Recent its_tsrc items

Accelerating Transportation Innovation in California

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Mobility 10x Summit convened more than 200 leaders from state agencies, regional governments, academia, and industry to accelerate California’s transition toward a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable transportation system. As the capstone event of the Resilient and Innovative Mobility Initiative (RIMI)—a four‐year UC ITS research effort launched in 2021—the summit synthesized extensive research and practitioner insights across ten priority transportation topics, ranging from public transit to automation and carbon-neutraltransportation to equity, safety, and resilience.Across the opening and closing plenary discussions and nine breakout sessions, participants examined the structural challenges facing California’s transportation system: declining gas tax revenues, climate‐driven infrastructure damage, uneven public transit ridership recovery, inequitable access to mobility options, and rapid technological change. These challenges are converging at a moment when California...

Decarbonizing Heavy-Duty Transportation Modes with Electricity, Biofuels, and Hydrogen

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Heavy-duty transportation modes including trucks, buses, and seaport and airport equipment are relatively hard to decarbonize because of their demanding performance requirements and other factors. The California Scoping Plan for Achieving Carbon Neutrality calls for carbon-neutral transportation across all modes by 2045, with different sectors reaching 100% zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) sales by earlier dates, depending on the type of vehicle (see EO N-79-20). For public transit buses, the state’s Innovative Clean Transit rule requires both large and small transit agencies to cease purchasing combustion engine buses in 2029 in favor of zero-emission (ZE) technologies, with a phased approach that has already commenced. However, for trucks, achieving the transition to ZEVs is more problematic as the state’s Advanced Clean Fleets rule is only applicable to government fleets at present, and the Clean Truck Partnership memorandum of understanding with truck manufacturers is effectively...

Driving Grid Readiness: Integrating Electric Vehicles into California’s Energy System

Fri, 6 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

California utilities and policymakers must ensure that the distribution grid is prepared for this new load, while maintaining reliable electricity service and keeping costs low for ratepayers. As the EV market evolves, the distribution grid must rapidly grow into a smarter, more flexible, and more agile system. With well-designed charging programs and new technologies, additional EV charging capacity holds the promise of creating downward pressure on electricity rates. Advances in technology can support this promise through greater vehicle-to-grid integration (VGI) (i.e., strategies for altering EV charging time, power level, or location of charging (or discharging) to benefit the grid), managed charging programs, and other tools to further merge EVs into California’s grid. VGI turns EVs into interactive grid resources, enabling not only new methods to manage consumer demand but also bi-directional charging (known as vehicle-to-grid (V2G)) that can enhance grid flexibility and...

Mapping the Potential of Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles Across Transportation Sectors in California

Tue, 3 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This report develops a transportation hydrogen roadmap for California projected to 2045, building on previous UC ITS work, in part for the ARCHES hydrogen hub for trucks and ports. This study adds modes such as airports, aircraft, rail systems, and fuel-cell light-duty vehicles. Based on a scenario of high adoption of hydrogen-fueled transport, these modes and sectors would use 1000 tonnes/day of hydrogen by 2035 and 5000 tonnes/day by 2045. To 2035, about 40% of the expected growth occurs in heavy-duty trucking. Another 20% is used by other truck types, about 20% by light-duty vehicles, and 20% by other modes, notably shipping and aviation. These shares remain similar to 2045. Trucking remains the dominant driver of demand. Shipping, aviation, and rail are not anticipated to account for an increasing share of demand in the scenarios in this study. This hydrogen fuel system would support around 6,000 jobs per year. Hydrogen vehicle adoption will depend on strong policy support,...

Life-Cycle Emissions and Economic Analysis Tool for Hydrogen Production and Distribution Pathways for Road Transportation in California (CA-LCA-H2)

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The CA-LCA-H2 tool performs a cost and greenhouse gas and criteria air pollutant emissions assessment for a hydrogen project in California by selecting the operating region and mode of production and distribution of the hydrogen through to a fuel cell trucking use case. The cost of clean hydrogen production can change significantly from the choice of production method due to the respective energy and capital costs, and in the case of electrolysis, the electricity source. The regional variations in the electricity mix can significantly affect the carbon intensity of the hydrogen produced. These components then contribute to the potential effectiveness of hydrogen as a low-carbon fuel for the use case assessment.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Drayage Trucks Can Advance California’s Climate Goals and Provide Health Benefits for Front Line Communities

Tue, 3 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

California has ambitious goals to introduce zero-emission technologies across various transportation sectors. Significant progress has been made over the past decades in deploying battery electric light-duty trucks, but heavy-duty diesel trucks are harder to “decarbonize” due to their operational demands and duty cycles, even though the benefits of replacing heavily polluting diesel trucks are significant. Front line communities where diesel vehicles operate the most, especially those near seaports and warehouses, bear the brunt of the pollution from these vehicles and stand to benefit the most from their electrification. Hydrogen fuel cell technology represents a promising approach for transitioning these trucks to zero-emission but the costs and benefits over time must be carefully considered.

What Should Agencies Measure to Decide If Microtransit Is Working?

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

California state agencies, public transit agencies, and cities have invested in dozens of microtransit pilot programs, often with the stated goals of improving access, filling gaps in fixed-route public transit service, and serving communities that are difficult to reach by traditional bus or rail. As microtransit services mature, agencies increasingly face decisions about whether to expand, modify, or discontinue microtransit services—and how to allocate scarce operating funds across competing transit priorities.Despite growing investment, there is no consistent approach to measuring whether microtransit services are delivering meaningful benefits relative to their costs, or whether those benefits are equitably distributed. Without clear and well-balanced performance metrics, agencies risk drawing the wrong conclusions about success or failure.

Challenges and Opportunities Facing App-Based Gig Drivers Extend Beyond Driver Pay

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Throughout the U.S., app-based gig drivers provide valuable services for courier network services (CNS) like Instacart, Uber Eats and DoorDash, and transportation network companies (TNCs) such as Uber and Lyft. In California, gig labor classification is governed among other things by Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5), which passed in 2019, and Proposition 22 (Prop 22) adopted in 2020. AB 5 established the ABC Test for worker classification in California labor law. The ABC Test results in most app-based drivers being classified as employees, who are due full labor rights and benefits in California. However, gig drivers were exempted from the ABC Test when California voters approved Prop 22. As a result, under Prop 22, most CNS and TNC drivers in California are classified as independent contractors. Understanding the nuances of California labor law as it applies to app-based gig drivers is critical to addressing areas such as: worker flexibility, the need for high-quality jobs, and driver...

