Challenge

The following is an excerpt from a draft of the Santa Barbara Community Environmental Council's Fossil Free by 2033 Plan. It shows how to use the technology for increased ridesharing or carpooling.

Carpooling, vanpooling, and ridesharing are all versions of sharing a motor vehicle trip with a driver making essentially the same trip. Carpooling and vanpooling are generally associated with regular trips such as to and from work. Many transportation agencies have been offering commuter parking lots (park and ride) and ride matching services for decades.

10.3% of Santa Barbara commuters carpooled in the early 2000’s. But 79.9% drove alone.1 This may have changed slightly when gas prices spiked in 2005. The United States Census Bureau’s 2005 American Community Survey asked workers living in households if they carpooled.2 The survey did not include group communities such as college dormitories. 11% of American workers carpooled. 12% of Los Angeles workers carpooled. By comparison 4.7% took public transit (excluding taxicabs) and 88% drove alone. California is better than average with 74% driving alone. More sophisticated ridesharing is too recently developing to generate statistics.

The meaning of ridesharing is changing with improvements in communications and location technology. Ridesharing in 2000 was essentially limited to commuting because the ride matching technology was not convenient for non-regular trips. With ubiquitous cell phones and wireless Internet connections ridesharing is becoming more impromptu (a few minutes notice). Ridesharing now includes trips during the workday, or for recreation, or for personal errands.

Modern electronics can improve the convenience of ridesharing. Transportation agencies and private businesses have started offering real-time computer matches, communicated in real-time with computer, cell phone web connections, and text messages, for people looking to give and receive rides. Private efforts include the local (volunteer) Zimride3 and the East Coast’s for-profit GoLoco. GoLoco4 might be the first American agency to automate the value transfer. Participants can use GoLoco at no cost, or they can opt for GoLoco to receive payment from the rider, take a small cut, and pay the driver.

1 Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, 2002 Commute Profile, Final Report, August, 2002

2 US Census Pub_Trans_Tables from the 2005 American Community Survey

3 www.Zimride.com

4 www.goloco.org

5 http://www.communitysolutions.org/rideshare.html

Parking ‘Pooling

UC Berkeley's Institute of Transportation Studies tested a primitive version of parking 'pooling at the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit system parking lots. See www.parkingcarma.com. Cellphone based parking ‘pooling allows people and businesses to share and reserve parking spots. Potential drivers would know when they had better share a ride or expect to park a half-mile from their destination. In this case, the city or transit agency would operate a geographic information system database of all the available parking spots. The database is informed of parking spot occupancy by a “smart meter” (a GPS locator plugged into a car’s 12-volt power outlet) or the driver’s cellphone.

Drivers would reserve a spot in the general area by telling their cellphone a destination and expected time of arrival. When making a reservation, the phone tells them an estimated parking distance from their destination and the cost for their passenger-mile-per-gallon situation. The driver might select between cost and distance. The system might reward high passenger-mile-per-gallon vehicles with close or low-cost parking.

When the driver is within a few minutes of the destination, the “smart meter,” or pocket navigator, or cellphone provides directions directly to the parking spot.

The city, transit agency, employers, and merchants would be allocated or own parking spaces and could buy and sell parking on a real-time spot market. (Or pay employees for not using a parking spot.) The administrating agency would be paid a portion of the parking fee in exchange for operating the service. Some communities would appreciate the smart meter improves their street appearance by eliminating the ugly dumb parking meter.

Note that the same 800-lb gorilla technology will shortly make it possible for the car to drop you off in front of your destination, go park itself, and return to pick you up. We may want to provide incentives for the non-handicapped to avoid using this feature.

Parking ‘Pooling Economics – If the careful control of available parking caused 4 to 5 people per vehicle, instead of roughly 1 person, fuel per trip drops to a quarter or a fifth of 2006. There is a practical limit to the average and the peak number of people wanting to park near similar destinations at similar times. This is particularly true for merchants and churches. However, the known lack of nearby parking would be a ‘pooling incentive for shopper and churchgoers. I suggest using 50% for the impact, which represents a doubling of the average people per vehicle.

The cost to the individual or community would be near zero as an increment to the vehicle ‘pooling. It may cost a $million or so to set up the database within an existing geographic information system and for the interconnection hardware and software (especially the first few systems). Businesses might pay for the system in lieu of buying/owning parking spaces. The ‘pooling phones are the primary hardware.

The ongoing cost may be negative in that fewer parking spaces could provide nearly the same level of service. Businesses, churches, and schools could benefit from the “sale” of their parking spaces during “off” times. Some existing parking spaces might be converted to playgrounds, mini-forests, stormwater treating depressions, and bike/pedestrian paths.

A lack of parking would be painful. However, being able to proceed directly to the closest parking without hunting, even if a quarter mile walk to the final destination is a great pain reliever. The concept does mess with some potential campaign contributors. Merchants may be nervous. Privacy advocates will be concerned. Vehicle sales may decrease as vehicle miles decrease, which may upset the auto industry. Reduced traffic congestion reduces the need for new roads or traditional mass transit, potentially upsetting the transportation complex and elected leaders who depend on earmarks for support. Transit agencies may protest a successful ‘pooling program. City and county planning departments will need to adjust their parking space requirements. There is an opportunity for mixed use zoning to take advantage of complementary parking needs.

Parking ‘pooling is technically feasible with 2007 cellphone, navigation, and tracking systems.[1] The technology can start with “smart meters” connecting to a wireless net as a substitute for current parking meters. That is – a city or businesses would phase out “dumb” parking meters and “dumb” reserved spots by handing out the “smart parking meter.” At first, the meter applies to limited parking places. Parking ‘pooling costs drop and its appeal increases as it becomes a feature in the complete package of Electronics Applied to Transportation.

[1] See advertisements and press releases for Garmin’s nuvi, Openmoko’s Neo1973, Fujitsu Siemens LOOX N100, and Nokia’s N800 Internet tablet in Popular Science, May 2007.