290 likes | 448 Views
Transport Commons: A public transport service based on my timetable. Farzad Safaei. More than 56% of us live in cities. Are Cities Scalable?. The ‘evidence’. As cities grow, going from A to B seems to get more difficult Investment in transport infrastructure growing faster than GDP
E N D
Transport Commons:A public transport service based on my timetable Farzad Safaei
More than 56% of us live in cities Are Cities Scalable?
The ‘evidence’ • As cities grow, going from A to B seems to get more difficult • Investment in transport infrastructure growing faster than GDP • But we always seem to be in a catch up mode
The model Area = a2 Road Length = a2/ Area Population Area a
Transport infrastructure scalability Population of road users during the peak period Total Road Surface Area Congestion level
The model b Mean distance e a
Growth rate of p Number of Registered cars and station wagons in Australia Average Annual Growth Rate 1960 – 2010 4.2% Source: ABS Motor Vehicle Census, Australia (9309.0)
The scalability impact of p3/2 Assuming • GDP growth rate of 3% pa • Normalizing with respect to 1960
The transport infrastructure scalability Population of road users during the peak period Congestion level
The paradox Urban Passenger Transport Usage Billion Passenger km Car Bus Rail Source: ABS, Bureau of Transport Economics – Working Paper 38
The paradox We are faced with the shortage of transport services while a massive over-supply of transportation resources is choking our streets.
‘Solutions’ • Congestion taxes • Discouraging ownership of cars • Banning cars to enter city • Selective ban based on number plates • Push the congestion load to cars • Allocated lanes for trams or buses • Allocated lanes for car pooling It is all about the ‘stick’ – but we are not empowering people to do anything about this
Transport Commons From: Home To: Work Submit
Transport Commons Available rides: Private Taxi Pick up: 13 min Cost: $27.50 ETD: 45 min Shared Taxi Multiple options Cost: $3 - $4 ETD: 47-52min Transport Commons Multiple options Reward: 250 points ETD: 43-65min
Transport Commons Pick up: 2 min ETD: 47 min Pick up: 5 min ETD: 52 min
The Commons Dilemma “What is common to the greatest number gets the least amount of care” Aristotle “We are locked into a system of ‘fouling our own nest’ so long as we behave as independent, rational, free enterprises” G. Hardin, ‘Tragedy of Commons’
The Commons Dilemma • Failure of the doctrine of “Invisible Hand” • Individual and group rationality lead to different outcomes • Leads to • Over-exploitation • Under-provision
The Power of Commons • We need the management of commons to be • Accountable • Able to enforce rules • Able to moderate supply and demand • Able to incentivize the right behaviour • Able to weed out perverse incentives
The Transport Commons • You may consider registering yourself and your vehicle • Pass some safety checks • A free device to be installed in your vehicle • Anytime that you wish, you may consider donating your trip to the commons
ETD: 43 min; Expected Revenue:2500 points ETD: 34 min; Expected Revenue: 1800 points
Not hitch hiking ! • The system knows who was picked up by who • And the providers are screened • There is opportunity to report incidences or inappropriate behavior • Panic button • Possible to provide community ‘ratings’ • Possible to enforce user preferences • Social networking on wheels!
Large-scale car pooling ! Currently, car pooling depends on • Serendipity • Face-to-face negotiations • Awkward social protocols • I am at the mercy of someone else’s timetable • Is not scalable Transport Commons service takes care of all this
The economic considerations • The marginal cost of providing this service is almost zero • The benefits are huge • Therefore, contribution to the transport commons benefits everyone – it is public good
Our Architecture Payment systems Social Networking models Pricing and incentive models Can also be used in other contexts TCM Route Server TCM road status Server VANET + 3G
Challenges • Technical • Legal and regulatory • Social and cultural acceptance • Trust • Economic incentivisation models • Cross impact on other public transportation systems • Transitional models More than just building an ‘app’