Pedal Power: Operational Models, Opportunities, and Obstacles of Bike Lending in North America

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Bike lending offers a service that enables individuals to borrow bicycles for short-term use (i.e., ranging from 2 hours to 36 months), typically from designated locations within cities, campuses, or communities. Unlike bikesharing systems that typically rely on automated kiosks and/or undocked and free-floating devices for public access, bike lending involves a managed program with staff, similar to a library model. These programs can be administered by community organizations, bike shops, public libraries, and other local entities. They are typically community- or membership-based, with many programs associated with non-profit organizations or publicly owned and operated. In this paper, we investigate bike lending in the United States and Canada as of Spring 2024, including a literature review, the identification and characterization of bike lending programs (n = 55), expert interviews (n = 24), a survey of bike lending operators (n = 31), and 2 focus groups with...

Advanced air mobility

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Advanced air mobility, also known as AAM, is a broad concept focusing on emerging aviation markets and use cases for on-demand aviation in urban, suburban, and rural communities (Cohen et al., 2024). AAM includes local use cases of about an 80 km radius in rural or urban areas and intraregional use cases of up to approximately 500 km.

Electric vehicles and social equity

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The transition toward electric vehicles (EVs) represents a pivotal shift in transportation technology, promising significant environmental benefits through reduced greenhouse gas emissions and decreased dependence on fossil fuels. However, the integration of EVs presents unique challenges and opportunities within the context of social equity. EVs have emerged as a key technology in the evolution of transportation, with their history tracing back to the late ninteenth century.

Integrated Active Transportation System Operational Vision and Implementation Research Plan

Mon, 29 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Between September, 2010 and December, 2012, UC Berkeley’s Transportation Sustainability Research Center (TSRC), in conjunction with subcontractors Cogenia Partners, LCC, studied how an Integrated Active Transportation System (IATS) could be realized and incorporated into the current United States (U.S.) transportation system. Cogenia Partners, LLC, concentrated on the technical feasibility of IATS and created a research roadmap, identifying how technology might develop under a variety of different circumstances, to make IATS a reality. As thebehavioral experts in the project, TSRC used various research methods to identify the roles of the non-technical elements, such as economics and societal acceptance of technology, as both barriers and opportunities to IATS realization.

This report describes the results of a research effort undertaken to identify what sort of advanced system can be realistically realized that can significantly improve safety and mobility while also...

Charging Ahead: How Incomeand Home Access Shape Electric Vehicle Adoption among Ridehailing Drivers

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Transportation network companies (TNCs), also known as ridehailing, such as Uber and Lyft, have contributed to increased vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and associated emissions in California’s urban areas over the past decade. In response, Senate Bill (SB) 1014 – the Clean Miles Standard – requires TNCs to achieve 90% electric vehicle (EV) miles traveled and zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per passenger mile by 2030. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) oversee implementation and enforcement of these targets.

Crabgrass confinement: Housing and transportation challenges of low- and moderate-income suburban residents in the San Francisco Bay Area

Mon, 5 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The relationship between housing and transportation costs has been the focus of much research, with classic urban theory positing that housing costs decrease and commuting costs increase as households move away from city centers. The growing population of low and low-moderate (LMI) households in suburbs may be taking advantage of lower housing costs, though research shows that housing cost savings in suburbs are offset by higher transportation costs. Our research explores dimensions of housing and transportation cost burden on LMI households in Contra Costa County in the San Francisco Bay Area using qualitative data from online/in-person surveys (n=208) and interviews conducted in English and Spanish (n=25).

We found that housing burden is high, suggesting that LMI households choose to live in suburbs for diverse reasons, including rising rents and other requirements (e.g., credit score, rental history) in core cities, and desire for home ownership and a safer environment...

Strategies for Improving Community College Access in California

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In California, transportation plays a key role in community college access because many community college districts have satellite campuses, have limited transportation options, and tend to not have on-campus housing. To better understand the mobility challenges students face accessing community colleges and provide potential policy strategies to overcome these challenges, the researchers interviewed local transportation agencies, community college administrators, and students at five California community colleges between September 2022 and October 2023. Participants were asked about available transportation options for community college students, typical student travel patterns, and the resources needed to support improved community college transportation access. Small group discussions with students focused on student travel patterns, mobility challenges, and opinions on potential strategies to improve access. In addition, we reviewed state legislation on student transportation...

Electric Vehicle Charge Management Strategies to Benefit the California Electricity Grid

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Recent studies suggest that there could be significant value to electric vehicle (EV) drivers and power companies from incorporating EVs into the state’s electrical power grids, known as Vehicle-Grid Integration (VGI). However, the benefits could be highly variable depending on the location of the utility territory, vehicle type and battery capacity, the relevant timeframe, and whether the connection involves only managed charging or includes bidirectional charging permitting vehicle to grid (V2G) power transfer, and other factors. Various studies conducted to date generally conclude that the opportunities for V2G could have two to three times the value of managed (or “smart”) charging. However, there are considerable additional complications for grid integration, including variable and site-specific implementation costs. Some savings such as deferring distribution system upgrades can be very significant but are also site-specific and depend on the level of curren and projected...

Student Access to Community College Relies Heavily on Private Vehicle Use

Fri, 28 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

California’s 116 community colleges, attended by 1.9 million students, serves the largest and most diverse student body in California higher education. Transportation plays an important role in student community college access and retention, but the cost and accessibility can create a barrier to success. Community college students spend more on transportation than their counterparts at both public and private four-year institutions, largely due to the lack of on-campus or nearby affordable housing. The absence of high-quality public transit forces students to commute by private vehicle and manage the associated costs of gas, maintenance, and parking. However, these transportation challenges for community college students are frequently overlooked. To better understand the mobility challenges students face accessing community colleges and provide potential policy strategies to overcome these challenges, we interviewed local transportation agencies, community college administrators,...

