Center for Urban Transportation Research | University of South Florida

Sharing the Ride: Expanding Transit Options in Your Community

Phil Winters, Director, TDM Program

2015 FPTA/CTD Annual Training & EXPOOctober 27, 2015

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Learning Objectives

• Learn how vanpooling works, what the benefits and issues are, and how others are promoting these services in their areas.

• Describe carsharing (e.g., Zipcar, Enterprise Carshare, etc.), bikesharing, and ride hailing services (e.g., Uber, Lyft, etc.)

Vanpooling

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Types of Vanpool Programs

• Owner-Operator Vans• Employer-Sponsored Vanpools• Private operators

– vRide– Enterprise Rideshare

• Public operators– Directly Operated– Purchased Transportation

Vanpooling and Transit

• Reaches mid to long distance markets

• Many transit systems directly operate or purchase service

• High “farebox recovery” rates

Vanpooling's Niche: Farther, Faster and (Nearly) Fatality Free

Mode Average Distance (miles)

(2009) (a)

Average Speed (mph)

(2009) (a)

2001-2011 Average

Fatalities per 100 million

vehicle miles (b)

Motor bus 4 13 4.0

Heavy rail 5 20 8.9

Light rail 5 15 28.5

Commuter rail 24 31 34.6

Vanpool 33 40 1.2

Source: National Transportation Statistics, 2009 (Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2011)

(a) http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_transportation_statistics/index.html(b) http://transit-safety.volpe.dot.gov/Data/samis/default.aspx

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Vanpooling by State (NTD Reported Only)

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

CA WA TX IL MI GA FL AZ UT CT CO NC NJ VA KY PA IA MN TN AK MS NV AL OR MO

2011

2012

2013

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Vanpooling in Florida Vehicles Operated in Maximum Service YearAgency 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority 62 64 67 70 70 88Charlotte County Transit Division 6 8County of Volusia, dba: VOTRAN 27 25 24 27 12 9Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority 35 30 30Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority 99 93 91Lee County Transit 6 6 6 6 11 11Miami Lakes - VPSI, Inc./vRide 198 202 209 223 212 231Space Coast Area Transit 37 36 38 42 48 50Grand Total 365 363 374 467 452 488

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Vanpool Driver Benefits

Benefits• Reduces need to purchase a

personal vehicle• Receives use of vehicle for

personal trips• Obtains lower vehicle

insurance rates• Reduces household's vehicle

maintenance costs• Requires no long term

commitment (typically 30-day lease)

Concerns• Locating riders and back-up

drivers• Collecting payments from

riders• Maintaining list of back-up

riders

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Vanpool Riders

Benefits• Reduces stress as employees

arrive refreshed, relaxed and ready to work

• Increases access to job markets• Reduces walking distance from

parking lot to worksite (vanpools often enjoy preferential parking at employer sites)

• Saves money on commute costs such as gasoline, and wear-and-tear on personal vehicles

• Encourages new friendships

Concerns• Increases travel time (pick-up

and drop-off) in areas without high occupancy facilities

• Requires a fixed schedule (guaranteed ride home programs help overcome this concern)

• Involves perceived high costs at the shorter trip (e.g., 15 to 20 miles) relative to what they perceive are their costs (out-of-pocket)

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Employers of Vanpoolers

Benefits• Reduces the need for additional

parking• Increases access to labor markets• Improves employee morale and

employee relations• Increases productivity, reduces

absenteeism and tardiness• Provides an effective, low-cost

recruitment tool• Enhances employee benefits

packages (tax-free subsidies allowed up to $130 per mo.)

Concerns• Increases cost and

administrative burden if employer runs own vanpool program

• Impacts of employee adherence to van's schedule

• Raises the potential loss of employees or proprietary information through networking with other riders

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Community Benefits of Vanpooling

• Serves communities not served by transit (bus and rail)

• Requires fewer passengers than a bus• Increases federal and state funds to transit• Provides a lower cost alternative of serving mid-

range and long-distance commuters than transit• Provides most, if not all, operating costs from

“fare-box” thus lowering need for local government subsidies

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Community Benefits of Vanpooling

• Reduces rush-hour congestion – each 15-passenger van can reduce up to 14 vehicles.

