Date: June 1, 2018
Author(s): Ryland Lu
Abstract
The recent rise of ride-hailing platforms such as Lyft and Uber calls into question many traditional paradigms in transportation planning. This is particularly evident in the realm of curb management, where ride-hailing trips may replace demand for vehicle parking with a need for short-term loading space. Traditionally, cities have prioritized long-term vehicle occupancy over short-term loading, allocating most curb space for underpriced vehicle parking. The predominance of high-occupancy curb parking could deny ride-hailing vehicles access to the curb — encouraging them to double park — and may depress curb space’s capacity to transport passengers. This study found that when parking is the dominant curb use, cars hoard curb space and deprive ride-hailing vehicles of safe and legal places to pick up and drop off passengers. In the age of ride-hailing, curb parking may accommodate passenger travel to a corridor less effectively than short-term loading space.
About the Project
Over the past 5 years, ride-sourcing platforms have experienced tremendous growth in American cities. Despite indications by recent studies that ride-sourcing vehicles substitute for vehicle travel and reduce parking demand, policymakers and academics have ignored the implications of ride-sourcing use for curb space allocation, which traditionally favors long-term vehicle occupancy. This thesis will examine whether designation of curb space for long-term vehicle occupancy induces ride-sourcing pick up and drop off activity in travel lanes through observation of curb use on two arterial corridors in Los Angeles perceived to have a high level of ride-sourcing activity. Comparative analysis of curb occupancy with the number of passengers ride-sourcing and other vehicles transport to the curb can reveal the extent to which ride-sourcing pick ups and drop offs make for a more productive use of the curb than vehicle parking (potentially justifying the re-designation of curb space used for vehicle parking as ride-sourcing pick up zone(s)).