Local Government Strategies to Improve Shared Micromobility Infrastructure

Thu, 27 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Shared micromobility (bikesharing and scooter sharing) experienced market growth since 2021, rebounding from the pandemic across markets in the US, Mexico, and Canada. In partnership with the North American Bikeshare and Scootershare Association (NABSA) and Toole Design, researchers at the Transportation Sustainability Research Center (TSRC) at UC Berkeley have collaborated on the data collection and analysis of the shared micromobility industry metrics through a series of annual reports beginning in 2019. This includes a series of operator and agency surveys.1 Most recently, TSRC researchers collaborated on an Operator Survey (n=29) and an Agency Survey (n=52), distributed between January 2023 and June 2023, of all known shared micromobility operators and agencies as part of the 2022 state-of-the-industry report. Similar surveys were deployed in January 2022 and May 2022. These surveys include questions about shared micromobility systems2 operating within those agency jurisdictions...

Advanced Network Analysis of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Automated Vehicles for Goods Delivery (ATLAS)

Sat, 25 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The goal of the “Advanced Network Analysis of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Automated Vehicles for Goods Delivery” (ATLAS) project is to examine the costs and energy system impacts of using hydrogen (H2) fuel cell electric vehicles (FCVs) for medium-duty goods delivery applications, with human drivers and some degree of automated operation in the future. Direct goods delivery to residences and commercial operations is an expanding transportation element that has been growing at approximately 9% per year in recent years, with an estimated $343 billion global industry value in 2020.

Acquiring and Operating an Electric Vehicle is Largely Out of Reach for Most Ridehailing Drivers

Fri, 17 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Transportation network companies (TNCs) have played an increasingly prominent role providing on-demand mobility for consumers across California. The California Public UtilitiesCommission (CPUC) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) have adopted and are implementing SB 1014 (Clean Miles Standard), which establishes an annual increase in the percent of zero-emission passenger miles traveled and greenhouse (GHG) emission reduction targets for TNCs. This regulation requires TNC drivers to acquire and operate an electric vehicle (EV).

Policy Considerations for Advancing Bidirectional Electric Vehicle Charging in California

Fri, 18 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Electric vehicles (EVs) are proliferating in California, with over 1.8 million operating in the state. Modern EVs have considerably larger battery packs than early models, in many cases 80-100 kWh for 250-300-mile driving ranges. Charging power for EVs is also increasing. With the appropriate wiring, residential charging at Level 2 has reached up to 19.2 kW though 7-10 kW is more typical, making EVs among the most demanding household power loads. These charging loads can stress local electricity distribution feeders, particularly in the early evening when power use typically peaks.

Multifamily Households Across California are Paying a Lot More to Charge Their Electric Vehicle

Thu, 17 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

To better understand inequities in EV charging costs, we compared charging costs at public EV DCFC stations to the cost for single-family housing (SFH) residents charging at home for three California electric utility service areas, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), San Diego Gas and Electric Company (SDG&E) and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), and for three specific urban areas - Sacramento, San Diego, and San Jose. We used a combination of observed pricing data from PlugShare, a crowd-sourced database of public EV charging, and public DCFC pricing data from electric vehicle service provider (EVSP) websites, as well as electric utility tariff information from their respective websites.

Reimagining the Future of Transportation with Personal Flight: Preparing and Planning for Urban Air Mobility

Fri, 4 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is an emerging concept envisioning a safe, efficient, accessible, quiet, and multi-use air transportation for passenger mobility, cargo delivery, and emergency management within or traversing a metropolitan area. Urban air mobility is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s broader vision for Mobility on Demand (MOD), an innovative transportation concept evolving around connected travelers, where consumers can access mobility and goods delivery services on demand by dispatching or using urban aviation services, courier services, shared automated vehicles, shared mobility, public transportation, and other innovative and emerging transportation technologies. In recent years, several companies have designed and tested enabling elements of the UAM concept including; prototypes of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capable aircraft, operational concepts, and market studies to understand potential business models. While UAM may be enabled by the convergence...

The Benefits of Carpooling

Fri, 4 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Carpooling allows travelers to share a ride to a common destination and can include several forms of sharing a ride, such as casual carpooling and real-time carpooling. Because carpooling reduces the number of automobiles needed by travelers, it is often associated with numerous societal benefitsincluding:1) reductions in energy consumption and emissions, 2) congestion mitigation, and 3) reduced parking infrastructure demand. In recent years, economic, environmental, and social forces coupled with technological innovations are encouraging shared and pooled services. Shared mobility is changing how people travel and is having a transformative impact on mobility. This chapter reviews key trends impacting the mobility marketplace including the growth of shared mobility and key demographic indicators, such as an aging population and Millennials entering the workforce. For decades, carpooling has been used as a strategy by numerous public agencies and employers as a strategy to address...

Understanding Travel Behavior: Research Scan

Fri, 4 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

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, operations, and planning. This report presents a research scan of the state of knowledge in transportation to enhance understanding of travel behavior and various influencing factors on future travel. It provides an overview of the current state of travel behavior as measured today, as well as background on the current understanding from literature in travel behavior research. It also explores...

Understanding Curb Management and Targeted Incentive Policies to Increase Transportation Network Company Pooling and Public Transit Linkages

Fri, 4 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Transportation network company (TNCs) rides that are shared amongst users (i.e., pooled) can offer a variety of benefits including increased mobility and reduced transportation emissions. However, very few TNC users select pooled trips and not all pooled rides are matched with other riders. This report supports increased pooling by exploring different pooling strategies and incentives. TNC users were actively engaged to offer insights through the photovoice methodology (a participatory research method that allows community members to use photography to communicate their personal experiences and perceptions). The researchers gathered further information through interviews with four photovoice experts and 10 pooling stakeholders, four photovoice groups and one individual interview with a total of15 TNC users, and a workshop with five expert stakeholders and 12 photovoice group participants. The different research methods resulted in the development of four key takeaways and five...

Communities Are Experimenting with Microtransit to Fill Critical Gaps in Public Transit Service – What Have We Learned so Far?

