Pushed from the Curb: Optimizing Curb Space for Use by Ride-sourcing Vehicles

Ride-sourcing has experienced tremendous growth in the past five years. Growing interest among policymakers in creating short-term loading space for ride-sourcing and other shared mobility vehicles raises the question of how curbsides can accommodate ride-sourcing and pick up and drop-off activity. This study addresses that issue by examining how productively ride sourcing vehicles utilize different curb zones (in terms of persons delivered to the curb per unit of curb space and time occupied) compared to other motorized vehicles and how curb zone allocation affects ride-sourcing vehicles’ access to the curb. Observations on two corridors in the Los Angeles area revealed that, on the busier corridor, a passenger loading space served four times as many passengers per hour as a parking space. On both corridors, ride-sourcing vehicles spent a fraction of the time spent at the curb by private cars per passenger transported. Finally, occupancy of the corridors’ curb parking zones by private cars and abuse of time limits (mainly by private cars) in the corridors’ loading zones appear to have encouraged illegal parking activity by ride-sourcing vehicles. Overall, the growth of ride-sourcing in cities justifies re-allocating curb parking for loading space and public space. Moreover, ride-sourcing incentives can prove to be effective policies at managing curbside demand.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ABE30 Standing Committee on Transportation Issues in Major Cities.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  ,    
• Authors:
  • Lu, Ryland M
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 98th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2019-1-13 to 2019-1-17
• Date: 2019

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 25p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Curb side parking; Curbs; Demand responsive transportation; Parking demand; Ridesharing; Ridesourcing
• Identifier Terms: Lyft; Uber
• Uncontrolled Terms: Ridehailing
• Geographic Terms: Los Angeles (California)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01698333
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 19-05257
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Mar 1 2019 3:51PM