Volunteer ridesharing service pilot supplementing transit services in central California enabled 76 percent of after-survey respondents to take more trips than without the service.

VOGO is a volunteer ridesharing service launched in late 2019 to supplement existing transit services in San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties in disadvantaged rural areas. Residents can use VOGO for trips that begin or end in disadvantaged rural communities with limited transit service. Volunteer drivers use their vehicles to provide rides to VOGO members, and VOGO reimburses drivers at the standard IRS reimbursement rate. VOGO sought to provide a transportation alternative to individuals who may not have access to personal vehicles, are unable to drive, or are otherwise limited in their ability to travel using transit. 

METHODOLOGY

Evaluation of the VOGO pilot involved collecting data exports from service operators and self-report data from riders who used the service. The sources used for this evaluation fall into the following categories: Member Data, Utilization Data, and Survey Data. Using the collected Member Data, Utilization Data, and Survey Data for the study period of November 2019 through November 2021, UC Davis researchers analyzed VOGO participation levels, including the number of riders, number of drivers, total number of reservations, and frequency of use per rider. In addition, researchers linked rider surveys to reservation data to understand the types of trips taken with VOGO, transportation alternatives available to riders in the counterfactual absence of the service, and the overall impacts of VOGO on rider mobility.

FINDINGS

By the end of November 2021, 52 members had used the VOGO service as riders during the two-year evaluation period, and 25 members had made at least one reservation as riders in the final three months of the study period, September to November 2021. Excluding canceled and “no-show” reservations, there were 1,899 total VOGO reservations during the study period.

Riders made an average and median of four reservations per month, with the most active rider making 31 reservations per month or roughly one per day. The average VMT per month was 101 miles, with the lowest monthly VMT for a rider being 6 miles and the highest monthly VMT being 646 miles. In terms of VMT per reservation overall, the average distance of the 1,899 VOGO reservations during the study period was 21 miles, and the median reservation was 19 miles. The longest distance for a single VOGO reservation, meaning a single ride, was 90 miles.

VOGO members tend to be older individuals who typically live alone or with one other person and have lower than average income levels.

Work-related trips accounted for the greatest share of both reservations and VMT (38% and 39%, respectively), followed by medical trips (29% of all reservations and 32% of VMT). However, more riders used VOGO for medical trips than any other trip type, followed by grocery shopping and other undefined trip types. While only four percent of riders used VOGO for work-related trips, these riders used the service frequently.

All but one Before Survey respondent (35 of 36) indicated that they did expect VOGO to enable them to take more trips. For comparison purposes, the After Survey administered in December 2021 asked respondents whether VOGO had allowed them to take more trips than they could before they joined the service and approximately three-quarters of respondents (76%) confirmed that VOGO had allowed them to take more trips.