Wed, 2 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Microtransit is a technology-enabled transit service that typically employs shuttles or vans (Figure 1) to provide on-demand transportation with dynamic routing. While many rides are dispatched and paid via a smartphone, many services also provide a telephone booking option. A few services accept cash payment and street hails (similar to taxis). Variations of microtransit can include fixed schedules and routes and larger or smaller vehicles. Typically, microtransit services are operated by or provided on behalfof a government entity or nonprofit organization, although privately operated microtransit programs also might exist.

Innovative Mobility: Carsharing Outlook; Carsharing Market Overview, Analysis, and Trends

Tue, 1 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In October 2018, carsharing was operating in 47 countries and six continents, with approximately 32 million member ssharing over 198,000 vehicles. Asia, the largest carsharing region measured by membership, accounted for 71.4% of worldwide membership and 54.4% of global fleets deployed. The world’s second largest carsharing market, Europe, accounted for 21.2% of worldwide members and 30.6% of vehicle fleets. As of October 2018, one-way carsharing accounted for 49.63% of global membership and 42.02% of global fleets deployed (based on data provided through expert interviews). The 2018 global one-way market share represented a 238% increase in membership and a 103% increase in fleets since 2016. In October 2018, roundtrip carsharing accounted for 50.37% and 57.98% of global membership and fleets deployed, respectively. Regionally, Europe had the largest percentage of one-way membership, representing 72.3% of the region’s carsharing membership. Oceania had the greatest percentage...

Shared Mobility Policy and Modeling Workshop

Tue, 1 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The market for personal mobility is changing rapidly due to shifting social and cultural trends, as well as technological advances, such as smartphones, information processing, widespread data connectivity, sharing, and vehicle automation. Shared, on-demand mobility represents a sustainable vision for future mobility with a reliable network of multimodal options that are available to all travelers. On March 22, 2019, the Local Government Commission (LGC)and the Transportation Sustainability Research Center (TSRC) at the University of California, Berkeley hosted the Caltrans Shared Mobility and Policy Toolkit Workshop. The workshop facilitated a dialogue of approximately 100 participants representing local, state, and regional governments; private companies; nonprofits and community-based organizations; and educational institutions.

Advanced Air Mobility Community Integration Considerations Playbook

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Aviation is undergoing rapid change due to advancements in technology, new business models, changing consumer preferences, and other trends. These trends are poised to change the way people travel by air. Advanced air mobility (AAM) is a broad concept focusing on leveraging these trends to include routine aviation mobility in urban, suburban, and rural communities. NASA envisions AAM as safe, sustainable, accessible, and affordable aviation for transformational local and intraregional missions. But it’s worth noting that this vision, AAM associated terms, and even the definition of AAM will also continue to mature. The AAM Coordination and Leadership Act defines the terms “advanced air mobility” and “AAM” as a transportation system that transports people and property by air be-tween two points using aircraft with advanced technologies, including electric aircraft or electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, in both con-trolled and uncontrolled airspace. AAM includes moving...

Shared Micromoblity Policy Toolkit: Docked and Dockless Bike and Scooter Sharing

Thu, 26 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Shared Micromobility – the shared use of a bicycle, scooter, or other low-speed mode – is an innovative transportation strategy that enables users to have short-term access to a mode of transportation on an as-needed basis. Shared micromobility includes various service models and transportation modes that meet the diverse needs of travelers, such as station-based bikesharing (a bicycle picked-up from and returned to any station or kiosk) and dockless bikesharing and scooter sharing (a bicycle or scooter picked up and returned to any location). Early documented impacts of shared micromobility include increased mobility, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, decreased automobile use, economic development, and health benefits.

What’s the ‘Big’ Deal withShared Micromobility?Evolution, Curb Policy, and Potential Developments in North America

Wed, 25 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Shared micromobility – or short-term access to shared bikes and scooters – provides a flexible alternative for households living in urban areas, individuals seeking first- and last-mile connections to public transportation, and those without access to a private vehicle trying to reach jobs and essential services. In this paper, the authors discuss the history, growth, and evolution of bike and scooter sharing in North America; summarize the demographics and impacts of shared micromobility; and explore shared micromobility policies and practices for managing devices and operations such as: device caps, service area limitations, designated parking areas, fees, equipment/operational requirements, and enforcement. In the future, enhancements in device automation, battery range, charging times, and weight are likely to contribute to the evolution and development of additional devices and service models, which could allow improved...

Bridging the Gap Between Evacuations and the Sharing Economy

Wed, 25 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This paper examines the opportunities for addressing evacuations by leveraging the sharing economy. To support this research, we use a mixed-method approach employing archival research of sharing economy actions, 24 high-ranking expert interviews, and a survey of individuals impacted by Hurricane Irma in 2017 (n=645). Using these data, we contribute to the literature in four key ways. First, we summarize sharing economy company actions in 30 U.S. disasters. Second, we discuss results from 24 expert interviews on 11 sharing economy benefits (ranging from resource redundancy to positive company press coverage) and 13 limitations (ranging from driver reliability to the digital divide). Experts included six directors/executives of emergency/transportation agencies, two executives ...

Power Trips: Early Understanding of Preparedness and Travel Behavior During California Public Safety Power Shutoff Events

Wed, 25 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Recent wildfire risks in California have prompted the implementation of public safety power shutoff (PSPS) events, procedures enacted by utility operators to de-energize parts of the electrical grid and reduce the likelihood of wildfire ignition. Despite their yearly occurrence, PSPS events are severely understudied, and little is known about how these events impact disaster preparation activity, travel behavior, and transportation systems. With growing wildfire risks in North America and beyond, PSPS events require immediate and thorough research to reduce their negative externalities and maximize their benefits. This exploratory study employs survey data from East Bay Hills residents in Alameda and Contra Costa counties in California who were impacted by two PSPS events in October 2019 (n=210). Through descriptive statistics and basic discrete choice models for the decision to conduct typical or changed travel, this research contributes to the literature as the first assessment...

