Travel Behavior

Just A Better Taxi? A Survey-Based Comparison of Taxis, Transit, and Ridesourcing Services in San Francisco

Rayle, Lisa
Dai, Danielle
Chan, Nelson
Cervero, Robert
Shaheen, Susan, PhD
2016

In this study, we present exploratory evidence of how “ridesourcing” services (app-based, on-demand ride services like Uber and Lyft) are used in San Francisco. We explore who uses ridesourcing and for what reasons, how the ridesourcing market compares to that of traditional taxis, and how ridesourcing impacts the use of public transit and overall vehicle travel. In spring 2014, 380 completed intercept surveys were collected from three ridesourcing “hot spots” in San Francisco. We compare survey results with matched-pair taxi trip data and results of a previous taxi user survey. We also...

Carsharing and Partnership Management: An International Perspective

Shaheen, Susan
Sperling, Dan
Wagner, Conrad
2004

Most cars carry one person and are used for less than 1 hour per day. A more economically rational approach would be to use vehicles more intensively. Carsharing, in which a group of people pays a subscription plus a per-use fee, is one means of doing so. Carsharing may be organized through affinity groups, large employers, transit operators, neighborhood groups, or large carsharing businesses. Relative to car ownership, carsharing has the disadvantage of less convenient vehicle access but the advantages of a large range of vehicles, fewer ownership responsibilities, and less cost (if...

Evolution of E-Mobility in Carsharing Business Models

Shaheen, Susan, PhD
Chan, Nelson
2014

Carsharing continues to grow worldwide as a powerful strategy to provide an alternative to solo driving. The viability of electric vehicles, or EVs, has been exam-ined in various carsharing business models. Moreover, new technologies have given rise to electromobility, or e-mobility, systems. This paper discusses the evolution of e-mobility in carsharing business models and the challenges and opportunities that EVs present to carsharing operators around the world. Operators are now anticipating in-creased EV proliferation into vehicle fleets over the next 5-10 years as technology,...

An Evaluation of Via Rideshare Service in West Sacramento: An Exploratory Analysis Through Surveys and Expert Interviews

Martin, Elliot, PhD
Nichols, Aqshems
Shaheen, Susan, PhD
2019

The UC Berkeley Transportation Sustainability Research Center (TSRC) conducted an evaluation for the City of West Sacramento of the pilot Via Rideshare System, which began providing rides to customers in May of 2018 and is currently in operation. This analysis presents the findings from surveys and expert interviews. Surveys were deployed to both users and non-users of the pilot service in order to assess the behavioral impacts of the system on users and to evaluate non-user response to the system and why they had not yet opted to not use the service. The user survey, which collected 224...

Roundtrip Carsharing in New York City: An Evaluation of a Pilot Program and System Impacts

Martin, Elliot, PhD
Stocker, Adam
Nichols, Aqshems
Shaheen, Susan, PhD
2021

The study found that roundtrip carsharing in NYC mostly serves as a substitute for car rental, other personal vehicle modes, and personal vehicle ownership. The analysis showed that the broader pilot program had a modest impact on user behavior through carsharing (i.e., reduced vehicle ownership, reduced VMT, and mode shift). It also found that the pilot program likely expanded the membership base of carsharing to demographic cohorts that are traditionally underrepresented in carsharing populations (i.e., increased participation by lower education levels, lower household incomes, minority...

Bridging the Income and Digital Divide with Shared Automated Electric Vehicles

Lazarus, Jessica
Bauer, Gordon, PhD
Greenblatt, Jeffery, PhD
Shaheen, Susan, PhD
2021

This research investigates strategies to improve the mobility of low-income travelers by incentivizing the use of electric SAVs (SAEVs) and public transit. We employ two agent-based simulation engines, an activity-based travel demand model of the San Francisco Bay Area, and vehicle movement data from the San Francisco Bay Area and the Los Angeles Basin to model emergent travel behavior of commute trips in response to subsidies for TNCs and public transit. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the impacts of different subsidy scenarios on mode choices, TNC pooling and match rates,...

Integrating Vehicle Design and Human Factors: Minimizing Elderly Driving Constraints

Shaheen, Susan
Niemeier, Debbie
2001

With a projected rise in the number of elderly, most of whom have also relied primarily on the private automobile for their mobility, it is likely that future adaptations in vehicle design will be linked in some part to the physical infirmities often faced by the elderly. This paper offers a bridge between medical research on the physical impairments of the elderly and automobile design and driving safety. We describe recent findings on the driving-related physical and cognitive impairments faced by the elderly. We then propose two major types of vehicle design and infrastructure...

Peer-To-Peer (P2P) Carsharing: Exploring Public Perception and Market Characteristics in the San Francisco Bay Area

Ballús-Armet, Ingrid
Shaheen, Susan, PhD
Clonts, Kelly
Weinzimmer, David
2014

Peer-to-peer (P2P) carsharing is an innovative approach to vehicle sharing in which vehicle owners temporarily rent their personal automobiles to others in their surrounding area. P2P carsharing belongs to the larger sharing economy, an economic model premised on the notion of collaborative consumption as opposed to ownership. This study examines current public perception of P2P carsharing and potential market characteristics through an intercept survey conducted in the San Francisco Bay Area. Three hundred respondents from 14 locations in San Francisco (N=150) and Oakland (N=150) were...

Casual Carpooling in the San Francisco Bay Area: Understanding User Characteristics, Behaviors, and Motivations

Shaheen, Susan, PhD
Chan, Nelson
Gaynor, Theresa
2016

Casual carpooling is an informal form of commuter ridesharing operating in Washington, D.C.; Houston, Texas; and San Francisco, California. In contrast to new forms of shared-use mobility, casual carpooling has been in existence for over 30 years and uses no information communication technology, and is entirely run informally by its users. Researchers have been fascinated by this phenomenon and have conducted studies in the past, but there remains a lack of up-to-date quantitative data. This study examines the motivations and behaviors of casual carpoolers in the San Francisco Bay Area to...

Shared Mobility: The Potential of Ride Hailing and Pooling

Shaheen, Susan, PhD
2018

Shared mobility with pooled rides is the linchpin for leveraging vehicle automation and electrification to reduce congestion and emissions and to create livable urban communities. The sharing of rides is older than horse-and-buggy travel. Recent innovations make sharing easier, more convenient, and more efficient. Innovative mobility services premised on pooling can lower travel costs, mitigate congestion, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They also offer travelers more mobility choices between the traditional bookends of auto ownership and public transit. While the realm of shared...