Shared Mobility Resources: Helping to Understand Emerging Shifts in Transportation

Abstract

INSTITUTE OF TRANSPORTATION STUDIES POLICY BRIEF Shared Mobility Resources: Helping to Understand Emerging Shifts in Transportation Susan Shaheen, Adam Cohen, and Ismail Zohdy For inquires, please contact: sshaheen@berkeley.edu KEY TAKEAWAYS Topic / Issue Shared mobility is a transportation strategy that is rising in prominence, which can the potential to align with supportive land use, mobility, social, and environmental goals. As a concept, the term applies to any mode, whether bicycle, car, public transit, or other mode, in which shared use (concurrent or sequential) is often facilitated by smartphone apps and technology. Casual carpooling is one example in which sharing has been more organic and non-technological in nature. Given shared mobility’s notable growth and expansion in recent years, it merits a deeper understanding in light of its public policy potential and expansive scope. It is now being used outside of the urban core in both suburban and rural contexts. To facilitate a greater understanding of shared mobility, particularly among policymakers and planners, the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Shared Mobility: Current Practices and Guiding Principles and the American Planning Association’s (APA) Planning for Shared Mobility were authored. Research Findings SHARED MOBILITY SERVICE MODELS Car Rental Liveries/Limos Paratransit Pedicabs Public Transit Shuttles Taxis • Carpool • Vanpool • Casual Carpool Core & Incumbent Services Comparing traditional / incumbent mobility service models (left) with new and innovative services (right). • Bikesharing • Carsharing • Courier Network Services • e-Hail • High-Tech Company Shuttles • Microtransit • P2P Bikesharing • P2P Vechile Sharing • Ridesourcing/TNCs • Scooter Sharing Innovative Services These Shared Mobility resources serve as “primers” on the subject. Each document defines what shared mobility is, describes its benefits, outlines the current effects of regulation and taxation in shaping it, provides case studies and success stories, and offers guiding principles for public agencies to use as they engage with this emerging “mode of modes.” The documents first describe various forms of shared mobility beyond the “mode” itself. For example, car, bike, and microtransit shared mobility services have a variety of operational models, ranging from membership-based self-service, peer-to-peer service, non- membership self-service, for-hire service, and mass transit service. • • Many shared mobility services, across cities, are enhancing transportation accessibility, increasing multimodality, reducing vehicle ownership and vehicle miles traveled, and providing new opportunities for travel and goods delivery. • • Although shared mobility has notable potential to address a number of social and environmental goals, it is not yet mainstream and a number of policy challenges remain. “Shared mobility affects everyone, not just its users”