Carsharing's Impact on Household Vehicle Holdings: Resultsvfrom a North American Shared-Use Vehicle Survey

Tue, 24 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Carsharing has grown considerably in North America during the past decade and has flourished within metropolitan regions across the United States and Canada. The result has been a new transportation landscape, which offers urban residents an alternative to automobility without carownership. As carsharing has expanded, there has been a growing demand to understand its environmental impacts. This paper presents the results of a North American carsharing member survey (N = 6,281). The authors establish a “before-and-after” analytical design with a focus oncarsharing’s impacts on household vehicle holdings and the aggregate vehicle population. The results show that carsharing members reduce their vehicle holdings to a degree that is statistically significant. The average vehicles per household of the sample drops from 0.47 to 0.24. Most ofthis shift constitutes one-car households becoming carless. The average fuel economy of carsharing vehicles used most often by respondents is 10...

Energy Efficiency - Innovations: Driving Prosperity, Slashing Emissions

Fri, 20 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In recent years, mobility on demand (MOD) is gaining popularity among mobility consumers. This innovative concept is based on the principle that transportation is a commodity where modes have economic values that are distinguishable in terms of cost, journey time, wait time, number of con-nections, convenience, and other attributes. MOD enables consumers to access mobility, goods and services on demand by dispatching or using shared mobility, delivery services and public transportation solutions through an integrated and connected multi-modal network. This chapter describes the different services that have emerged in the MOD ecosystem and the core enablers of MOD, such as stakeholders, business models and technology. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how MOD and vehicle automation could impact cities and the transportation network and their energy use.

Struggling to Connect: Housing and Transportation Challenges of Low-Income Suburban Residents in the San Francisco Bay Area

Fri, 21 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Suburban areas have lower density development than urban areas, which may make them less accessible for the growingpopulation of low- and moderate-income suburban residents, particularly those without a personal vehicle. This research examines factors that lead these households to move to suburban areas and identifies accessibility barriers they face. We use a mixed-methods approach with Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) data from the U.S. Census, online/in-person surveys (n=208), and interviews conducted in English and Spanish (n=25) with households in Contra Costa County with an income of less than $75,000. To understand key differences in housing and transportation choices between urban and suburban residents, these data were compared to survey and interview data from low-income Oakland residents from 2020-2021. We found that low- and moderate-income households choose to live in suburbs due to rising rents and otherrequirements (e.g., credit score, rental history) in urban...

Behavioral and Sociodemographic Impacts of Carsharing

Mon, 3 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The growth of carsharing in North America since the service was first introduced in 1994 has had notable impacts on travel behaviour, including vehicle ownership and modal shift. Existing forms of carsharing (e.g., roundtrip, one-way, and peer-to-peer) alter the conventional cost structure of driving from one of fixed cost to variable cost. Multiple studies have shown that overall, carsharing users increase public transit and non-motorized modal use, with some users also selling their vehicle or postponing future vehicle purchases as a result of being a carsharing member. These modal impacts have led to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions associated with driving. Further, research has shown that carsharing may provide additional accessibility to individuals without a personal vehicle. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the travel behaviour impacts of carsharing and findings on the demographics of carsharing users.

California's Zero-Emission Vehicle Mandate: Linking Clean-Fuel Cars, Carsharing, and Station Car Strategies

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

To reduce transportation emissions and energy consumption, policymakers typically employ one of two approaches—changing technology or changing behavior. These strategies include demand management tools, such as ridesharing and vehicle control technologies—cleaner fuels and fueleconomy. Despite the benefits of a combined policy approach, these strategies are normally employed separately. Nevertheless, they have been linked occasionally, for instance in theelectric station car programs of the 1990s. Station cars are vehicles used by transit riders at the start or end of a trip.

In 1990, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) focused on reducing mobile airpollution by mandating that automakers introduce clean vehicles through its Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate. In 1998, significant flexibility was introduced through Partial ZEV credits for very low emission vehicles.

In 2000, CARB left the ZEV Mandate intact, but began considering new approaches,including station...

Microtransit

Thu, 14 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Shared Mobility Policy Playbook - Microtransit | 1Microtransit is a privately or publicly operated, technology-enabled transport service that typically uses multi-passenger/pooled shuttles or vans to provide on-demand or fixed-schedule services with either dynamic or fixed routing (Cohen & Shaheen, 2016; SAE International, 2018. This tool kit identifies potential use cases for microtransit and provides case studies of pilot programs, public-private partnerships, and permit programs for private operators. The tool kit concludes with a summary of opportunities and challenges for microtransit services.

Shared Mobility in Low- and High-Income Regions

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Although shared and informal transport are not new concepts in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs), a variety of economic, environmental, and social forces are contributing to the growth of shared mobility in LMICs around the world. Shared mobility—the shared use of a vehicle, motorcycle, autorickshaw, minibus, scooter, bicycle, or other travel mode—is an innovative transportation strategy that enables users to have short-term access to a transportation mode. This paper documents key shared mobility and informal transport concepts, terms, and definitions around the world. The paper also discusses the state of shared, informal, and emerging mobility in LMICs and explores the potential similarities and differences between the adoption of these innovations in low-, middle-, and high-income economies. The paper concludes with a discussion of gaps in understanding and potential research needs to enhance collective understanding of shared mobility and informal transport in LMICs.

Advanced Air Mobility: Opportunities, Challenges, and Research needsfor the State of California (2023-2030)

Fri, 16 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Advanced air mobility (AAM) is a broad concept that enables consumers access to air mobility, goods delivery, and emergency services through an integrated and connected multimodal transportation network. AAM can provide short-range urban, suburban, and rural flights of about 50-miles and mid-range regional flights up to a several hundred miles. State law delegates responsibility for oversight in aviation primarily to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). This white paper presents an overview of the state of the market, such as the aircraft under development and forecast market growth and discusses factors that could facilitate the development of AAM or pose risks to its deployment or to the public, including the safety and the regulatory environment, airspace and air traffic management, security, environmental impacts, weather, infrastructure and multimodal integration, workforce and economic development, social equity, and community engagement and social acceptance....

What’s the ‘Big’ Deal with Shared Micromobility?Evolution, Curb Policy, and Potential Developments in North America

Sat, 6 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

What’s the ‘Big’ Deal with Shared Micromobility?Evolution, Curb Policy, and Potential Developments in North America

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

Sat, 6 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

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 respondents, provided a number of key takeaways. First, the pilot served as a mode substitution with several personal vehicle modes, the most prominent of which was Uber/Lyft (45% mode substitution). Second, of the 39 respondents, 23% responded that they drove alone at least once fewer every week or greater in response to using Via. Third, of 35 respondents, 49% reported that the pilot service...

