CIRCUITY FACTOR VALUES IN RIDESHARING: A DETAILED UPDATE

The extra distance that a member of a carpool travels, compared with that person's drive-alone distance between home and work, is one of the negative aspects of ridesharing. It is also the key value in calculating the amount of fuel saved by those choosing this commuter mode. Among several proposed methods of quantifying this extra distance, or circuity factor (CF), the most commonly used is the ratio of ridesharing distance to drive-alone distance, which is called the circuity ratio (CR) in this paper. The CR-value most commonly used is the ratio 1.15, but this value is neither well documented nor up-to-date. A detailed examination of the CR-values experienced by 206 individuals who share rides in or to a small urban area is described in this paper. The CR-values were found to have a mean value lower than the long-accepted value (1.071 versus 1.15) and a standard deviation much smaller (0.154) than expected. These findings have several; applications: (a) they permit more accurate calculations of fuel savings associated with mode shifts involving ridesharing under current conditions, (b) they define a standard aganist which circuity values in times of energy shortages can be compared, and (c) they provide data in sufficient detail to allow subsequent studies to examine and explain differences in circuity components found in other times and places.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1986/1082/1082-006.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=CIRCUITY+FACTOR+VALUES+IN+RIDESHARING%3A+A+DETAILED+UPDATE&author=J.+Fricker&publication_year=1986
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309041023
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Ridesharing. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Fricker, Jon D
• Publication Date: 1986

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 34-40
• Monograph Title: Innovations in ridesharing
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1082
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Distance; Estimating; Fuel consumption; Ratios; Ridesharing; Savings; Statistical analysis
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Data and Information Technology; Energy; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Vehicles and Equipment; I96: Vehicle Operating Costs;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00471745
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309041023
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Oct 31 1988 12:00AM