More transit use, more walking, higher satisfaction: Early results from the Mobility on Demand (MOD) Sandbox pilot projects.

Federal Transit Agency (FTA) MOD Sandbox projects show early promise with innovative deployments.

Date Posted
03/30/2020
Identifier
2020-B01446
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FTA Annual Report on Public Transportation Innovation Research Projects for FY 2019

Summary Information

The Federal Transit Agency (FTA) Mobility on Demand (MOD) Sandbox program is a demonstration effort to explore promising new mobility concepts and technologies by providing funding to 11 pilot projects around the country. Although the efforts are still ongoing, the pilots provide engaging insight into the future of mobility. The pilots were selected in 2016 and were chosen to demonstrate a wide variety of approaches and technologies that are possible to provide travelers with multimodal transportation options.

FINDINGS



The following results were reported for FY2019:



San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), San Francisco, California

BART received funding to pilot an integrated carpool-to-public-transit program. The program matches carpool users traveling to BART stations and provides a way to reserve and pay for parking spots at the stations.

  • About 30 percent of users reported riding BART more because of the carpooling.
  • About 40 percent of users reported driving less often.
  • A total of 42 percent of users indicated that they would have driven alone to BART if the carpooling program did not exist.

Valley Metro Rail, Phoenix, Arizona

Valley Metro launched an app called "Pass2Go," which is intended to integrate mobile ticketing and multimodal trip planning, and which replaced the agency’s existing app "Ridekick." It gives travelers easier access to a range of mobility providers, including ride-hailing, allowing all travelers access to an integrated, connected, multimodal transit system.

  • The Pass2Go app has resulted in a significant mode shift in travel, encouraging greater use of transit. The pilot reports that 40 percent of users have begun using bus transit more often, 50 percent reported using rail more often, and about 25 percent have begun walking more often.
  • Travelers also reported significant improvements in the quality of the services they use, with 29 percent reporting shorter travel times. Additionally, approximately 25 percent of travelers reported shorter wait times.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), Dallas, Texas

DART upgraded its "GoPass" regional mobile ticketing app, adding microtransit and dynamic carpooling services as available options for users booking trips. The service expansion was intended to improve first-mile/last-mile connections, particularly in areas that were poorly served by transit.

  • All users of GoPass have reported improved access to DART’s bus and rail system after the pilot program launched.
  • Over 70 percent of users reported their approximate wait time was "good" or "excellent," and the program had an average monthly ridership of 4,500.

Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District (TriMet), Portland, Oregon

TriMet updated their existing trip planning app to use an open-source geocoder and to provide integrated options for shared mobility services.

  • A majority of app users rate the user interface design as being "very good."
  • Approximately 30 percent of users report that the trip planner "greatly" improves their ability to get to and from public transportation. About 70 percent of users reported that the trip planner offers at least "some " improvement.
Deployment Locations