smart connections policy brief
TRANSCRIPT
REFERENCES [1] Constantino, Jerel. Potential eligible ridesharing areas for Sacramento. https://jpconstantino.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Minimalist/index.html?
appid=5a34d11e46584c43bf0ef107a104db8f. Also at goo.gl/dfvrv4.[2] Kevin DeGood and Andrew Schwartz. Can New Transportation Technologies Improve Equity and Access to Opportunity. Washington DC: Center for American
Progress, 2016. Accessed December 1, 2016. https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/20121438/TransportEquity1.pdf.[3] Results based on author’s calculation from National Transit Database, Lyft Fare Estimator, Google Maps Trip Planner, CA Dept. of Industrial Relations.
CHALLENGE Displacement in inner-cities has pushed former residents to the suburbs, contributing to the suburbanization of poverty. However, transit is not walkable for many in the sprawl. It is neither cost-effective nor time-effective for transit authorities to extend fixed-line bus service into areas outside of major road arteries. [2]
SOLUTION Public subsidies for ride-shares can be an alternative solution to extending the reach of transit.
APPROACH: A THEORETICAL PILOT FOR SACRAMENTO RT • Defining boundaries: Areas not in the walk-shed from
Regional Transit (RT) light-rail stops and corridors with frequent bus service, but within RT’s service area. (F.1.)
• Determining eligibility: Identify ‘disadvantaged’ communities not within the transit walk-shed. (F.1.)
• Setting the subsidy: A $3 subsidy would bring the minimum cost of a ride-share to $2.75 per user. Subsidies can be applied for first-and-last mile connections to transit, or be combined among users to fund carpools.
FINDINGS • A 1% reduction in RT’s revenue bus service yields a
cost savings of $830,440, which is sufficient to provide for 276,813 rides. This total would allow RT to offer $3 subsidies for a year’s worth of commutes —480 rides— for 576 individuals. [3]• Carpools can cut costs for each user in half.
• Results from a hypothetical commute under the pilot program from Upper Land Park, a disadvantaged tract within the highest average percentile, to the South Sacramento Industrial Area: (F.2.)
• Current Transit: 78 minutes. $2.75 fare card.• Transit and ride-share: 42% reduction in commute
time. 92% increase in cost to user. • Carpool ride-share only: 79% reduction in commute
time. 1.09% increase in cost to user.• Compared to RT’s current operating expense of $5.70
per unlinked bus passenger trip, a $3 ride-share subsidy per participant will yield a 47% decrease in costs. [3]
POLICY SUGGESTIONS • Transit authorities should design pilot programs for ride-
share subsidies.• To minimize vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and costs,
shared rides through carpools should be prioritized.• Investments in fixed-rail lines to suburbs, and
pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure —especially in disadvantaged communities— should remain the priority for budgets.
• Governments should explore redistributive taxes imposed on premium ride-share tiers (UberLux, Lyft Premier) to fund transportation equity programs.
• Utilize funding opportunities from the Federal Transit Authority’s (FTA) Mobility-on-Demand (MOD) Sandbox program.
F.2. Commute times in minutes. Includes cost of trip, expressed in work-hours, at CA 2017 minimum wage rate, needed to recuperate cost. [3]
30 60 90
F.1. Darkened areas indicate ‘disadvantaged’ tracts [defined as at or above the local mean CalEnviroScreen score of 28] which are outside of the transit walk-shed of 0.5 mile from rail, 0.25 mile from bus [fi lter applied: bus lines with < 30 min. service frequency]. [1]
ArcGIS map with demographic layers at: goo.gl/dfvrv4
IV: TRANSIT ONLY (INDIVIDUAL, NO SPLIT)
DV: TRANSIT & RIDE-SHARE (INDIVIDUAL, NO SPLIT)
DV: CARPOOL RIDE-SHARE ONLY (SPLIT BETWEEN 2 PASSENGERS)
Jerel Constantino University of California, Santa Barbara
about.me/[email protected]
Can Technology-Enabled Mobility Help Improve Social Mobility By Overcoming Barriers to Physical Mobility?SMART CONNECTIONS
Governor’s Office of Planning and ResearchUniversity of California Center Sacramento
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