The role of shared micromobility in public transportation. Is it complementary or substitutionary?

Keywords: Shared micromobility; public transportation; transit ridership; urbanized area
Session Type: Virtual Poster Abstract
Day: Monday
Session Start / End Time: 2/28/2022 02:00 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/28/2022 03:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 32

Abstract

Shared micromobility ridership has dramatically risen in the past years in the United States. The number of trips on bike share (both station-based and dockless) and scooter share marked 35 million in 2017. During the following two years, the ridership increased by a factor of four (136 million trips in 2019) (NACTO, 2020). As these new mobility options have been widely used, their travel impact has become significant, particularly for urban residents. In terms of its impact on public transportation, it has been expected to increase transit ridership by dealing with the first/last mile problems by complementing the local or regional transit system (Ma et al., 2015; Zhang & Zhang, 2018). However, the existing findings are rather mixed, and some studies suggest that shared micromobility is more likely to substitute the public transit service in the area (Campbell & Brakewood, 2017). Despite these uncertainties, the impact of shared micromobility on public transit ridership has been understudied. To fill this knowledge gap, this study examines the role of shared micromobility in public transit ridership. Focusing on three types of shared micromobility (i.e., pedaled bikes, e-bikes, and e-scooters), this study quantifies the changes in transit ridership per capita at the urbanized area level before and after the adoption of shared micromobility while controlling other likely drivers of transit ridership change, such as transit service coverage and demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the areas as well as the built environment.