Wednesday, October 19, 2022 | 12:30 – 1:30 PM (ET)
About the Webinar:
Transportation network companies (TNCs or ridehail) are changing the way people travel by providing dynamic, on-demand mobility that can supplement public transit and personal-vehicle use. Early research suggests that TNCs can expand access and mobility for underserved communities, including low-income individuals and persons with disabilities. Well-designed policy strategies are needed to balance the objectives of increasing mobility and accessibility for underserved communities while simultaneously mitigating the potential adverse impacts of increased TNC usage through policies, such as pooling and first-mile and last-mile linkages. More research is needed to better understand the mobility gaps and needs of underserved populations to identify potential strategies to mitigate negative TNC impacts and make the services more equitable. Through research conducted in the San Francisco Bay Area, the study team investigated respondent mobility priorities and challenges in accessing TNCs. This study informs why certain socio-demographic populations are more frequent TNC users, factors that contribute that more frequent TNC use, and potential strategies that help maximize equitable accessibility and mobility offered through TNCs, while mitigating potential adverse impacts.
About the Presenters:
Susan Shaheen is a pioneer in innovative mobility strategies. She was among the first to research and write about the changing dynamics in shared mobility and likely scenarios through which automated vehicles might gain prominence. She is a professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. She is a Co-Director of the Transportation Sustainability Research Center of the Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS)-Berkeley and Director of the UC ITS’ Resilient and Innovative Mobility Initiative. She has a Ph.D. from UC Davis and a M.S. from the University of Rochester. She has authored 84 journal articles, over 160 reports and proceedings articles, 33 book chapters, and co-edited three books. She served as Chair of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Executive Committee from 2021 to 2022 and Vice Chair from 2020 to 2021. She received the 2017 Roy W. Crum award from TRB for her distinguished achievements in transportation research. In May 2016, she was named one of the top 10 academic thought leaders in transportation by the Eno Transportation Foundation.
Kate Gosselin is a Ph.D. student at the University of California, Berkeley in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. She is a graduate student researcher with the Transportation Sustainability Research Center. She is interested in innovative mobility solutions and the application of qualitative methods to the study of transportation.
