Integrating shared mobility services with public transit in areas of low demand

Abstract

The increasing demand for shared mobility services has led to multiple Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), where public transit agencies and mobility providers work together to increase transit service coverage. However, several partnerships have failed due to budget constraints and lack of ridership. Furthermore, the limited data-sharing agreements restrict the analysis and dissemination of outcomes. This paper analyzes the integration of shared-mobility services into the public transit system using data from pilot programs in Austin, Texas. The use of Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) and microtransit service is evaluated as first-mile-last-mile (FMLM) and door-to-door solutions. The associated TNC, microtransit, and bus transit demand are analyzed using ridership data, and the trip characteristics are discussed and compared. Then, after controlling for confounding variables through matching, a difference-in-differences (DID) model is used to infer the effect of microtransit on bus transit demand. Specifically, by evaluating bus ridership before and after implementing the microtransit program, the DID model estimates the change in bus demand attributed to microtransit. The results suggest that the TNC services, focusing only on FMLM, were not as popular as microtransit services offering FMLM and intrazonal trips. Even though the microtransit trips were longer and, in some cases, the driver response times were higher than for TNC trips. Also, the DID model demonstrates that the microtransit service did not substantially impact the bus transit ridership, suggesting that the trips were mainly used for intrazonal door-to-door trips and not for FMLM trips. A further discussion highlights the need for performance metrics beyond demand and costs to capture the benefits of these partnerships for improving mobility, safety, and customer experience.