Impacts of car2go on Vehicle Ownership, Modal Shift, Vehicle Miles Traveled, and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: An Analysis of Five North American Cities

Sat, 6 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

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 only pay for the time that they drive. As a one-way system, car2go provides flexibility to the user. There are questions as to whether one-way carsharing increases overall vehicle miles traveled (VMT), by facilitating easier one-way travel (and automotive commuting) within urban environments. The results of this study suggest that access to ubiquitous shared automobiles allows some residents to get rid of a car or avoid acquiring one altogether. These actions taken by a minority of members have VMT-reducing effects that are estimated to exceed the additional driving that does take place within...

Going My Way? Understanding Curb Management and Incentive Policies to Increase Pooling Service Use and Public Transit Linkages in the San Francisco Bay Area

Mon, 2 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Despite lower user costs, only 20% to 40% of transportation network company (TNC) users select a pooled, or shared, ride option. Why are existing TNC users not selecting the pooled option or using TNCs to connect to public transit, and what role do built environment features and incentives play in their decision? This study explores the factors that influence TNC user decisions through a multi-method approach comprising photovoice small group discussions and a workshop. Between March 2021 and May 2021, 15 San Francisco Bay Area TNC users shared photographs they took of TNC pick-up locations through two-to-three-person guided small group discussions. The photos revealed that users prefer waiting in retail or in well-lit, good-visibility locations. Participants’ primary concern was personal safety, particularly female users who may take additional precautions when walking to pick-up locations and waiting for and taking rides. In July 2021, 12 photovoice participants and 5 stakeholders...

Creative Reallocation of Curbs, Streets, Sidewalks Accelerated by the Pandemic May be Here to Stay

Thu, 10 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Curb space has been traditionally designed for private vehicle parking, public transit, and passenger and commercial loading. However, in recent years, a growing number of newservices and activities have increased the demand for limited curb space, including passenger pick-up and drop-off; last-mile delivery (e.g., courier network services, personal delivery devices); electric vehicle (EV) charging; micromobility parking and use (e.g., personally owned and shared bikes and scooters); and carsharing services. The curb serves a variety of functions such as vehicle and device storage (including personally owned and shared vehicles and devices), outdoor dining and retail, greenspace, and other uses. These changes are contributing to a notable shift in how people access and use the curb, and how public agencies plan, prioritize, and manage curbside interactions.

Transportation Network Companies Might Be Pulling Riders from Public Transit, but This Could Change

Tue, 30 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Transportation Network Companies (TNCs, also known as ridehailing and ridesourcing) have expanded across California over the past decade and changed the way people travel. Using a smartphone, travelers can quickly summon a vehicle from almost anywhere and know what the estimated wait time, travel time, and cost will be before stepping into the vehicle. While TNCs are clearly addressing an unmet need for travelers, their growing popularity has raised a number of policy questions, including if TNCs are shifting people away from public transit and other travel modes (e.g., carshare, walking, biking).

Do Incentives Make a Difference? Understanding Smart Charging Program Adoption for Electric Vehicles

Thu, 13 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Climate change and environmental problems have spurred new strategies to reduce fossil fuel consumption in transportation. Two important strategies include a rapid transition to green energy and the replacement of internal combustion vehicles with electric vehicles (EVs). However, the increasing demand for electricity by EVs, especially from time-dependent green sources of energy (e.g., solar, wind), will likely overload the grid at peak hours. Rather than build costly infrastructure improvements for distribution and generation, smart charging programs for EVs could defer charging to off-peak times and better match demand with supply. Yet, little is currently known about people’s willingness to participate in a program and relinquish control of charging to a third party.

Zero-Emission Bus Implementation Guidebook for California Transit Fleets

Thu, 13 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Transit bus operations in California are experiencing new challenges due to economic conditions and the ongoing global pandemic. A confluence of factors has created a focus on this critical public-needs serving industry, due to state and local efforts to reduce emissions of pollutants and climate-changing gases. Transit bus operations in California provide essential and additional useful services that offer critical mobility to needy populations (elderly and handicapped) as well as many other groups for whom transit buses provide the most economical, convenient, and low-emission options. To address the role of transit bus operations in meeting California’s aggressive greenhouse gas (GHG) and emissions, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) has implemented an ambitious Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) regulation that requires all public transit agencies to gradually transition to a 100 percent zero-emission bus (ZEB) fleet.1 Beginning in 2029, 100% of new purchases by transit...

Future of Aviation: Advancing Aerial Mobility through Technology, Sustainability, and On-Demand Flight

Wed, 15 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Advanced air mobility (AAM) is a broad concept enabling consumers access to air mobility, cargo and package delivery, healthcare applications, and emergency services through an integrated and connected multimodal transportation network. AAM includes local use cases of about a 50-mile radius in rural or urban areas and intraregional use cases of up to approximately 500 miles that occur within or between urban and rural areas. The Future of Aviation Conference: Advancing Aerial Mobility through Technology, Sustainability, and On-Demand Flight was held in person at the San Francisco International Airport from August 2 to 5, 2022. The conference commenced with an AAM 101 workshop hosted by the Community Air Mobility Initiative (CAMI) on August 2nd. The full conference program began on August 3rd. This event advanced key research and policy discussions around environmental impacts, safety, security, equity, multimodal integration, and the role of government.

Shared Micromobility: Policy, Practices, and Emerging Futures

Wed, 1 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Shared micromobility – or short-term access to shared bikes and scooters – provides a flexible alternative for households living in urban areas, households seeking first and last-mile connections to public transportation, and those without access to a private vehicle trying to access jobs and essential services. Up until the global pandemic, shared micromobility grew worldwide on a relatively steep growth curve, beginning in the early 2010s. Shared micro-mobility is a transportation strategy that enables users’ short-term access to a transportation mode on an as-needed basis (Shaheen et al.2019). Shared micromobility includes a number of operational models, including station-based micromobility (where a bicycle or scooter is picked up from and returned to any station or kiosk) and dockless (or stationless) micromobility (where a bicycle or scooter is picked up and returned to any location). Another service model, sometimes referred to as a ‘hybrid model’, blends aspects...

