using mobile apps to measure spatial travel behavior changes of carsharing users sisinnio concas, s....
TRANSCRIPT
Using Mobile Apps to Measure Spatial Travel Behavior
Changes of Carsharing Users
Sisinnio Concas, S. Barbeau, P.L. Winters, N.L. Georggi, J.M. Bond
Center for Urban Transportation Research
Session 765
Technology and Travel Surveys
Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida
What is Carsharing?
• Short-term auto rental option• Hourly flat rate• Annual membership fee• No gasoline costs • Unlimited mileage• No parking costs
Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida
Carsharing Program
• Launched at the University of South Florida, Tampa Campus, on July 2009
• Short-term rental option with hourly flat rate– Annual membership fee– Unlimited mileage– Non parking costs– No gasoline costs
• Four hybrid vehicles available 24/7
Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida
Program Participation
Sep-
09
Nov-0
9
Jan-
10
Mar-1
0
May-1
0
Jul-1
0
Sep-
10
Nov-1
0
Jan-
11
Mar-1
1
May-1
1
Jul-1
1
Sep-
110
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
Rentals by Month
RentalsCumul Rentals
Num
ber
of
Renta
ls
Cum
ula
tive N
um
ber
of
Renta
ls
Do not own a car/truckDo not want to depend on others for
transportationSave money
Protect the environment
Did not bring my car/truck to campus
0% 20%
40%
60%
80%
Why did you join WeCar?(n=34)
Shopping/errands
Visit friends/relatives
Visit public place: historical site/museum/park/library
Social event
Family personal business/obligations
Attend business meeting/trip
Buy services: video rentals/dry cleaner/post office/car service/bank
Coffee/ice cream/snacks
Pet care: walk the dog/vet visits
Day care
Go to gym/exercise/play sports
Where do you go with WeCar?(n=34)
Tracking Spatial Behavior
TRAC-IT GIS Database
ServerData Storage Tier
GIS Web or Desktop
ApplicationsClient Tier
TRAC-ITParticipant
Raw GPS Data
Personalized Email withlink to Data
TRAC-IT Toolkit Software
TRAC-IT Web Server
Hosts files for download
Formatted GPS Data(KML, GPX, ICS, etc.)
1)
2)
3)
4) User downloads KML file from server
Date Range 2/10/2011 to 4/29/2011
Total Number of Users 30
Total Number of Sessions 1,857
Avg. Session Length (hrs) 15.44
Total Survey Time (days)* 1,194.80
Avg. Survey Time per User (days) 39.83
Total Number of GPS fixes Received 4,023,917
Avg. Number of GPS fixes per Session 2,166.89
Avg. Number of GPS fixes per User 134,130.57
“This is my trip to campus, via the Bull Runner, to pick up the WeCar. I then drove the WeCar to the CVS on Fowler to pick up medication and then drove to the grocery store on Bears Ave. After shopping, I dropped the groceries off at home and then drove back to campus to return the WeCar. I then took the Bull Runner back home.”
Communicating with Users
TRAC-IT GIS Data StorageDatabase Server
TRAC-ITMobile
ApplicationCell Phone
TRAC-ITSurvey
Participant
Web or Desktop ApplicationsData Viewing/
Analysis
TRAC-ITParticipant
LEGEND
UDP
JDBC
SMTPHTTP(S)
Application Data
Location DataLocation Data
Application Data
TRAC-IT Database ToolkitAutomated/Manual
Batch Data Processing
TRAC-IT Web Application
Web Services
TRAC-IT File
StorageWeb Server
TRAC-ITData Analyst
TRAC-IT Emails
Email Server
POP3/IMAP/Exchange
FTP
TRAC-ITAdministrator /Data Analyst
SOAP
Toolkit Monitors Web Application
Application & Location Data Processed
Data
Personalized Emails
KML, GPX, ICS files
PersonalizedEmails
KML, GPX, ICS files
User Feedback
File URL
TCP
Adaptive Location Data Buffering
Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida
Trips by Mode and Purpose
Mode Count Percent
Car 666 40.8%
Bicycle 155 9.5%
Bus 132 8.1%
Scooter 18 1.1%
Walking 410 25.1%
Carsharing 31 1.9%
Not Reported
221 13.5%
Total 1,633 100.0%
84; 5%417; 26%
303; 19%120; 7%
93; 6%
110; 7%
211; 13%
28; 2%
267; 16%Dining Out
Return Home
School / Religious Activity
Shopping / Errands
Social / Recreational
Transport Someone
Work or Work-Related
Other
Not Reported
Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida
Communicating Pricing Changes
• Incentives to encourage off-peak travel• 50-percent reduction in hourly rates• Rate changes communicated by email to
treatment:– Scheduling constraints accounted for– Discount applied on actual rental starting time
Implementation Schedule Starting Date Details
Pricing Strategy A March 1 to March 21, 2011 USF to communicate schedule to carsharing on 02/21/2011
Pricing Strategy B March 28 to April 28, 2011 USF to communicate schedule to carsharing on 03/21/2011
Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida
Measuring Spatial Patterns of Activity-Travel
Trip Length (miles) SDE (square miles) User Type Average Carsharing
TripNon
CarsharingAverage Carsharing
TripNon-Carsharing
TripCarsharing 2.6 8.0 1.7 0.5 0.2 0.5Non-Carsharing 4.2 - 4.2 7.8 - 7.8
Activities Mean Center
SDC
Minor Axis
Major Axis
SDE
𝑥
Y
X
Y
X
Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida
Rental Cost and Rental Time
Before Variable Pricing
After Variable Pricing
Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida
Discussion (1)
• User interaction and real-time data monitoring contributed to continued participation throughout the study.
• Participants responded positively to this interaction and expressed a sense of confidence in the GPS tracking tool.
• Data collection allowed studying users’ travel behavior responses to variable pricing experiments.
Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida
Discussion (2)
• The research examined changes in travel behavior through pricing mechanisms based on time-of-day and day-of-week hourly rate discounts.
• The study found that overall carsharing users are price sensitive
• Changes in rental rates of the order of 20 to 50 percent have a significantly large impact on daily rentals.
• The analysis shows that carsharing users’ activity space contracts while using carsharing as a mode of transport.
Center for Urban Transportation Research
Sisinnio Concas, PhD
(813) 974-7760
Center for Urban Transportation Research
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