What Happened?
A new alternative transportation company has recently taken root in Las Vegas aiming to connect drivers and passengers to an appropriate mode of transit through a tiered payment model. Offering varying levels of transit options will make the services more accessible to low-income users.
Goal
Shift, following the path laid out by Uber, Car2Go and other shared mobility companies, is creating a platform connecting users to all transportation services available. Members just need a driver’s license and a credit card to gain access to:
- Bikes
- Small city cars
- Luxury sedans
- Valet services
Using a smartphone app, members can select a destination and vehicle preference and Shift will direct the user to the nearest transit option. The overall goal of the platform is to connect users to transportation and neighborhood destinations in a short period of time for added convenience, whether that service is public or private transit.
Shift uses a unique algorithm to determine what type of vehicle will best suit each user’s needs, taking into account location, destination, preferences and traffic patterns. Users have different levels of membership to choose from ranging from $25/month to $450/month, The Washington Post reported.
Shared Mobility in Low Income
A recent study from Living Cities looked at the growing popularity of shared-mobility programs such as bike and car shares, and how such transit options would significantly benefit low-income residents who typically rely heavily on public transportation.
According to the study, shared mobility comes in a variety of services – each to address specific needs – and work well in complement to mass transportation. Municipalities have an opportunity to bring shared mobility to low-income neighborhoods to increase access to employment as well as support economic growth.
The researchers recommend municipalities consider:
- Launching pilot programs to address transit needs of underserved, low-income communities
- Researching shared-mobility business models involving the public and private sectors to reach low-income users
- Incorporating shared mobility into community transit strategies
- Reducing barriers to accessing shared mobility
- Creating intermediaries to connect users to evolving opportunities in shared mobility
In Schenectady, New York, a transportation company has joined forces with the Schenectady City Mission and local community college to provide transit options to low-income residents working in the healthcare industry.
The Drive to Success program is using federal funding to expand its reach to more participants in 2015. The initiative gathers volunteer drivers to pick up low-income healthcare workers and transport them to and from their jobs. These workers rely on public transportation to get around, yet cannot efficiently get to work using public options alone.
The healthcare workers provide personal care to patients in nursing facilities and private homes. This industry is predicted to 46.2 percent by 2020 according to the Department of Labor, while the need for home health will jump 40.9 percent in the same time period. Thus, transportation barriers will continue to be a problem for workers in this field.
Making Transit Accessible
Gov1 has followed many public transit projects that take into account unique community data to determine how best to meet the needs of residents.