Evaluating Shared Taxis in Rural Areas from the Perspective of Number of Drivers

Abstract

Public transportation is inconvenient in many rural areas, and the number of its users is small. However, for people who cannot drive, such as the elderly, public transportation is necessary. Therefore, public transportation needs to be maintained even if the demand is low. Although various alternatives are available, the taxi is the most suitable form of public transportation for low-demand areas. However, because of a decline in passengers and a shortage of drivers, the taxi business environment is challenging, and its sustainability is in danger. One effective solution for driver shortage is to introduce shared taxis, but its necessity decreases as the number of passengers continues to decline. Based on these factors, taxi operators have to select the mode of transportation between shared and traditional taxis. If there is a method to evaluate shared taxis compared with traditional taxis, it will be useful in mode selection. In this study, we propose a method for evaluating shared taxis based on the perspective that the lower the minimum number of drivers needed for operation, the better the sustainability of taxi operators. Specifically, using mixed integer programming, we formulate a mathematical programming model that can compute the minimum number of drivers needed, and construct an approach to evaluate shared taxis using statistical models estimated from the results calculated by the mathematical programming model. Then, we demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach through a case study.