Ridesharing

Introduction

Ridesharing or carpooling, decreases the number of vehicles on roadways when individuals share a vehicle with one or more individuals on a commute. While the U.S. Department of Transportation promotes ridesharing, private companies or individuals usually take on the responsibility of implementing and managing programs

Factors influence Ridesharing

Individuals choose to participate in ridesharing based on time, distance, convenience, household characteristics, and the availability of the automobile.

Company/Workplace characteristics

Levels of ridership increase more when parking subsidies are decreased rather than when ridership is promoted through subsidies.

Income and Auto ownership

Individuals households that have less than 1 automobile per person are more likely to rideshare. Ridership decreases with gains in personal income and auto ownership. Ridesharing trips take more time than single use trip, and time is a finite resource, so those that have a vehicle and put a premium on saved time from single occupancy are more likely to drive alone.

Distance

Ridesharing increases as communiting distance increases. According to National Personal Transportation Survey data, 14.2% of commuters carpool during the trip shorter than 5 miles but 34.4% carpool at distances over 25 miles.

Location

Ridesharing and public transit use increases near Central Business Districts (CBD) due to several reasons: 1. commutes are long and traffic is generally heavy to CBD. 2. Individuals are more likely to face parking fees in CBD 3. Public transit is more convenient and available in CBD.

Examples of Ridesharing Programs

Zimride

Zimride is a online peer-to-peer service for universities and corporations to connect people and facilitate ridesharing . UCLA affilated students and employees can sign up for the service

References

Tsao, H-S. Jacob, and Da-Jie Lin. "Spatial and temporal factors in estimating the potential of ride-sharing for demand reduction." (1999). APA