Splitting rides in transit deserts: Ride-splitting dynamics in Chicago before, during and after the pandemic

Abstract

Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) might constitute a solution for transit dependent population who live in areas with limited or even non-existent public transit service, also known as “transit deserts”. Ride-splitting was introduced by TNCs as an affordable on-demand mobility option which offers door-to-door service while sharing a trip with another passenger. Due to its affordability, ride-splitting can increase even more the accessibility of low-income and disadvantaged population. Few studies have focused explicitly on the role of ride-splitting in underserved communities. We studied if ride-splitting services compensate for the lack of transit in transit deserts. We leveraged the suspension of ride-splitting services during the COVID-19 pandemic to examine how ride-splitting user behavior changed throughout three time periods: (1) pre pandemic, (2) during the pandemic and (3) post pandemic. By doing so, we study if ride-splitting users switched to single mode during COVID-19 and if ride-splitting levels have recovered in the post-pandemic era. For our analysis we used TNC trip records, provided by the city of Chicago, transit data from four different transit authorities, as well as demographic and job density data. We identified transit deserts by calculating a transit supply score for every census tract during five time periods: (1) weekday daytime hours; (2) weekday overnight hours; (3) weekday peak hours; (4) weekend daytime hours and (5) weekend overnight hours. We developed cluster and bivariate maps along with spatial regression models to determine the correlation between ride-splitting pickups/drop-offs, transit supply and neighborhood characteristics along these five temporal periods. Results revealed that in Chicago low transit supply is not significantly correlated with disadvantaged communities, suggesting that transit deserts can occur regardless of the racial and income composition, and spatial sorting of the area. Pooled pickups/drop-offs were negatively correlated with transit route density, transit stop density and proximity to rail station, which means that ride-splitting supplements the role of transit in transit deserts. We found that communities of color and transit-dependent population had a moderate positive influence on ride-splitting. There is little evidence that ride-splitting users switched to single mode during COVID-19, but overall single trips were relatively higher compared to pre pandemic.