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First published online July 28, 2020

First-Mile-Last-Mile Collector-Distributor System using Shared Autonomous Mobility

Krishna Murthy Gurumurthy, Kara M. Kockelman [email protected], and Natalia Zuniga-GarciaView all authors and affiliations
Volume 2674, Issue 10
https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198120936267

Abstract

High costs of owning fully-automated or autonomous vehicles (AVs) will fuel the demand for shared mobility, with zero driver costs. Although sharing sounds good for the transport system, congestion can easily rise without adequate policy measures. Many or all public transit lines will continue to exist, and carefully-designed policies can be implemented to make good use of fixed public assets, like commuter- and light-rail lines. In this study, a shared AV (SAV) fleet is analyzed as a potential solution to the first-mile-last-mile (FMLM) problem for access to and from public transit. Essentially, SAVs are analyzed as collector-distributor systems for these mass-movers and compared with a door-to-door (D2D) service. Results from an agent-based simulation of Austin, Texas, show that SAVs have the potential to help solve FMLM transit problems when fare benefits are provided to transit users. Restricting SAV use for FMLM trips increases transit coverage, lowers average access and egress walking distance, and shifts demand away from park-and-ride and long walk trips. When SAVs are available for both D2D use and FMLM trips, high SAV fares help maintain transit demand, without which the transit demand may decrease significantly, affecting the transit supply and the overall system reliability. Policy makers and planners should be wary of this shift away from transit and may be able to increase transit usage using policies tested in this study.

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Published In

Volume 2674, Issue 10
Pages: 638 - 647
Article first published online: July 28, 2020
Issue published: October 2020

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© National Academy of Sciences: Transportation Research Board 2020.
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Authors

Affiliations

Krishna Murthy Gurumurthy
Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
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Kara M. Kockelman
Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
[email protected]
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Natalia Zuniga-Garcia
Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
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Notes

Kara M. Kockelman, [email protected]

Author Contributions

The authors confirm contribution to the paper as follows: study conception and design: K. M. Gurumurthy, N. Zuniga-Garcia, K. Kockelman; methodology: K. M. Gurumurthy; analysis and interpretation of results: K. M. Gurumurthy, N. Zuniga-Garcia, K. Kockelman; draft manuscript preparation: K. M. Gurumurthy, N. Zuniga-Garcia, K. Kockelman. All authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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