RT25 – Susan Shaheen and Emma Lucken – Mobility on demand services and public transport

Researching Transit – Episode 25

Published: May 2021

Keywords: public transport, public transit, mobility on demand, MOD, mobility as a service, MaaS, transportation network companies, TNCs, social equity

This is the third episode in Researching Transit’s Handbook of Public Transport Research series. Links to obtain the book can be found at the end of the notes.

In this episode, Professor Graham Curries speaks to authors of Chapter 19, Incorporating Mobility on Demand (MOD) and Mobility as a Service (MaaS) automotive services into Public Transportation, Emma Lucken and Susan Shaheen. Susan Shaheen is Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley. She is also Co-director, Transportation Sustainability Research Center (TSRC), UC Berkeley, and chair of the US Transportation Research Board Executive committee. Emma Lucken is undertaking a PhD in transportation engineering and is also a member of TSRC.

Professor Shaheen reflects on the motivation and philosophy that has underpinned her research career in transportation. She has always sought to challenge the status quo, using technology to provide sustainable mobility options that could be superior to private automobile ownership and use, particularly from an environmental and social perspective. Public transport, paired with other mobility options, is central to providing mobility without the need for car ownership.

Turning attention to the book chapter, Shaheen makes the distinction between Mobility on Demand (MOD) and Mobility as a Service (MaaS). Mobility on demand refers to an ecosystem of transport options that offer integrated and seamless access. Transportation network companies (TNCs, or ridesharing services as they are more commonly known in Australia), as well as microtransit and public transportation, make up links in this ecosystem. Mobility as a Service refers to the provision of on-demand mobility through apps and subscriptions. Emma Lucken describes the different service models of some of the 62 TNC and microtransit projects identified in the USA. Four main models emerge, which can be described by the ways in which the public-private partnerships seek to supplement fixed-route transit. These include: first- and last-mile services, low-density services, off-peak services and paratransit services for users who may not be able to use fixed route services as readily or who may not be able to harness the technology that often accompanies Mobility on Demand.

Find out more about this research in Chapter 19 of the Handbook of Public Transport Research, available for purchase from the publisher’s website: www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/handbook…781788978651.html

Learn more about the people and projects in today’s show:

• Prof Susan Shaheen: https://ce.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/shaheen
• Emma Lucken: https://tsrc.berkeley.edu/emma-lucken
• Transportation Sustainability Research Centre: https://tsrc.berkeley.edu/
• Innovative Mobility Research (Susan’s lab): http://innovativemobility.org/

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also enjoy episode 12 with Dr Taru Jain , on the role of carshare in the mobility ecosystem http://publictransportresearchgroup.info/?p=51729.

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Music from this episode is from https://www.purple-planet.com