Research Background & Purpose
Last modified on 2009-05-09 20:58:46 GMT.
Ridesharing, also known as carpooling and liftsharing, is the 2nd most popular form of travel to work in the US, but has decreased in popularity significantly since the 1970’s. In the last two or three years a renewed interest in ridesharing is being driven by what we believe to be a combination of high gasoline prices, a focus on congestion reduction, a desire to address environmental concerns such as climate change and the swift adoption of mobile, location-aware technologies. MIT students are conducting research into the current state of ridesharing and the potential changes in rideshare service provision that may be brought about by mobile, wireless technologies.
Ridesharing is not a new concept. Examples of shared vehicle use in the US date back to the beginning of the 20th century when jitneys first appeared in some larger cities. During World War II, people were encouraged to share rides to save fuel, steel and rubber for the war effort. Formal ridesharing services began in earnest in the 1970’s and accounted for up to one in five commute trips at the time. As of 2000, ridesharing has decreased to approximately one in eight commute trips among Americans. It is believed that two of the largest factors in this decrease have been the historical decline in the cost of private automobile ownership use, and the difficulties in establishing appropriate rideshare matches. In the last few years, high gas prices and the increasing prevalence of mobile, location-based technologies have created new opportunities for ridesharing, particularly “real-time” or “dynamic” ridesharing. The “dynamic” rideshare concept allows users with a mobile phone or PDAs to indicate their interest in sharing a ride (as either a driver or a passenger) and be matched with someone sharing similar trip characteristics in as little as 10-15 minutes prior to your desired departure time. “Dynamic” ridesharing’s appeal lies in its accommodation of more flexible schedules and its decreased level of effort in matching appropriate riders.
With some exciting developments in the provision of rideshare services, MIT’s Real-Time Rides research team, in collaboration with a team from Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley, aim to bring together interested parties to discuss potential future directions for ridesharing. MIT will facilitate the Real-Time Rides Workshop with rideshare service providers, key technology providers, public sector representatives and members of the academic community to share information on various rideshare provider experiences and what they view as the major drivers and barriers to greater ridesharing in the future. Some topics that may be discussed include how to achieve a “critical mass” of users, what a common database feed for easy querying of multiple rideshare provider databases could look like, and whether certain rideshare revenue models hold more promise than others. The research team’s focus is on bringing interested parties in the rideshare field together to share ideas; the team does not plan on developing any form of rideshare application or service, and does not intend to advocate for any particular technology or service provider.
If you are interested in sharing your thoughts on ridesharing, or are interested in participating in the Real-Time Rides Workshop, please contact the research team at RealTimeRides@mit.edu.