Microtransit
{{For|small unscheduled shared rail transport|Personal rapid transit}}
{{short description|Form of demand-responsive transport with no fixed routes or schedules}}
{{globalize|date=July 2018}}
File:Grey minibus, Malpas Road, Crindau, Newport (geograph 6957501).jpg fflecsi vehicle in Newport, Wales.]]
Microtransit is a form of bus demand responsive transport vehicle for hire. This transit service offers a flexible routing and/or flexible scheduling of minibus vehicles shared with other passengers.{{Cite web|url=http://innovativemobility.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/SharedMobility_WhitePaper_FINAL.pdf|title=Shared Mobility: Definitions, Industry Developments, and Early Understanding|last1=Shaheen|first1=Susan|last2=Chan|first2=Nelson|first3=Apaar|last3=Bansal|first4=Adam|last4=Cohen|date=November 2015|website=innovativemobility.org|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=22 January 2020}} Microtransit providers build routes ad-hoc exclusively to approximate demands (trips collectively) and supply (driven vehicle) and to purportedly extend the efficiency and accessibility of the transit service. Possible pick-up/drop-off stops are restricted (usually within a geofenced area), and transit can be provided as a stop-to-stop service{{citation needed|date=February 2025}} or a curb-to-curb service.
Proponents argue that conceptually, microtransit fits somewhere between private individual transportation (cars or taxicabs or ridesharing companies) and public mass transit (bus).{{Cite web|url=https://sharedusemobilitycenter.org/the-silicon-valley-agency-launching-its-own-microtransit-service/|title=The Silicon Valley Agency Launching its Own Microtransit Service|last=Gray|first=Leslie|date=2016-01-10|website=Shared-Use Mobility Center|language=en-US|access-date=2020-01-22}}
Customers can request new routes based on demand.{{Cite journal|last1=Shaheen|first1=Susan|last2=Cohen|first2=Adam|date=2019-07-04|title=Shared ride services in North America: definitions, impacts, and the future of pooling|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/01441647.2018.1497728|journal=Transport Reviews|volume=39|issue=4|pages=427–442|doi=10.1080/01441647.2018.1497728|s2cid=158740058|issn=0144-1647}} According to SAE International, "Microtransit is a privately or publicly operated, technology-enabled transit service that typically uses multi-passenger/pooled shuttles or vans to provide on-demand or fixed-schedule services with either dynamic or fixed routing".{{Cite web|url=https://www.sae.org/site/shared-mobility/|title=Shared transit|access-date=2021-06-27|website=www.sae.org|language=en}} That mainly targets children and teens and customers to connect between residential areas to downtown.{{Cite book|last1=Shaheen|first1=Susan|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0z9711dw|title=Chapter 13 - Sharing strategies: carsharing, shared micromobility (bikesharing and scooter sharing), transportation network companies, microtransit, and other innovative mobility modes|last2=Cohen|first2=Adam|last3=Chan|first3=Nelson|last4=Bansal|first4=Apaar|date=2020|publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-12-815167-9|language=en}}
History
{{See|Paratransit|Share taxi}}
Although the share-taxi kind of transit service has been running for a while in the Southern Hemisphere and in Asia, they have involved private provision of some degree of fixed routes or fixed schedules but not always booking ability, let alone mobile booking or route optimisation. The development of mobile booking technologies has led to a wave of pilot schemes being adopted in Europe and North America.
In the United States, microtransit has evolved from jitney transport, which was once common in many cities around the world but has disappeared due to tighter regulations.{{Cite book|last=Shaheen|first=Susan|date=2018-03-01|title=Shared Mobility: The Potential of Ride Hailing and Pooling|chapter=Shared Mobility: The Potential of Ridehailing and Pooling|pages=55–76|chapter-url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/46p6n2sk|language=en|doi=10.5822/978-1-61091-906-7_3|isbn=978-1-61091-983-8|s2cid=170063820 }} In 1914, during a streetcar strike in Los Angeles, a motorist began giving rides for a jitney. Its flexible service swept the nation very quickly.{{Cite news|last=Berrebi|first=Simon|date=November 6, 2017|title=Don't Believe the Microtransit Hype|work=Bloomberg|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-06/microtransit|access-date=June 27, 2021}} Another jitney success was "dollar vans" during the eleven-day 1980 New York City transit strike.
Development
Technologies allow real time exchange of booking information and programmed route optimization of the transit service. The term "microtransit" may have emerged into widespread industry discussion around 2015, when this wave of technology-enabled services was starting, and seems specific to the English language.
The current implementations result from public-private partnerships, subsidized by the government, or are brought by the private sector directly to the customer. Whether microtransit can be profitable, just like public transit, is unsure.
The success of microtransit systems depends on its configuration. Some experiences in the United States have resulted in failures.{{Cite web|url=https://www.enotrans.org/eno-resources/uprouted-exploring-microtransit-united-states/|title=UpRouted: Exploring Microtransit in the United States|website=www.enotrans.org}}
Application
The flexibility and intelligence in microtransit can be useful in cases when the demand is either geographically spread or coming at various and/or unpredictable times, i.e. when it is hard to gather demand with a planned transit service. Examples include: low-density areas, night services, and other formats adapted to specific needs.
Smart Microtransit
Distinct from traditional microtransit in a few aspects. The most clear distinction is the use of electric (EV) vehicles instead of gas-powered vehicles. Additionally, Smart Microtransit adds emphasis towards utilizing the service to focus on economic development and community engagement.
Autonomous electric vehicles
Autonomous electric vehicles are much more cost effective and efficient for microtransit service than other vehicle types. The cost effectiveness can be attributed to the elimination of a driver from the vehicle. A study conducted in Singapore mentioned that microtransit services using autonomous electric vehicles can reduce the total cost of ownership by 70% compared to other microtransit vehicles and by 80% compared to buses.{{Cite journal|last1=Ongel|first1=Aybike|last2=Loewer|first2=Erik|last3=Roemer|first3=Felix|last4=Sethuraman|first4=Ganesh|last5=Chang|first5=Fengqi|last6=Lienkamp|first6=Markus|date=January 2019|title=Economic Assessment of Autonomous Electric Microtransit Vehicles|journal=Sustainability|language=en|volume=11|issue=3|pages=648|doi=10.3390/su11030648|doi-access=free}}
References
External links
- [http://www.vox.com/2015/7/7/8906027/microtransit-uber-buses Stromberg, J. (2015). “These startups want to do for buses what Uber did for taxi rides.” Vox.]
- [https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/shared-mobility-definitions 'Shared Mobility Definitions' at Federal Transit Authority site of the US Department of Transportation]
- [http://www.smart-circle.org/blog/microtransit/ Bos, R. The rise of the Microtransit movement, smart-circle.org]
- [https://techcrunch.com/2015/08/08/understanding-the-future-of-mobility/ Matus, J, Heck, S. Understanding The Future Of Mobility. August 8, 2015, TechCrunch]
- [http://www.citylab.com/commute/2015/04/how-the-microtransit-movement-is-changing-urban-mobility/391565/ Jaffe, E. How the Microtransit Movement Is Changing Urban Mobility. April 27, 2015. CityLab]
- [https://www.enotrans.org/etl-material/uprouted-exploring-microtransit-united-states/ UpRouted: Exploring Microtransit in the United States], Eno Center for Transportation, January 8, 2018
- TCRP Research Report 188
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