Public Transit, Shared Mobility, & Active Transportation

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Southern California’s car-centric culture has long been seen by many as a source of freedom enmeshed with the American Dream. Yet our battle with congestion and its consequences is just as well documented. Public transit, shared mobility, and active transportation are all solutions that address these problems by reducing the number of cars on the road and providing mobility at a lower cost for all. Making public transportation work requires careful planning of operations to suit our urban form and collective travel behavior preferences and strategic approaches to help that form and preference structure adapt toward more sustainable outcomes. The relationship between shared mobility and active transportation, whether it’s the last mile question or substitution continues to spur systems-level questions that are intertwined with the realities of travel behavior and urban form.

Researchers at ITS-Irvine have a long history of addressing these questions through data analysis and modeling and continue to analyze the implications of traditional shared mobility (carpooling), the modern ridehailing variant, and to consider how automation may alter the economics of transportation.  Subtopics in this area include:

  • Transit planning and operations
  • Microtransit and paratransit
  • Ridesharing and ride-hailing
  • Bike and scooter sharing
  • Cyclists, pedestrians, and other non-vehicular road users
In Progress | Oct 2024—Sep 2025

Research Team:

David Brownstone (lead)

Department(s):

Economics

In Progress | Oct 2024—Sep 2025

Research Team:

Elisa Borowski (lead)

Department(s):

Civil and Environmental Engineering

In Progress | Aug 2023—Sep 2025

Research Team:

Michael Hyland (lead), Susan Shaheen

Department(s):

Civil and Environmental Engineering