The increasing availability of shared mobility options is having a profound impact on travel behavior and travel demand. Smartphone-based technology has permitted the rapid spread of bike-, car-, ride-sharing, and ride-hailing options, which has affected how people use traditional travel modes, especially private cars and public transit. There is broad agreement that transportation policies need to consider these changes. However, a lack of data impedes the development of programs and policies that could address both the positive and negative aspects of the new travel options. This project is leveraging unique travel behavior data sets that are available in the Pacific Northwest region, supplemented by other emerging “big” data sets for information such as GPS and bike-sharing, to identify how the advent of shared mobility is changing the demand for traditional private individual and public transit travel, as well as its potential impacts on travel choices, revenue streams, and infrastructure needs. This will help planners and engineers make long-range business, policy, and planning decisions to support transportation infrastructure and movement.
Principal Investigators:
Anne Vernez Moudon, Urban Design and Planning, UW
Jeff Ban, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW
Qing Shen, Urban Design and Planning, UW
Mike Lowry, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Idaho
Sponsors:
PacTrans
WSDOT
Puget Sound Regional Council
Scheduled completion: August 2020