Assessing Viability of Car-Sharing for Low-Income Communities

Over the past 20 years, car-sharing technology has become an important transportation option in population-dense, car-centric cities in the U.S. as it provides mobility and promotes public transit ridership without vehicle ownership. For successful implementation, pro-car-sharing policies and incentives have also actively supported the car-sharing programs. Members of low-income communities may benefit especially from the technology due to lower rates of vehicle ownership and high dependency on public transit. To maximize the benefit, it is important to understand the extent of car-sharing services within transportation Environmental Justice (EJ) population and travel behavior of individuals using car-sharing services. In this study, social workers and transportation engineers collaborate to understand the needs, accessibility, affordability, and willingness to use car-sharing. A mixed methodology was used including spatial analysis, mathematical modeling and qualitative focus group. For quantitative analysis, the 2017 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) data were used to investigate the effects individuals’ socio-economic characteristics, travel behavior and technology access have on car-sharing usage. Zero inflated binomial regression method was used to investigate the relationships between sociodemographic, travel behavior and financial related variables and car-sharing usages. The results indicate that individuals who experience financial burden tend to use car-sharing service as their mobility option along with rideshare service. Focus group was conducted with service providers providing assistance in low-income communities to assess their awareness of and sense of clients’ willingness to use car-sharing. The results showed that the participants were relatively unfamiliar with car-share programs than its shared-mobility counterpart, ride-sharing. The participants also identified that affordability and technological barrier besides a lack of familiarity and consequence misconception were the potential causes of the lack of awareness or willingness to use car-sharing service.

• Record URL:
  https://ctedd.uta.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/CTEDD-018-04-SG-Final-Report.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/66192
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This research was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Texas, Arlington

  Department of Civil Engineering, P.O. Box 19308
  Arlington, TX  United States  76019-0308

  Center for Transportation Equity, Decisions & Dollars (CTEDD)

  University of Texas at Arlington
  Arlington, TX  United States  76019

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Hyun, Kate
  • 0000-0001-7432-8058
  • Cronley, Courtney
  • 0000-0002-8325-6356
  • Naz, Farah
  • Robinson, Sarah
  • Harwerth, Joseph
• Publication Date: 2019-1-31

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 44p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Environmental justice; Focus groups; Low income groups; Mathematical models; Travel behavior; Vehicle sharing
• Uncontrolled Terms: Negative binomial regression analysis
• Subject Areas: Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01713576
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: CTEDD 018-04 SG
• Files: UTC, NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Aug 7 2019 5:47PM