Using Mobile Apps to Measure Spatial Travel Behavior Changes of Carsharing Users Sisinnio Concas, S. Barbeau, P.L. Winters, N.L. Georggi, J.M. Bond Center for Urban Transportation Research Session 765 Technology and Travel Surveys

Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida What is Carsharing? Short-term auto rental option Hourly flat rate Annual membership fee No gasoline costs Unlimited mileage No parking costs

Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida Carsharing Program Launched at the University of South Florida, Tampa Campus, on July 2009 Short-term rental option with hourly flat rate –Annual membership fee –Unlimited mileage –Non parking costs –No gasoline costs Four hybrid vehicles available 24/7

Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida Program Participation

Tracking Spatial Behavior This is my trip to campus, via the Bull Runner, to pick up the WeCar. I then drove the WeCar to the CVS on Fowler to pick up medication and then drove to the grocery store on Bears Ave. After shopping, I dropped the groceries off at home and then drove back to campus to return the WeCar. I then took the Bull Runner back home.

Communicating with Users

Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida Trips by Mode and Purpose ModeCountPercent Car % Bicycle1559.5% Bus1328.1% Scooter181.1% Walking % Carsharing311.9% Not Reported % Total1, %

Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida Communicating Pricing Changes Incentives to encourage off-peak travel 50-percent reduction in hourly rates Rate changes communicated by to treatment: –Scheduling constraints accounted for –Discount applied on actual rental starting time Implementation ScheduleStarting DateDetails Pricing Strategy AMarch 1 to March 21, 2011 USF to communicate schedule to carsharing on 02/21/2011 Pricing Strategy BMarch 28 to April 28, 2011USF to communicate schedule to carsharing on 03/21/2011

Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida Measuring Spatial Patterns of Activity-Travel Trip Length (miles)SDE (square miles) User TypeAverage Carsharing Trip Non Carsharing Average Carsharing Trip Non-Carsharing Trip Carsharing Non-Carsharing ActivitiesMean Center SDC Minor Axis Major Axis SDE Y X Y X

Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida Rental Cost and Rental Time Before Variable Pricing After Variable Pricing

Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida Discussion (1) User interaction and real-time data monitoring contributed to continued participation throughout the study. Participants responded positively to this interaction and expressed a sense of confidence in the GPS tracking tool. Data collection allowed studying users travel behavior responses to variable pricing experiments.

Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida Discussion (2) The research examined changes in travel behavior through pricing mechanisms based on time-of-day and day-of-week hourly rate discounts. The study found that overall carsharing users are price sensitive Changes in rental rates of the order of 20 to 50 percent have a significantly large impact on daily rentals. The analysis shows that carsharing users activity space contracts while using carsharing as a mode of transport.

Center for Urban Transportation Research Sisinnio Concas, PhD (813) Center for Urban Transportation Research Contact