• FHWA estimates vanpool programs reduces work trip vehicle miles of travel by 1 percent to 8 percent.

• Improves air quality - The average car emits a quarter-pound of pollutants each mile it is driven. On a one hundred-mile commute, a single car can release 25 pounds of pollutants into the air.

• Reduces dependence on fossil fuels• Provides option for other groups (e.g., Welfare to Work)

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Community Concerns with Vanpooling

• Locating source of start-up funds and marketing• Continuing turnover in ridership• Reconciling vanpool pricing structure with transit

fares to avoid unintentional cannibalization• Interjurisdictional travel – is one county

subsidizing the trips of non-residents?• Susceptible to changes in policy (e.g., lower tax

free qualified transportation fringe benefit from $250 to $130)

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WHO SHARES A RIDE TO WORK?

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Who Carpools – Ability to Speak English

Within the Mode

LanguageTransit/ Bike/

Walk Drives alone Carpools Total

Yes, speaks only English 72.7% 81.7% 68.5% 79.1%

Yes, speaks very well 14.3% 11.1% 13.9% 11.9%

Yes, speaks well 5.5% 3.9% 6.9% 4.4%

Yes, but not well 5.2% 2.5% 7.3% 3.4%Does not speak English 2.3% 0.7% 3.4% 1.2%

Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

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Who Carpools – Ability to Speak English

By Ability to Speak English

LanguageTransit/ Bike/

Walk Drives alone Carpools Total

Yes, speaks only English 14.6% 77.3% 8.2% 100.0%

Yes, speaks very well 19.1% 69.9% 11.0% 100.0%

Yes, speaks well 19.7% 65.5% 14.7% 100.0%

Yes, but not well 24.2% 55.6% 20.3% 100.0%

Does not speak English 30.2% 43.9% 26.0% 100.0%

Total 15.8% 74.7% 9.4% 100.0%

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Carpool Share by Age

Gen - Y

Source: Phil Winters, CUTR from data from Census, ACS 2010

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Conditions Favorable for Vanpooling

• Subsidy schemes• SOV parking disincentives• Time saving measures such as preferential

parking and HOV lanes

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Summary Of Traditional And Creative Financing Techniques To Start Or Expand A Vanpool Program

1. Capital Cost of Contracting2. Capital Leasing3. Toll Revenue Credits for

Local Match4. Congestion Mitigation Air

Quality Funds5. Conditional Sale6. Municipal Lease Purchase7. Take Over Existing Employer-

Operated Vanpool Program8. Customer Financing – State

Tax Incentives: Individual

9. Customer Financing – State Tax Incentives: Employer

10. Customer Financing – Federal Tax Incentives: Employer

11. Advertising Revenue12. Timesharing13. Resource Sharing14. Use State Contracts to

Purchase15. Financial Matching Program16. Rent it17. Prepayment InducementsSource: Vanpool Pricing and Financing Guide (CUTR)

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How to Grow a Vanpool Program

• Penetrate the current market with current offering– Increase employer outreach efforts– Advertise

• Develop new services for current markets– Establish a frequent “rider” program– Offer discounts

• Increase retention rates• Acquire existing vanpool fleets

– Take over an employer’s vanpool program

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Employer Support for Vanpooling via Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefits

• Permits employers to subsidize employees’ parking, transit, and vanpool costs and reimburse bicycling commuting tax free

• Allows commuters to use pre-tax dollars to pay for parking, transit and vanpool costs (but not bicycle commuting)

• Requires employer involvement

• Takes a tax deduction, NOT a tax credit!

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What Exactly are QTFB (aka Commuter Benefits)?

