Spatial Characteristics of Transit-Integrated Ridesourcing Trips and Their Competitiveness with Transit and Walking Alternatives

Abstract

Municipal transit agencies are exploring integrations with ridesourcing vehicles to extend the reach of their fixed-route transit networks. Ridesourcing integrations have been piloted in some regions, but these pilots tend not to be externally evaluated because of an inability to access the trip data. The primary objective of this research was to determine the types of trips passengers are taking through a transit-integrated ridesourcing pilot, and their competitiveness with transit and walking alternatives. The analysis focused on the 903 Flex pilot operated by the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. A set of 585 completed ridesourcing trips (rides) were studied and compared with the alternative transit and walking trips. Each ride was assigned a type, based on its proximity to transit and walking alternatives, for calculation and comparison of trip attributes. Terminology for types of rides is introduced and the categorization process applied to the ridesourcing pilot. Trip categories include: feeders, transit replacements, inconvenient trips, and remote trips. Results suggest that most trips in the study operated on an indirect feeder-like system (65%), which brought passengers between virtual ridesourcing stops and a transit stop, but not the transit stop closest to them. The alternative fixed-route transit trips mainly operated on 30-min headways, and alternative walking times were often long. The trips were found to mostly support or maintain transit usage, but the transit agency should be cautious of cases in which rides occur alongside transit (18%), instead of bringing people to it.

Longitudinal Analysis of Transit-Integrated Ridesourcing Users and Their Trips

“…This paper extends the framework proposed by Terry and Bachmann who studied the first 6 months (Periods 1a, 1b, and parts of 1c) of the 903 Flex pilot (24). Although the previous study was focused on the spatial characteristics of trips taken by early adopters, this paper's analysis focuses on the temporal changes in the pilot.…”

“…The spatial characterization framework assigned trip types to rides based on the proximity of ridesourcing trip ends (virtual stops) to the nearest transit stops that would otherwise connect them. Terry and Bachmann describe the development of trip types in further detail (24). Figure 2 simplifies the nine trip types into five aggregate trip types and adds a tenth (nontransit trips).…”

The Social, Economic, and Environmental Impacts of Ridesourcing Services: A Literature Review

“…For example, the U.S. Federal Transit Administration (FTA, Washington, DC, USA) Sandbox Program funded a range of pilot application-based on-demand projects to provide first/last mile connections to fixed route services [101]. In Canada, the Regional Municipality of Waterloo has launched similar pilot projects in Kitchener, Cambridge, and Waterloo to integrate transit fixed routes with ridesourcing services [102].…”