Between Public and Private Mobility: Examining the Rise of Technology-Enabled Transportation Services (2016) / Chapter Skim
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8 Equity and Access
8 Equity and Access
Pages 128-151
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From page 128... ...
The innovative mobility options discussed in this report have the potential to increase the accessibility of transportation for many Americans, including these disadvantaged populations. But they may also leave people who are already transportation-disadvantaged further behind, either because they will not be able to take advantage of these new services (making them relatively worse off )
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From page 129... ...
Large firms are better able to provide service over wide geographic areas and around the clock, which can give them a competitive advantage over smaller rivals, and a substantial market share can give them leverage with drivers and suppliers that enables them to hold costs down. But the emergence of dominant players in private markets also can lead to market-cornering behaviors, efforts to convince public officials to erect barriers to market entry so as to squelch competition, and the "regulatory capture" of public agencies that may succumb to especially dominant firms.
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From page 130... ...
Further, some of these new services, such as car- and especially bikeshare services, entail varying degrees of public collaboration with or subsidy of some private firms but not others. Finally, some of these new services compete with existing firms that provide both private, for-profit services and social service transportation -- such as mandated wheelchair-equipped door-todoor services provided by taxi operators.
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From page 131... ...
Further, as private, primarily for-profit enterprises, these new firms tend to arise and propagate where customer demand is greatest: generally in the largest metropolitan areas, in the most densely settled parts of cities, and in more affluent areas with large numbers of potential customers who have the disposable income to pay for the services. If these services are viewed largely as the product of private transactions between willing buyers and sellers, then the boundary crossing and geographic concentration of these services is not necessarily a public concern.
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From page 132... ...
The next section examines equity issues related to the subgroups of stakeholders whose interests may be furthered or harmed depending on how the urban mobility services evolve in the coming years. Intergroup Equity Issues Racial and Ethnic Minorities The extent to which different racial and ethnic groups use and have access to technology-enabled mobility services may have implications under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
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From page 133... ...
. This same poll showed that a plurality of white citizens of Chicago agree that cabs deliberately avoid serving African American citizens.
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From page 134... ...
Although the funds are used to help offset the added expenses incurred by owners and drivers of accessible vehicles, such financing mechanisms raise equity questions of their own by singling out a particular group, such as other taxi passengers, rather than taxpayers more broadly to underwrite the costs of a social service (accessible door-to-door transportation) widely viewed as both socially desirable and mandated by federal law.2 Aside from tradition, there is no inherent logic in having taxi riders, rather than taxpayers more broadly, subsidize the accessible rides of people with disabilities.
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From page 135... ...
TNC representatives claim that they are not providing public accommodations and therefore need not comply with the ADA accessibility provisions. For the reporting year 2013, the Federal Transportation Administration's National Transit Database (NTD)
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From page 136... ...
. TNC apps may facilitate automobile access for the blind; for example, they provide voice options, allowing easy vehicle requests from a smartphone without the need to see a passing taxi and hail it on the street.
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From page 137... ...
For both taxis and TNCs, moreover, serving the needs of patrons who use wheelchairs by having accessible vehicles on hand is only one aspect of providing access for people with disabilities; having the vehicles does not equate to having service. Some cities, such as New York and Washington, D.C., have mandated having a central dispatching mechanism for accessible cabs so as to reduce response times, as well as having drivers properly trained and motivated to serve the unique needs of these customers (see Appendix B)
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From page 138... ...
. In this context, innovative mobility services have the potential to provide enhanced accessibility without the cost burden of vehicle ownership.
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From page 139... ...
. And officials with the California Air Resources Board are planning to fund pilot carsharing projects in disadvantaged communities using funds from the state's Cap-and-Trade program (California Air Resources Board 2015)
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From page 140... ...
also found that taxi trips by the lowestincome households in urban areas are the shortest compared with those of other income groups, averaging just 4.3 miles. To the extent that TNCs provide services similar to those of taxis for people without automobile access but at a lower cost, TNC services could meaningfully increase accessibility for low-income individuals.
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From page 141... ...
Initial findings showed that the average total wait time for UberX was almost 8 minutes from the time of a ride request until a driver arrived for pickup, compared with a total wait time for taxi service of almost 19 minutes. The average cost of an UberX ride, $7.26, was less than half that of a taxi, which cost an average of $17.09.
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From page 142... ...
As public transit agencies around the United States have modernized their fare collection systems to be "all electronic" and upgraded to smart4 While such policies may aim to increase access for the unbanked, they could inadvertently undermine safety aspects of TNCs for drivers if not implemented with care. The current TNC credit card requirement eliminates passenger anonymity, thereby increasing safety.
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From page 143... ...
Since 2011, for example, Greyhound has partnered successfully with PayNearMe -- a private electronic cash payment service that allows members to pay for their membership using cash by going to a local convenience store instead of using a credit card online -- and 7-Eleven to provide an option that entails cash payment and online purchase with applicable Internet discounts (Greyhound.com 2011)
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From page 144... ...
Both of these services rely on the relatively high land use densities of cities and inner-ring suburbs. On the other hand, TNCs can provide rides anywhere drivers with cars are willing to operate, and thus could increase mobility options for people living in rural areas, where public transit and taxi services often are less available.
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From page 145... ...
These services also may be easier to use than other mobility services for people with some disabilities, and they may reduce some forms of discrimination and provide alternatives to traditional public transit and taxi services where the availability of the latter services is limited. Absent sufficient data on usage, however, it is unclear whether discrimination may occur more or less often with these services than with other existing transportation services.
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From page 146... ...
In the short term, public agencies and regulatory authorities will likely need to address barriers to use of the new mobility services among people with disabilities and those who are unbanked if the potential for these services to enhance the mobility options of these groups is to be realized. On the other hand, should these services continue to expand over larger and larger geographic areas, they may increase considerably the opportunities for relatively affordable door-to-door motor vehicle access for those who, because of age, income, or disability, cannot own or drive a car, increasing mobility for transportation-disadvantaged groups in the process.
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From page 147... ...
In Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No.
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From page 148... ...
An Early Exploration. Presented at 94th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C.
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From page 149... ...
In Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No.
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From page 150... ...
In Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No.
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From page 151... ...
In Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No.
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