• Qualified transportation fringe benefits under 26 U.S. Code Section 132– Employers may offer workers a tax-free benefit for

transit or van pools up to $130 per month– Parking is tax-free up to $250 per month– Exceptions

• No benefit for carpools and pedestrians• Some groups excluded

– Bicycle – reimburse up to $20 per month

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Commuter Highway Vehicle

• A highway vehicle with a seating capacity of at least 6 adults (excluding the driver) and at least 80 percent of the vehicle’s mileage for a year is reasonably expected to be— – For transporting employees in connection with travel between

home and work and – On trips during which the number of employees transported for

commuting is at least one-half of the adult seating capacity of the vehicle (excluding the driver).

Center for Urban Transportation Research | University of South Florida

Introduction to Shared MobilityCarsharing, Bikesharing and RideHailing

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Benefits of Carsharing

• Reduces demand for parking– One carsharing car serves 40-50

members• Reduces need for personal vehicle

ownership– more disposable income– more transit use

• Provides for better health – more walking and less dependency on

vehicle

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Ways a Communities Might Foster Widespread Car Sharing

• Unbundle parking from rent or allow people to lease their residential parking spots

• Designate on-street parking spaces for cars that are part of a car-sharing program

• Subsidize or require car-sharing programs in new multi-unit developments

• Legalize off-street parking spots for cars that are part of a car-sharing program

Source: http://www.shareable.net/blog/policies-for-a-shareable-city-1-car-sharing-and-parking-sharing

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Bike Sharing

• Citibank $41 million sponsors• MasterCard $6.5 million sponsor

http://citibikenyc.com/

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How it works

Bikesharing BenefitsProvides solution for first mile/last mile access to transit

Offers health benefitsExpands access to the community

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Ways a Community Might Foster Widespread Bike Sharing

• Encourage biking by improving bicycle infrastructure

• Adopt or subsidize a city-wide bike-sharing program

• Tinker with the helmet laws• Support expanding bike sharing as a qualified

transportation fringe benefit so employers can provide tax-free benefit

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Lessons Learned from Bike Share programs

• People bike more after joining bike share, even if they own a bike.

• Big systems work, small systems don’t. • Bike sharing works best in dense places. • Bike share stations need to be close together. • Theft and vandalism aren't major concerns.

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RIDEHAILING

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Ride Hailing

• Transportation Network Companies• Ridesharing• Ride sourcing

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Example RideHailing

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How They Work – Lyft example

• Drivers are screened with DMV and background checks• $1M per occurrence excess liability insurance policy• Once a ride is complete, passengers are prompted to donate

seamlessly through the app• Drivers rate passengers after every ride. Riders can see

driver’s rating before accepting a pick up. • Every passenger also signs up for Lyft using Facebook and

provides valid credit card information for identity purposes. • Community drivers get 80% of the total donations received

from passengers. Money is deposited into driver’s account each week.

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What Vehicle Types Are Available - Uber

• uberBLACK The classic black car option is the default.

• uberX The convenience of Uber at a lower price with hybrid and mid-range cars in a variety of colors. Seats up to 4 people.

• uberSUV More than four people, request only SUVs, for a higher rate. Seats up to 6 people.

• UberSelect Luxury car like BMWHOW DO UBERSELECT RATES COMPARE? (ORLANDO)

uberX uberXL SELECTBase Fare $1.00 $3.00 $3.00Per Minute $0.13 $0.25 $0.30Per Mile $0.75 $1.45 $2.00Minimum Fare $4.00 $7.00 $10.00Safe Rides Fee $1.00 $1.00 $1.00

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Lyft Pricing – Tampa Bay

Lyft Pricing• Base Charge

$1.25• Cancel Penalty $5.00• Cost Minimum $4.00• Cost Per Mile

$1.20• Cost Per Minute $0.13• Trust And Safety Fee $1.50

Plus Pricing (large car w/up to 6 passengers)• Base Charge

$1.87• Cancel Penalty $5.00• Cost Minimum $6.00• Cost Per Mile

$1.80• Cost Per Minute $0.19• Trust And Safety Fee $1.50

At times of high demand fares may be subject to a ‘Prime Time’ multiplier to keep vehicles available. The multiplier, if any, will be communicated to customer at the time of ride request. Applicable tolls and surcharges may also be added to fare.

