Demand Inference for Free-Floating Micro-Mobility: Accessibility and Availability
PI: Chiwei Yan (UW), chiwei@uw.edu, ORCID: 0000-0001-5770-2079
Co PIs: none
AMOUNT & MATCH: $40,000 from PacTrans; $40,000 Match
PERFORMANCE PERIOD: 3/16/2022 – 3/15/2023
STATUS: Active
CATEGORIES: Micromobility, Accessability
RESEARCH PROJECT HOT SHEET: 
UTC PROJECT DOCUMENTATION:
FINAL PROJECT REPORT: will be available once completed
PROJECT DATA: will be available once completed
DESCRIPTION: The city of Seattle, Portland, and other major US cities have been seeing an increasing amount of deployment and usage of micro-mobility fleets such as electric bikes and scooters. These services quickly gain popularity by providing convenient, cost-effective, and emission-free mobility options to riders.
This project develops novel statistical and data analytics methods to infer underlying demand for such services, using only observed trip and vehicle availability data. Its focus is on the more recent (and more popular) free-floating or dock-less services. In short, the methods developed in the proposed project enable municipal agencies and fleet operators to accurately answer the following questions, using data collected from day-to-day operations, such as trip counts and vehicle locations:
- How many riders would be interested in using the service at each geographic location in the service area if there were always vehicles available within proximity; and
- How many of them get served (availability) and how good is the service quality (accessibility) — distance a rider must travel to find an available vehicle?
| DELIVERABLE | DUE DATE | DATE RECEIVED |
| Research Project Progress Report #1 | 10/10/2022 | |
| No Cost Extension Request | 1/15/2023 | |
| Draft Report | 1/15/2023 | |
| Final Project Report | 3/15/2023 |
