Reasoning & Evidence
Shared mobility options such as ridesharing and carpooling offer multi-purpose services that increase transportation access while promoting more sustainable travel with reduced traffic and reduced automobile-related emissions. There are multiple forms of shared mobility options that can provide flexibility based on user needs and preferences. Casual or flexible carpooling refers to an informal arrangement among strangers where drivers are reimbursed for driving costs and typically share a common origin and destination as their passengers. Real-time ridesharing or app-based carpooling allows users to arrange rides on demand and provides the driver with financial gain incentives. Vanpooling typically includes around 7-15 passengers who share the cost of the van as well as the driving responsibilities.(43)
Individual-level benefits to using shared mobility options include enhancing transportation access for low-income individuals, immigrant households, communities of color, and other communities that may not have the financial means to own a personal automobile or obtain a driver’s license. Nationally, only 40% of public transit-dependent households are able to access metropolitan employment options with less than a 90-minute commute, which makes driving a more convenient option.(43) Additionally, travel time savings are associated with carpooling via HOV lane access that is available for automobiles with four or more passengers. Community-level benefits of carpooling can be seen through reduced traffic congestion and traffic-related emissions. In the US, 76% of all work commutes are single occupancy vehicles (SOV), so by increasing vehicle occupancy rates, the roads become less crowded.(44–45) Reducing traffic emissions not only functions to create more sustainable travel, but it also helps to reduce emission exposure disparities that are commonly and disproportionately placed upon low-income and ethnically minoritized households living along congested roadways.(46) Carpooling can also work to reduce loneliness that is associated with solo commuting and turn an otherwise isolating commute into a social space.(52)
Examples of Community Implementation
United States, Canada, and Australia: The GoGo Grandparent program has been implemented widely spread across all 50 states and regions in Canada and Australia to facilitate initiative trips for people without smartphones and individuals who are unable to use traditional real-time ridesharing options.(47) Facilitated through a phone call, operators work to order rides for older adults and people with disabilities to connect them to essential services, recreation, and social events. This program has helped to reduce social isolation for individuals who are reliant on others for rides and increase independent living while fostering a sense of community.
Dakota County, Minnesota: The Dakota Area Resource Transportation Services Vehicle Coordination Program (DARTS) is a non-profit-led vehicle sharing program that aims to increase transportation access in rural areas through a bus pooling system. They lend buses to local organizations to help provide group transportation to places like churches, grocery stores, and restaurants. Discover other rural rideshare success stories here.
Reference: The SOCIAL Framework: The Transportation Supplemental Brief
Back to All Strategies