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Title:

IMPACTS AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THIRD-PARTY VANPOOLING: SYNTHESIS AND COMPARISON OF FINDINGS FROM FOUR DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS

Accession Number:

00349097

Record Type:

Component

Availability:

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Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309032652

Abstract:

This paper presents findings from four federally sponsored experiments designed to test the concept of third-party vanpooling. Under this vanpool provider mechanism, some entity other than the employer or individual is responsible for promoting and organizing vanpools. The four projects, implemented in Knoxville, Tennessee; Norfolk, Virginia; San Francisco, California; and Minneapolis, Minnesota, experimented with a variety of organizational, operational, and financial approaches. Accordingly, the comparative findings regarding implementation issues, vanpool level-of-service characteristics, traveler response, and vanpool economics are widely applicable to other locales. Given the available evidence, third-party vanpooling appears both workable and effective in a range of settings and markets. For a sizeable number of commuters, vanpooling is a feasible and attractive mode. Vanpoolers in the four projects are predominantly riders by choice who do not need a car during the day, rarely work overtime, and commute relatively long distances. For these individuals, the benefits of vanpooling, such as lower communting costs, less hassle, and the possibility of eliminating a household automobile, more than compensate for the added time spent in collecting and discharging other passengers. Vanpool drivers exhibit considerable entrepreneurship in terms of adapting vanpool operating policies and amenity levels to passenger preferences and setting fares to reflect individual passenger circuity and van occupancy levels. The concept of using third-party vans as seeds appears to be effective in encouraging privately operated vanpools to use purchased or leased vehicles. Finally, third party vanpooling offers considerable flexibility in terms of how, where, and at what rate vanpool services are introduced within an urban area. For some transit operators, this mechanism represents a feasible alternative to the expansion of peak-period fixed-route transit service in low-density markets.

Supplemental Notes:

Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Paratransit. 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.

Monograph Accession #:

01411631

Authors:

Heaton, Carla
Abkowitz, Mark
Damm, David
Jacobson, Jesse

Pagination:

pp 31-40

Publication Date:

1981

Serial:

Transportation Research Record

Issue Number: 823
Publisher: Transportation Research Board
ISSN: 0361-1981

Conference:

60th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board

Location: Washington District of Columbia, United States
Date: 1981-1-12 to 1981-1-16

ISBN:

0309032652

Media Type:

Print

Features:

References (11) ; Tables (4)

Subject Areas:

Administration and Management; Economics; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; Society; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

Files:

TRIS, TRB

Created Date:

May 28 1982 12:00AM

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