The Sharing Economy and Transit

Illustration source: Fast Company

PAUL SUPAWANICH@tweetsupa

What is the Sharing Economy? (e.g., collaborative consumption)

A popular way to access goods and services in new and less expensive ways. Its many innovations include car sharing, ridesharing and peer accommodations.- Bayshare

Why Sharing and Why Now?

Nights booked/30 months

1,0

00

,00

0

1 25

0,0

00

1

Rides taken/14 days

Manifested in Reality:

Sharing Economy: Transportation Edition

Long-distance Ridesharing

Commute-based Ridesharing (Carpooling)

Taxi-style Ridesharing

Peer-to-Peer Carsharing

How does this affect transit?

Reason #1: 100 Types of bottled water

Providing Choice:Differentiating factors in shared transportation:

- Personal connection- Conversation- Availability

Reason #2: Uncertainty of Funding

Must schedule at least a day in advance30 minute pickup windowNo real time information

Hypothetical Scenario

$42.11 per Ride

Same day availabilityOn-demand serviceReal-time arrival information

<$42.11 per Ride*

*probably

The Sharing Economy is going to save the transit world

What I am suggesting:

Transit agencies should dare to be creative with these new tools to serve specific markets

They can be embraced as methods that supplement existing transportation services

Sharing economy users are likely transit users.

Expansion of these services help enable a car-free or car-lite lifestyle

Providing Last-Mile Services

Improving access to carsharing at transit stations

Optimizing Existing Services

Volunteer ridematching services

If we can leverage the sharing economy to:

*probably

Increase Choice Reduce Costs

Transit Agencies Win

EveryoneLeaves Happy!*

Consumers Win

Paul Supawanichpsupawanich@nelsonnygaard.com@tweetsupaAll slides available via slideshare.net/paulsupawanich