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Investigating Real-Time Employer-Based Ridesharing Preferences Based on Stated Preference Survey Data

Shay, Nathan Michael
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1471587439

Abstract Details

2016, Master of Science, Ohio State University, Civil Engineering.
Expanding travel choices by providing ridesharing can improve mobility and accessibility and reduce congestion and the negative externalities associated with single occupancy automobile use. To realize these benefits, sufficient demand must be generated by matching drivers and passengers with similar origins and destinations and who are willing to travel with potential strangers. Technological developments have facilitated the provision of real-time ridesharing programs, where travelers are matched to share a ride shortly before they travel. Real-time ridesharing offers additional flexibility and the possibility of occasional use that may be desirable in an increasingly complex society with varying schedules. While initial real-time travel options have been perceived as unattractive due to reliability and personal safety concerns, the growing success of real-time ride-sourcing services suggests that perceptions may be shifting. Furthermore, large employer-based ridesharing offers additional promise due to a network of co-workers with similar work locations facilitating good matches, increased familiarity with fellow travelers, and the ability to incentivize participation. A stated preference survey of The Ohio State University community was used to analyze willingness to participate in an idealized real-time employer-based ridesharing program. Individual characteristics and travel behaviors associated with unwillingness to participate in an ideal program are analyzed. Also, the characteristics and behaviors associated with interest in a passenger or driver role in such a program are identified. Many findings support results presented elsewhere and a priori expectations, for example an increased willingness of younger travelers to participate in ridesharing, an increased willingness of females to participate as passengers, and an increased willingness of those with experience driving to participate as drivers. In addition three findings provide important insights previously unidentified about traveler preferences toward ridesharing. Firstly, it seems that those who travel in automobiles, whether shared or alone, are more likely than those who do not travel in automobiles to participate in ridesharing. Also, those who walk or use transit seem to be less willing to participate in a ridesharing program than those who do not use these alternative modes. These findings are encouraging in light of the desire to attract single occupancy vehicle users, rather than transit users or walkers, to ridesharing to realize its social benefits. Secondly, the notion that providing ridesharing expands mobility and accessibility seems to be supported by the fact that those who do not have a car available to them tend to be more interested in being rideshare passengers than those who have a car available to them. Lastly, while those living with younger dependent children are more likely to reject ridesharing due to the constraints associated with this mode, among those who are interested in ridesharing, individuals living with children—whether younger dependent ones or otherwise—are more willing to drive in a ridesharing program than those who do not live with children, possibly due to having experience traveling in vehicles with passengers.
Mark McCord (Advisor)
Rabi Mishalani (Advisor)
Gulsah Akar (Committee Member)
180 p.
Civil Engineering; Transportation
Real-time employer-based ridesharing; stated preference survey data; binary discrete choice model;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Shay, N. M. (2016). Investigating Real-Time Employer-Based Ridesharing Preferences Based on Stated Preference Survey Data [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1471587439

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Shay, Nathan. Investigating Real-Time Employer-Based Ridesharing Preferences Based on Stated Preference Survey Data. 2016. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1471587439.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Shay, Nathan. "Investigating Real-Time Employer-Based Ridesharing Preferences Based on Stated Preference Survey Data." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1471587439

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.