV-favoring policy options. Key metrics assessed include (1) total TNC income when considering service fees, fuel costs, monthly vehicle payments, etc., and (2) the...

Multi-stage Models for Dynamic Ride-Sharing in Taxi Services and Congestion Analysis

Quadrifoglio, Luca
Zhang, Cheng
Sun, Min-Ci
Delle Monache, Maria Laura
Yeo, Yuneil
2024

This research introduces practical optimization model for implementing ride-sharing in taxi services and studies the effects of ride-sharing on the congestion status through the case study of Chicago. Ride-sharing combines trips into one ride-shared trip with the objective of maximizing the total mileage saving. This research proposes a multi-stage model to optimize rider matches, aiming to reduce the total travel distance and enhance the matching of multiple riders. To validate the effectiveness of the model, real taxi data from Chicago is used, demonstrating significant improvements in...

Bridging Troubled Water: Evacuations and the Sharing Economy

Wong, Stephen
Walker, Joan
Shaheen, Susan
2018

Since Hurricane Katrina, there has been an increasing focus on disaster relief efforts in the United States. In this paper, the authors examine the progression of transportation management under emergency conditions and opportunities for addressing disasters by leveraging the sharing economy. The sharing economy mobilizes the unused capacity and resources of individuals through mobile and Internet platforms. Notable examples include mobility and the housing sectors. The authors argue here that there is an opportunity to improve disaster preparedness, response, and recovery by...

The Impact of the Sharing Economy on Latent Individual Modal Preference

Schade, Maitagorri Helene
Deakin, Elizabeth
Cervero, Robert
Walker, Joan
2017

Mobility patterns in our cities are changing with the onset of shared mobility services. However, publicly available information on the use of shared mobility services is lagging behind. This study set out to fill this data gap by gathering web-based travel diary survey from carsharing and Transportation Network Company (TNC) users in the San Francisco Bay Area. Respondents were screened to be regular users of shared mobility services. The shared use reported in our sample was primarily car sharing and TNC, with bike sharing not being reported enough to be studied here. Our analysis drew...

Trust and Compassion in Willingness to Share Mobility and Sheltering Resources in Evacuations: A Case Study of the 2017 and 2018 California Wildfires

Wong, Stephen D.
Walker, Joan L.
Shaheen, Susan A.
2021

Advances in the sharing economy – such as transportation network companies (e.g., Lyft, Uber) and home sharing (e.g., Airbnb) – have coincided with the increasing need for evacuation resources. While peer-to-peer sharing under normal circumstances often suffers from trust barriers, disaster literature indicates that trust and compassion often increase following disasters, improving recovery efforts. We hypothesize that trust and compassion could trigger willingness to share transportation and sheltering resources during an evacuation. To test this hypothesis, we distributed a survey to...