Date: June 1, 2018
Author(s): Ryland Lu
Abstract
Ride-sourcing has experienced tremendous growth in the past five years. Despite growing interest among policymakers in creating short-term loading space for ride-sourcing and other shared-mobility vehicles, researchers have largely ignored the implications of ride-sourcing on curb management policies, which traditionally favor long-term vehicle occupancy. Observing two corridors with characteristics conducive to ride-sourcing, I found that on the busier corridor, passenger loading space served four times as many passengers per hour as the equivalent space used for parking. On corridors with high ride-sourcing activity, cities can increase the productivity of curb space and discourage double-parking by converting curb parking to passenger loading spaces and charging market prices for curb use. On commercial corridors that currently lack heavy ride-sourcing usage, planners and policymakers can prioritize transit and ride-sourcing as a means to improve the curb’s transport capacity and reduce the externalities of driving.
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)).