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Trip Purpose – Comparison in SF

Going out at night

To/from airport

Shopping/errands

Work

Other business

Car not available

Medical

No transit

Avoid parking

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Taxis

Social/leisure

Work

To/from airport

To/from transit

Shopping/errands

School

Other (Medical,)

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Ride Hailing

Rayle, Shaheen, Chan, Dai, and Cervero “Just another taxi? App-Based, On-Demand Ride Services: Comparing Taxi and Ridesourcing Trips and UserCharacteristics in San Francisco (2015)

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Top 2 Reasons for Using Lyft/Uber/Sidecar

Other

Could not get taxi

No public transit option

Cost (cheaper than alternatives)

Comfort/safety

Reliable

Don't need to park

Didn't want to drive after drinking

Easy to call car

Fastest way to get there

Short wait time

Ease of payment

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Reasons

Rayle, Shaheen, Chan, Dai, and Cervero “Just another taxi? App-Based, On-Demand Ride Services: Comparing Taxi and Ridesourcing Trips and UserCharacteristics in San Francisco (2015)

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How long would the same trip have taken by public transit?

• Ridehailing viewed quicker nearly all the time (10 minutes on average)

• 86% trips that are at least 50% longer by public transit

• 66% trips that are at least twice as long by public transit

Rayle, Shaheen, Chan, Dai, and Cervero “Just another taxi? App-Based, On-Demand Ride Services: Comparing Taxi and Ridesourcing Trips and UserCharacteristics in San Francisco (2015)

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Current Regulatory Challenges

• Transportation of the disabled and blind• Peak period pricing• Driver background checks (e.g., fingerprinting)• Service to economically disadvantage • Use of curbside and staging areas at airport

Source: Mandle and Box, Regulating Transportation Network Companies on Airports (2015)

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Lyft Line (carpool to work)(limited areas but perhaps the future)

• Customer opens the Lyft app and select ‘Line.’ Taps the ‘Request Line’ button. Enters de stination and then Lyft starts building your Line.

• Pickups at “HotSpot” receive discounts ($5 fare)• Within minutes, Lyft matches customer with a ride. The

price of your trip is fixed up-front. – If they don’t find another passenger, customer’s Line will remain

the discounted rate.• Lyft will text passenger when your Line arrives. All

customer needs to do is walk out the door and hop in.• Pays up to 60% less than Lyft basic service

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Contact Information

Phil WintersDirector, TDM ProgramCenter for Urban Transportation ResearchUniversity of South Floridawinters@cutr.usf.edu813.974.9811www.cutr.usf.edu

MORE TRAINING:• Commuter Choice Certificate Program• Social Marketing and Transportation CertificateMore info on both certificates can be found at www.commuterservices.com

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First Mile/Last Mile

uberX (Tampa Bay)Base fare $ 1.00 Cost per mile $1.20 Cost per minute $0.13 minimum fare $ 4.00 Safe Rides Fee $ 1.00 Cancellation fee $ 5.00

Average Travel SpeedMiles 10 15 20 25

1 $ 5.00 $ 5.00 $ 5.00 $ 5.00 2 $ 5.96 $ 5.44 $ 5.18 $ 5.02 3 $ 7.94 $ 7.16 $ 6.77 $ 6.54 4 $ 9.92 $ 8.88 $ 8.36 $ 8.055 $ 11.90 $ 10.60 $ 9.95 $ 9.56 6 $ 13.88 $ 12.32 $ 11.54 $ 11.07 7 $ 15.86 $ 14.04 $ 13.13 $ 12.58 8 $ 17.84 $ 15.76 $ 14.72 $ 14.10 9 $ 19.82 $ 17.48 $ 16.31 $ 15.61

10 $ 21.80 $ 19.20 $ 17.90 $ 17.12