Ridesharing & Public-Private Partnerships: Current Issues, A Proposed Framework and Benefits

Since its introduction to the mainstream seven years ago with the launch of Uber, ridesourcing via transportation network companies (TNC) has become an increasingly viable transportation option across the world. With car manufacturers already showing a willingness to invest in existing TNCs and stated plans throughout the auto industry to offer new TNC services (usually in conjunction with autonomous vehicles), the likelihood of ridesourcing becoming one of the primary means of transportation in the near future is very high. However, Uber and other ridesourcing companies have, on numerous occasions, come in conflict with governmental entities over their various operating procedures. As ridesourcing as an industry continues to grow, the current private-ownership structure of such services will lead to an unnatural risk profile for the mobility of a population: disruptions in service due to management changes or corporate issues, the opportunity for monopolistic practices, the lack of incentive to prevent potential social inequalities in provided services, and the shifting away of traditional public revenue streams, among others, present real challenges for local governments. However, through Public Private Partnerships (P3s), a model already being employed in the United States to design, build, finance, operate, and maintain certain public transit systems, public entities can retain the innovation and efficiency of private-sector operations while harnessing the added value of optimized risk-sharing. This paper explores the potential issues associated with the status quo in ridesourcing ownership structure, examines some of the relationships already beginning to be formed between public transit operators and TNCs, suggests a high-level framework for vehicle ridesourcing under a P3 framework, and explores the benefits of such partnerships. Finally the paper will conclude with a call for political consideration and further research to begin creating template documents for a ridesourcing P3.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ABE10 Standing Committee on Revenue and Finance. Alternate title: Ridesharing and Public-Private Partnerships: Current Issues--Proposed Framework and Benefits
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Kuhr, James
  • Bhat, Chandra R
  • 0000-0002-0715-8121
  • Duthie, Jennifer
  • Ruiz, Natalia
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 96th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2017-1-8 to 2017-1-12
• Date: 2017

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: 17p
• Monograph Title: TRB 96th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Local government; Management and organization; Political factors; Public private partnerships; Public transit; Ridesharing
• Identifier Terms: Uber
• Geographic Terms: United States
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Highways; Policy; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01626113
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 17-04965
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Feb 15 2017 5:03PM