Understanding the Travel Needs of Underserved Populations That Rely on Transportation Network Companies in the San Francisco Bay Area

Wed, 1 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Transportation network companies (TNCs) are changing the way people travel by providing dynamic, on-demand mobility that can supplement public transit and personal vehicle use. Early research suggests that TNCs have the potential to expand access and mobility for underserved communities. Yet aspects of the way TNCs operate have come under scrutiny as pricing algorithms and the choices of human drivers have resulted in a number of inequities and biases in cost and service levels across various socio-demographic groups (e.g., minorities, women, people with disabilities). TNCs present opportunities to increase individual mobility and access, butthey can exacerbate existing inequities and increase VMT, congestion, and emissions. This study led to several key findings regarding TNC customer interest in using pooled rides; consideration of other modes; insights into how disability status, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality can influence transportation decision-making; and desired...

Advancing Social Equity and Congestion Relief: Understanding the Travel Needs of Underserved Populations That Rely on Transportation Network Companies in the San Francisco Bay Area

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) enable travelers to order and pay for rides on-demand using an online application that connects them with drivers using their personal vehicles. While these modes present opportunities to increase individual mobility and access, they also can worsen congestion and increase vehicle emissions. Researchers explored factors impacting the willingness to use pooled TNCs and identified strategies/policies that could be employed to reduce congestion from TNC use. Researchers conducted a literature review, interviews with TNC experts, semi-structured interviews with lower-income, non-White TNC users, and small group discussions with lower-income, non-White TNC users. This research resulted in several key findings including the importance of travel time in the decision to pool, greater focus on meeting the needs of people with disabilities, key operational and safety drawbacks of public transportation(e.g., delayed vehicles, harassment onboard), and...

Advancing Road User Charge (RUC) Models in California: Understanding Social Equity and Travel Behavior Impacts

Tue, 20 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The State of California is currently moving forward with a road usage charge (RUC) demonstration program, creating promising research opportunities to examine the potential social equity implications of a shift from a gas tax to a RUC system in California. RUC . To this aim, this study investigates the relative burden of gas taxes and mileage-based RUC across various sociodemographic and geographic dimensions by examining key trends in road use, vehicle ownership, fuel consumption, use of RUC-related technologies, and attitudes/opinions related to RUC adoption. Expert interviews were conducted to increase understanding of the potential opportunities and challenges of a RUC system, particularly regarding social equity. The interviews included transportation industry professionals as well as representatives from community-based and other stakeholder organizations to understand best practices for RUC design and implementation, identify stakeholders’ concerns and potential ways to...

Future of Work: Scenario Planning for COVID-19 Recovery

Thu, 17 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread lockdowns across the world in early 2020, with major implications to spatial and temporal commuting patterns as a result of increased work from home (also known as telework) activities. There has been a high degree of uncertainty on what work from home impacts will persist in the future. In this report, we first conduct a thorough review of news articles, published reports, and peer-reviewed literature to summarize telework trends. We also use scenario planning to bring together ten experts from academia, public sector, industry, and commercial real estate in two 1.5-hour long workshops to discuss the impacts of telework on transportation, housing, commercial real estate, and land use.

3rd Annual Shared Micromobility State of the Industry Report

Wed, 31 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

NABSA is pleased to present our third annual Shared Micromobility State of the Industry Report. In 2021, the industry continued to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic with shared micromobility filling critical gaps in essential mobility. The industry continued to rebound and demonstrate tremendous resilience, with the number of systems growing past pre-pandemic levels. This report tracks that progress and the trends that are emerging in the industry.

To inform this report, we have collected data across a wide variety of topics, including ridership metrics, user profiles, employment, equity, and community benefits. Our data sources include surveys sent to shared micromobility operators and public agencies across North America, supplemented by research reports on shared micromobility, census data, and other data that is tracked by NABSA. This 2021 State of the Industry report shows a snapshot in time, providing a comparison for tracking trends with previous years and marking...

Tercer Informe Anual del Estado de al Industria de La Micromovilidad Compartida

Wed, 31 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

La Asociación Norteamericana de Bicicletas y Monopatines Compartidos (North American Bikeshare & Scootershare Association – NABSA) se complace en presentar nuestro tercer informe anual sobre el estado del sector de la micromovilidad compartida. En 2021, el sector continuó respondiendo a la pandemia del COVID-19, y la micromovilidad compartida cubrió vacíos críticos en la movilidad esencial. El sector siguió recuperándose y demostrando una enorme resiliencia, con un número de sistemas que supera los niveles anteriores a la pandemia. Este informe hace unseguimiento de este progreso y de las tendencias que están surgiendo en el sector.

Hemos recopilado datos sobre una amplia variedad de temas, incluyendo métricas de uso, perfiles de usuarios, empleos, equidad, y beneficios comunitarios. Las fuentes de datos incluyen las encuestas enviadas a operadores de la micromovilidad compartida y a las agencias públicas a través de América del Norte, complementados con informes...

Vehicle Electrification in Carsharing and Transportation Network Company (TNC) Fleets: Current and Future Trends

Mon, 13 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Vehicle Electrification in Carsharing and Transportation Network Company (TNC) Fleets: Current and Future Trends

Carsharing and Personal Vehicle Services: Worldwide Market Developments and Emerging Trends

Thu, 7 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Carsharing (or short-term auto use) provides a flexible alternative that meets diverse transportation needs across the globe, while reducing the negative impacts of private vehicle ownership. More than 65 years ago, carsharing began appearing in Europe. It has expanded to approximately 1,100 cities worldwide, in 26 nations on five continents. This article provides a global perspective of carsharing growth and future developments from 2006 through 2015, employing data from three surveys conducted in 2006, 2008, and 2010. The authors explore the interview findings of 25 carsharing experts worldwide representing 25 of 26 nations, collected in 2010.

