Mode share in public transit in the United States traditionally lags behind other developed countries. This trend, especially for rail ridership, has been exacerbated by the emergence of COVID-19, although there have been some signs of recovery. One promising strategy to encourage public transit use involves enhancing access and egress from transit stops. Given the potential of shared micromobility services to address the "last mile" challenge, there is growing interest in integrating these services into public transit services. However, achieving affordability and accessibility in micromobility services poses challenges for operators in ensuring sustainable operations at appropriate pricing levels. The cost of using micromobility services has sharply increased in recent years making it unaffordable for many people. Concurrently, the researchers’ recent research suggests there is consensus across private industry, government, and advocates that micromobility can best serve the public if it is viewed as a public transit option. To begin to envision micromobility as serving existing public transit and acting as public transportation itself, the researchers will examine the role of pricing on micromobility demand. In this project, the researchers will conduct two pricing-focused field experiments, partnered with the micromobility operator, SPIN, and a railway operator, Capitol Corridor. The first experiment will use the railway station of the Capitol Corridor in Davis, California as a living lab to assess the effectiveness of increasing rail usage by subsidizing micromobility services. The second experiment will focus on micromobility services operated by SPIN in Davis, aiming to understand the general price elasticity of demand for micromobility. Through these experiments, the researchers will analyze the causal effects of the interventions on increasing railway and micromobility use. The insights gained from this analysis will provide valuable guidance on the potential of micromobility and regional rail partnerships to enhance transit use in other corridors throughout the state as well as pricing mechanisms to understand the potential for micromobility services to satisfy the travel demand of communities.
