Technology Changing Market Feasibility

Abstract

Purpose

To assess how advances in technology are changing the market prospects for paratransit, particularly DRT services.

Design/methodology/approach

To review recent developments in technology-enabled paratransit service through their impact on the supply curve for local transportation.

Findings

Some technology-enabled paratransit services, notably one-way car sharing and shared ride services offered by transportation network companies (TNCs), have been successful in generating significant usage within the past 24 months in Europe as well as the United States. At the same time, the introduction of technological advances in a comprehensive technology platform used for general public DRT services in Denver has not resulted in a ridership response of a large magnitude. Similarly, technology-enabled micro-transit services have had difficulty attracting sustainable levels of ridership. This suggests only some packages of technological innovations are able to shift the transportation supply curve. The key appears to be the development of a comprehensive technology platform which makes the new service simple and convenient to engage, use, and pay for; it is also highly advantageous if the service is less costly to the end user than existing alternatives.

Research limitations/implications

Technology-enabled improvements of paratransit/DRT services are feasible and increasingly available, but the evidence shows that only when the use of technology significantly shifts the supply curve for local transportation that major impacts occur.

Originality/value

To provide concrete evidence as to the circumstances in which technology can make a significant impact on paratransit’s market prospects, but also identifies some of the limits to technology being able to create such impacts.

Citation

Teal, R.F. (2016), "Technology Changing Market Feasibility", Paratransit: Shaping the Flexible Transport Future (Transport and Sustainability, Vol. 8), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 333-356. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2044-994120160000008016