RIDE SHARING: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FUTURE

Ride sharing--carpooling, vanpooling--offers the advantage of dealing directly and rapidly with congestion, pollution and energy consumption problems at a minimum cost. However, for all of its advantages, carpooling has not become as popular as might have been expected. The reasons for this initial lack of success are numerous. Initial carpooling promotional efforts did not adequately consider attitudinal and habit barriers. In a carpooling study in Iowa City, this attitudinal survey indicated that the extra time requirements to carpool and the loss of independence were the two most important deterrents to potential carpoolers. These may be overcome through encouragement to try carpools and then through the efficient operation of those carpools. Ongoing research involves an analysis of the decision making process of commuters with regard to their choice of mode. Several laboratory studies of mode choice were conducted at Iowa using the methods and models of experimetnal psychology to study factors underlying individual preferences. The most recent of these studies included carpooling as a mode choice alternative with interpersonal factors (i.e., composition of the carpool in terms of sex and prior acquaintanceship of potential riders) as important determinants of carpooling desirability. Results of these studies led to suggestions of how to use interpersonal factors to promote carpooling.

• Corporate Authors:

  University of Iowa, Iowa City

  Institute of Urban and Regional Research
  Iowa City, IA  United States  52242
• Authors:
  • Dueker, K J
  • Bair, B O
  • Levin, I P
• Publication Date: 1977-3

Media Info

• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: 16 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Attitudes; Carpools; Costs; Fuel consumption; Mathematical models; Mode choice; Pollution; Psychological aspects; Ridesharing; Traffic congestion; Travel time; Vanpools
• Uncontrolled Terms: Models
• Old TRIS Terms: Modal selection
• Subject Areas: Energy; Environment; Finance; Highways; Planning and Forecasting;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00172882
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: Technical Rpt. 89
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Apr 12 1978 12:00AM