The Equity and Affordability of Automated Vehicle Passenger Services in Rural and Under-Served Communities

This project proposes to assess the expected equity and affordability of automated vehicle (AV) passenger services, such as Waymo and Cruise, in rural and underserved communities.  The methodology involves applying an innovative model to predict the human-driven ride-hailing demand (Uber and Lyft) for every Census tract in the Southeast, assessing the potential for AVs to reduce the cost of providing equivalent service, and predicting how the demand would change in response to cost reductions.  The predictive model has already been developed, and via a Center for Regional and Rural Connected Communities (CR2C2) REEG grant, it will be quickly scaled up for large scale application and test its spatial transferability against observed data in rural areas. The results will enable transportation policy makers to engage with the AV companies in an informed way as the companies continue their roll-out in the Southeast. 

• Record URL:
  https://www.cr2c2.com/research/major-research-initiatives/mri-1/project-r1-5
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Project R1-5

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $99946
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3552348304

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Center for Regional and Rural Connected Communities

  North Carolina A&T State University
  Greensboro, NC  United States  27411
• Performing Organizations:

  University of Kentucky, Lexington

  Lexington, KY  United States  40506-0281
• Principal Investigators:

  Erhardt, Gregory

• Start Date: 20240115
• Expected Completion Date: 20250114
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program
• Subprogram: University Transportation Centers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Autonomous vehicles; Passenger transportation; Predictive models; Ridesourcing; Rural areas; Transportation equity; Underserved communities
• Subject Areas: Passenger Transportation; Planning and Forecasting; Society; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01920243
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Center for Regional and Rural Connected Communities
• Contract Numbers: 69A3552348304
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: May 30 2024 7:01PM