TSRC

Generic Time- and Method-Interdependencies of Empirical Impact-Measurements: A Generalizable Model of Adaptation-Processes of Carsharing-Users' Mobility-Behavior Over Time

Firnkorn, Jörg
Susan Shaheen
2016

The purpose of this article is to advance empirical sustainability-evaluations of carsharing-systems. Carsharing, a frequently cited example of a product–service system (PSS), is currently morphing from a niche into a mainstream mode of transportation. Carsharing has the potential to provide a more sustainable mobility-option compared to private car usage, for example by reducing the overall motor-vehicle traffic in cities. However, the quantification of this potential is complex, and few studies have analyzed the fundamental impacts of the chosen measurement-methodology on the results of...

Understanding Carsharing Risk and Insurance Claims in the United States

Susan Shaheen
Shen, Diwen
Martin, Elliot
2016

Carsharing offers consumers short-term access to vehicles, which facilitates better mobility and reduces the need for personal vehicle ownership. Carsharing does not require consumers to have automobile insurance. Instead, carsharing operators insure their members and are responsible for the risks and liabilities associated with vehicle use. Carsharing operators are burdened with obtaining cost-effective insurance under a usage model that lacks massive actuarial data and analysis. This study analyzes 28 operator years of trips and claims data from six carsharing operators in the United...

Understanding Travel Behavior: Research Scan

Martin, Elliot
Susan Shaheen
Zohdy, Ismail
2016

Travel behavior is undergoing a period of significant change in the United States, and this change is beginning to reveal itself in long-standing measures of transportation. While the United States is still heavily dependent on the personal automobile for mobility, changes in technology, demographics, economics, and attitudes are transforming how mobility is attained. At the same time, advances in information technology are opening new ways for transportation activity to be measured more comprehensively. These transformative trends are reshaping how we think about transportation policy,...

Shared Mobility: Current Practices and Guiding Principles Brief

Susan Shaheen
Cohen, Adam
Zohdy, Ismail
Kock, Beaudry
2016

Shared mobility—the shared use of a vehicle, bicycle, or other mode—is an innovative transportation strategy that enables users to gain short-term access to transportation modes on an as-needed basis. The term shared mobility includes various forms of carsharing, bikesharing, ridesharing (carpooling and vanpooling), and on-demand ride services. It can also include alternative transit services, such as paratransit, shuttles, and private transit services (called microtransit), which can supplement fixed-route bus and rail services. With diverse options for mobility on the rise, smartphone...

Smartphone Applications to Influence Travel Choices: Practices and Policies

Susan Shaheen
Cohen, Adam
Zohdy, Ismail
Kock, Beaudry
2016

This primer provides an overview of current practices in this emerging field and looks toward the future in the evolution and development of smartphone applications for the transportation sector. The primer provides an introduction and overview smartphone applications (known as “apps”); discusses the background, evolution, and development of smartphone apps; reviews the types of smartphone applications promoting transportation efficiency and congestion reduction; discusses transportation apps and their impacts on traveler behavior; examines current challenges; and concludes with guiding...

Impacts of Car2go on Vehicle Ownership, Modal Shift, Vehicle Miles Traveled, and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: An Analysis of Five North American Cities

Martin, Elliot
Susan Shaheen
2016

Car2go is currently the largest carsharing operator in the world, with a presence in nine countries and nearly 30 cities. It operates as a one-way instant access carsharing system within a pre-defined urban zone. Members can find an unoccupied parked vehicle, access it immediately, and use it to meet their local travel needs. As long as the vehicle is parked within the operating zone, users...

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

Susan Shaheen
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...

Good Practices for Advancing Urban Mobility Innovation: A Case Study of One-Way Carsharing

Terrien, Clara
Maniak, Remi
Chen, Bo
Susan Shaheen
2016

Transforming urban mobility requires integrating public with private services into a single transportation system. Local governments and private companies face the challenge of how to coordinate themselves. An emblematic example is one-way carsharing (shared use of a fleet of vehicles that are typically free-floating throughout an urban area). Surprisingly, good practices for public and private players driving this change remain relatively undocumented. This paper proposes a systematic and balanced public-private approach to foster transportation innovation management. We review both...

Online and App-Based Carpooling in France: Analyzing Users and Practices—A Study of BlaBlaCar

Susan Shaheen
Stocker, Adam
Mundler, Marie
2017

This chapter examines the characteristics and practices of ridesharing users in France. In May 2013, the authors surveyed members of BlaBlaCar, the largest online and app-based carpooling service in France, to analyze the sociodemographic characteristics and usage patterns of the respondents. The survey results identify correlations between socio-demographic characteristics and usage elements. Notably, users with a lower income level are more inclined to be passengers, while higher income users employ carpooling mainly as drivers. Students are shown to be more frequent users as well. These...

Mobile Apps and Transportation: A Review of Smartphone Apps and a Study of User Response to Multimodal Traveler Information

Susan Shaheen
Martin, Elliot
Cohen, Adam
Musunuri, Apoorva
Bhattacharyya, Abhinav
2016

In recent years, technological and social forces have pushed smartphone applications (apps) from the fringe to the mainstream. Understanding the role of transportation apps in urban mobility is important for policy development and transportation planners. This study evaluates the role and impact of multimodal aggregators from a variety of perspectives, including a literature review; a review of the most innovative, disruptive, and highest-rated transportation apps; interviews with experts in the industry, and a user survey of former multimodal aggregator RideScout users. Between February...