MIT/CMU Workshop Summary
April 16 – 17, 2009
The MIT / CMU Real-Time Rides workshop took place at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts on April 16th and 17th, 2009. The workshop was structured around topic-based sessions. The research team and select workshop attendees framed the topics in each session with short presentations. These presentations were followed by a structured discussion among all participants.
For each workshop session, this report provides a general description of the presentations given and more specific summaries of the group discussions that took place. To the degree possible, we have attempted to identify and emphasize the main themes that resonated throughout the sessions. We acknowledge that not all comments or questions brought up in the sessions are necessarily covered in this summary report. The report concludes by considering potential next steps that could be taken by stakeholders in the ridesharing industry.
Major Workshop Themes:
The two-day workshop covered a variety of topics, but four major ideas or themes emerged as critical to the success of ridesharing.
- There is a strong belief that ridesharing is largely dominated by human behavior, preferences and perceptions as travelers make transportation choices. Technology can support rideshare adoption through, for example, added convenience and safety, but it is not sufficient for sustained improvement in rideshare participation. Service and cost characteristics, non-transport incentives and marketing efforts are viewed as critical to rideshare participation.
- Additional data and better analysis of rideshare information is needed. This theme focused on the need to understand the size of the rideshare market and the behavior of individuals. Specific behavioral research includes understanding modifications in travel choices influenced by incentives, and responses to changes in variables such as the price of fuel. Some private rideshare providers have indicated a willingness to share their data; similar offers from public agencies would be desirable as well.
- Many participants saw the integration of rideshare service information with other modal information as essential to improving rideshare participation. A true multi-modal system should give travelers better opportunities to participate in ridesharing.
- The majority of workshop attendees saw some value in an open-source, common data standard for sharing rideshare data with some participants indicating an interest in working collaboratively its development. However, some participants expressed hesitation about a common standard, given that the technology-enabled rideshare market is still in its infancy. Some business models would rely much more heavily on the interchange of information between providers than others would. Ultimately, the importance of combining rideshare information with other modal information may be the most compelling reason for a common standard and rideshare provider collaboration.
Potential Next Steps:
After some consideration of the common interests expressed at the workshop, three areas of further action are suggested. All three of these topics were discussed at varying levels of detail at the end of the second day of the workshop:
- Research on Market Size, Travel Behavior: Further research on the potential size of the rideshare market, a better understanding of behavior responses to different incentives and service characteristics, and an understanding of mode choice decisions are all essential. This is perhaps the most pressing action item. Further research will require multiple types of information from a variety of sources. Both academia and rideshare service providers are well suited to take on this task. This requires a willingness on the part of public and private rideshare service providers to share information with the academic community.
- Development of a Common Data Standard: The development of a common data standard for exchanging rideshare information among providers and for integration with additional modal information is an important task. Open standards for data interchange are very much recommended. Capacity to work on this standard and the technical “know-how” is concentrated in the private sector and, as such, they should continue to lead the effort. Academia may have some role in encouraging participation and collaboration on a common standard among private and public sector rideshare providers. One mechanism that may strongly encourage development of a common standard would be a pilot, demonstration project involving multiple providers and their systems.
- Design a Rideshare Demonstration Project: The design of a US-based demonstration project using advanced rideshare technologies is a long-term endeavor, but an important step towards proving the potential of technology-enabled ridesharing. This task would require seeking out funding sources for such a trial, spending a significant level of effort on the pre- and post- project evaluation procedures, and including well thought out performance metrics. Consideration of the importance of different stakeholders involved is needed, as is how incentives should be structured to generate the desired changes in behavior.