Shared mobility in Greater Minnesota | Resources | Shared Mobility Public-Private Partnership Guide
3: Shared mobility options
Once you have identified your community’s needs related to shared-mobility, the next consideration is which shared-mobility options will best meet those needs. Listed below is the range of shared-mobility solutions that exist in cities across the United States. These are intended as general descriptions; in practice, systems may vary slightly in their implementation in specific locations.
Bike sharing
Shared bikes available for self-service rental.
- Docked bike sharing: A station-based system in which users unlock bikes from a fixed dock and return them to another dock at the end of the trip.
- Dockless bike sharing: A system that uses GPS-enabled “smart bikes” with integrated locks that can be unlocked via a mobile app. Users end the ride by locking and parking the bike anywhere within the defined operating area.
Scooter sharing
Similar to dockless bike-sharing systems, scooter sharing allows self-service rental and typically uses the same docked or dockless technologies to enable and end service.
Ride sharing
Traveling by automobile and adding additional passengers to a pre-existing trip to save on fuel and vehicle operating costs. Travelers share the ride from home or a prearranged meeting location and travel together to a common destination, such as a workplace or employment center. Ride sharing includes the following:
- Carpooling: Travelers riding together in a single personal vehicle. Most frequently used for commuting, carpools can be arranged between known or unknown parties.
- Vanpooling: Often run by public transit systems, vanpooling allows groups of travelers to share a ride for longer distances and on a larger geographic scale than carpooling. Vanpools typically have lower capital and operating costs than traditional transit vehicles, but also lower capacity.
- Real-time or dynamic ride sharing: Matches drivers and passengers through a mobile app based on shared destinations before the trip begins. Typically each passenger pays for a portion of the trip costs.
Ride sourcing
Providers use online platforms to connect passengers with drivers, who use personal (non-commercial) vehicles to provide point-to-point transportation. Examples include Lyft and Uber.
On-demand delivery service
Providers use online platforms to connect drivers of personal, non-commercial vehicles with customers to deliver items like restaurant take-out orders, groceries, or medical prescriptions to their homes, workplace, or other location.
Car sharing
Short-term car rental that bundles all costs (fuel, insurance, parking, tolls, etc.) into a single rate calculated by the hour or minute. A fleet of vehicles is available from designated pickup locations within a community or on the street via a locating app. Round-trip car sharing requires that users begin and end their trip at the same location, while one-way or free-floating carsharing allows users to begin and end their trip at different locations.
- Commercial fleet model: Vehicles are owned and maintained by a commercial car-share service.
- Peer-to-peer: Individuals who wish to make their personal vehicle available for use by car-share members list their automobile on the service and receive a percentage of the rental revenue.