Integrating Transportation Management Companies (TMC's) and Public Transportation

Emerging technologies have given rise to Transportation Management Companies (TMCs), which deliver on-demand services via a customer-facing smartphone app. The expansion of wireless communication technology promises continued growth for ride-sourcing, and presents both challenges and opportunities in integrating these services into the transportation system (Middleton, 2010). Currently, the primary work linking on-demand service to public transportation focuses on the provision of both first- and last-mile trips (Clifton and Muhs, 2012). This study analyzes an expanded role for integrating TMCs into public transit linking the public and private sectors and providing greater accessibility through increased connectivity and coordinated service delivery. This integration requires a framework that facilitates and supports a public-private partnership. The authors examine the potential impact of this integration on transit services in an American context. Selected benefits include enhanced transit ridership, expanded access to employment, cost savings, and new revenue opportunities for transit agencies and private TMCs. This project examines the benefits of on-demand ride service from three aspects: 1) The extent that on-demand TMC services influence job access, 2) How this job accessibility varies spatially across different populations, and 3) How the cost-effectiveness of TMC services compares to traditional transit and what funding mechanisms might improve synergies between the two. This study focuses on the City of Chicago, and explores the impact of TMCs on accessibility to jobs and other amenities. With assumptions about average wait time of TMCs ranging from 1 to 12 minutes, the results of different scenarios suggest that TMC availability and trip lengths that TMCs can be used are the two more dominating factors influencing the extent to which accessibility can be improved. The accessibility improvement is most significant for areas with lowest existing accessibility and has no obvious difference across different population subgroups. Lastly, policy implications and potential funding and financing strategies of realizing the accessibility and equity benefits of integrating TMCs with transit are discussed.

• Record URL:
  https://ctedd.uta.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/CTEDD-017-02-Final-Report.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/65592
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This document was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program.
• Corporate Authors:

  Center for Transportation Equity, Decisions & Dollars (CTEDD)

  University of Texas at Arlington
  Arlington, TX  United States  76019

  Georgia Institute of Technology

  ,    

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Ross, Catherine
  • Watkins, Kari E
  • Kumar, Amit
• Publication Date: 2019-4-10

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 113p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Accessibility; Demand responsive transportation; Financing; Public private partnerships; Public transit; Ridesourcing; Transportation policy
• Geographic Terms: Chicago Metropolitan Area
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Passenger Transportation; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01718333
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: UTC, NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Sep 27 2019 9:57AM