Understanding California wildfire evacuee behavior and joint choice making

Wed, 6 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

For evacuations, people must make the critical decision to evacuate or stay followed by a multi-dimensional choice composed of concurrent decisions of their departure time, transportation mode, route, destination, and shelter type. These choices have important impacts on transportation response and evacuation outcomes. While extensive research has been conducted on hurricane evacuation behavior, little is known about wildfire evacuation behavior. To address this critical research gap, particularly related to joint choice-making in wildfires, we surveyed individuals impacted by the 2017 December Southern California Wildfires (n = 226) and the 2018 Carr Wildfire (n = 284). Using these data, we contribute to the literature in two key ways. First, we develop two latent class choice models (LCCMs) to evaluate the factors that influence the decision to evacuate or stay/defend. We find an evacuation keen class and an evacuation reluctant class that are influenced differently by mandatory...

Willingness of Hurricane Irma evacuees to share resources: a multi-modeling approach

Wed, 2 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Recent technological improvements have greatly expanded the sharing economy (e.g., Airbnb, Lyft, and Uber), coinciding with growing need for transportation and sheltering resources in evacuations. To understand influencers on sharing willingness in evacuations, we employed a multi-modeling approach across four sharing scenarios using three model types: 1) four binary logit models that capture each scenario separately; 2) a multi-choice latent class choice model (LCCM) that jointly estimates multiple scenarios via latent classes; and 3) a portfolio choice model (PCM) that estimates dimensional dependency. We tested our approach by employing online survey data from 2017 Hurricane Irma evacuees (n=368).

The multi-model approach uncovered behavioral nuances undetectable with a single model. First, the multi-choice LCCM and PCM models uncovered scenario correlation, specifically willingness to share for both transportation scenarios and both sheltering scenarios. Second, the...

Shared Automated Vehicle (SAV) Pilots and Automated Vehicle Policy

Wed, 19 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Shared Automated Vehicle (SAV) Pilots and Automated Vehicle Policy

Shared Mobility: Current Practices and Guiding Principles Brief

Fri, 10 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

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 apps that aggregate these options and optimize routes for travelers are also proliferating. In addition to these emerging travel modes, innovative ways of transporting and delivering goods are evolving. These courier network services have the potential to change the nature of the package and food delivery industry, as well as the broader transportation network. Shared mobility is playing a transformational...

Smartphone Applications to Influence Travel Choices: Practices and Policies

Thu, 9 Dec 2021 00:00:00 +0000

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 principles for public agencies.

Mobility on Demand: State of the Industry Practitioner Census, Fall 2021

Mon, 29 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

The Transportation Sustainability Research Center (TSRC) at the University of California, Berkeley is pleased to present the results of the Mobility on Demand (MOD) State of the Industry Practitioner Census. The global pandemic has led to a challenging period for the transportation sector. Nevertheless, the industry has shown resilience and innovation. This industry outlook provides information on MOD and Mobility as a Service (MaaS) developments throughout the United States (U.S.) and highlights some industry changes in response to the pandemic.

Advanced Air Mobility: Demand Analysis and Market Potential of the Airport Shuttle and Air Taxi Markets

Mon, 22 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Advanced air mobility (AAM) is a broad concept enabling consumers access to on-demand air mobility, cargo and package delivery, healthcare applications, and emergency services through an integrated and connected multimodal transportation network. However, a number of challenges could impact AAM’s growth potential, such as autonomous flight, the availability of take-off and landing infrastructure (i.e., vertiports), integration into airspace and other modes of transportation, and competition with shared automated vehicles. This article discusses the results of a demand analysis examining the market potential of two potential AAM passenger markets—airport shuttles and air taxis. The airport shuttle market envisions AAM passenger service to, from, or between airports along fixed routes. The air taxi market envisions a more mature and scaled service that provides on-demand point-to-point passenger services throughout urban areas. Using a multi-method approach comprised of AAM travel...

Impacts of Transportation Network Companies on Vehicle Miles Traveled, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Travel Behavior Analysis from the Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and San Francisco Markets

Thu, 18 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) like Lyft, Uber, and their global counterparts have expanded around the world over the past decade and have changed the way that people travel around cities and regions. The individual mobility benefits provided by TNCs have been clear. Passengers can summon a vehicle quickly via smartphone from almost anywhere to take them almost anywhere, with advance communication on estimated wait time, travel time, and cost. TNCs may also provide users with added mobility benefits, especially for those living in areas where public transit service is infrequent or non-existent. However, the growing popularity of TNCs has forced important questions about their impacts on the overall transportation network. While past research has focused on many different aspects of TNC impacts, including their effects on travel behavior, modal shift, congestion, and other topics, there are still many important questions. This report advances the understanding of TNC...

Urban Air Mobility: Opportunities and Obstacles

Wed, 29 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Urban Air Mobility (UAM, also known as advanced air mobility) is an emerging concept that envisions a safe, sustainable, affordable, and accessible air transportation system for emergency management, cargo delivery, and passenger mobility within or traversing a metropolitan area. While numerous societal concerns have been raised about these approaches (e.g., privacy, safety, security, social equity), on-demand aviation has the potential to provide options for emergency services, goods delivery, and passenger mobility in urban and rural areas using small piloted and autonomous aircraft. This chapter provides a short overview of developments in on-demand aviation and a discussion of the potential impacts and challenges of UAM on communities. Potential challenges include safety, financial, and community acceptance, among others. Research that seeks to understand the potential societal barriers can help to identify challenges and mitigate potential UAM concerns. Research on the potential...

Chapter 12: Shared Micromobility Policy and Practices in the United states

Tue, 14 Sep 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Shared micromobility has the potential to offer communities an array of individual and community benefits, such as increased mobility, greater environmental awareness, and increased use of active transportation and non-vehicular modes. With careful planning and public policy, micromobility can also enhance accessibility and quality of life in cities. This chapter dis-cusses the growth of shared micromobility, its impacts on users and communities, and policy considerations for managing the potential adverse impacts of shared micromobility on curbspace management. This chapter is organized into four sections. The first section discusses the growth and evolution of shared micromobility in the U.S. The next summarizes user demographics and shared micromobility impacts. The third section discusses shared micromobility policies and practices, including two policy case studies from Seattle, Washington and Santa Monica, California. The final section concludes with a discussion of the...

Mobility on Demand (MOD) Sandbox Demonstrations Independent Evaluation (IE) - Valley Metro Mobility Platform Project Evaluation Plan