With limited funding, transit agencies search for ways to more cost effectively serve their riders, particularly in low-density communities. Transit incorporating mobility-on-demand (TIMOD) is one possibility, but how does it compare to services such as fixed transit or ride-hailing services? This study compared the cost-effectiveness of TIMOD to that of other modes in suburban and rural settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Transit incorporating mobility-on-demand refers to public-private partnerships in which transit agencies incorporate demand-responsive transportation services to supplement fixed-route transit. For this study, researchers compared the potential benefits and trade-offs of TIMOD services in low-density settings with those of driving, buses, and ride-hailing. They first developed a framework for comprehensively comparing costs, and then they applied the framework to five suburban and rural areas. These areas were characterized by lower population density than urban centers and varied in demographic characteristics, transit accessibility, and built environment features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For each alternative, the project estimated travelers\u2019 monetary costs and value of travel time; service providers\u2019 costs for labor, fuel, capital, and maintenance; and transportation externalities, including social costs of emissions, crashes, noise, congestion, and health impacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The researchers found that in most of the study cases, TIMOD was the least cost-effective option, with an estimated social cost that was at least two times higher than that of driving. For transit agencies, the operating costs associated with TIMOD were much higher than those of fixed-route transit services. For travelers, driving alone generated the lowest generalized travel cost. However, TIMOD could be the most cost-effective option, particularly in areas with limited transit services, given its demand-responsive nature coupled with a subsidized fare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the results showed that TIMOD services can provide a more convenient and affordable travel option for residents of areas with lower population density and limited transit services, they can be more expensive to operate than fixed-route transit services, especially in lower-density areas. The researchers concluded that if transit agencies want to provide TIMOD services, they must carefully design and operate them, considering variations in travel demand and residents\u2019 sociodemographic characteristics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Report: WA-RD 955.1<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Authors: Samuel Gacad-Cowen, WSDOT Public Transportation Division<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sponsor: WSDOT With limited funding, transit agencies search for ways to more cost effectively serve their riders, particularly in low-density communities. Transit incorporating mobility-on-demand (TIMOD) is one possibility, but how does it compare to services such as fixed transit or ride-hailing services? This study compared the cost-effectiveness of TIMOD to that of other modes in suburban and rural settings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9830,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[87,42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-multimodal-travel-research-news","category-research-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/trac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/trac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/trac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/trac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/trac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9829"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/trac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9831,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/trac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9829\/revisions\/9831"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/trac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/trac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/trac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/trac\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Qing Shen<\/a>
Mingming Cai
Changlong Ling
UW Department of Urban Design and Planning<\/p>\n\n\n\n
WSDOT Technical Monitor: Justin Nawrocki<\/a>
WSDOT Project Coordinator: David Strich<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"