Shared micromobility systems are fleets of rentable lightweight one-passenger vehicles used mostly for utilitarian purposes. Riders use a smartphone app to unlock and rent vehicles. In cities where shared micromobility systems exist electric scooters (e-scooters), bicycles, and electric pedal-assisted bicycles (e-bikes) are the primary vehicles in use. When micromobility services were first offered, vehicles were docked. There were dedicated places where the vehicles were to be picked up or dropped off. More recently, companies have implemented a dockless model. Vehicles can be left anywhere or anywhere within a geofenced area as long as they do not impede pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic.

While some cities have embraced micromobility services as part of their overall transportation plan others have banned such services outright. For those that have allowed e-scooters and bicycle sharing systems in their city, these services are seen as a way to reduce traffic congestion and vehicle emissions. More than half the car trips in the United States are 5 miles or less. According to a study by the Portland Bureau of Transportation, had e-scooters not been available in Portland, Oregon, 34% of residents and 48% of tourists who have used this mode of transportation said that they would’ve taken a car, taxi or ride-haling service to their destination. For those who do not have a car and who may not live near public transportation, shared micromobility services allow them to get to and from their home, shopping and workplace easier by using these modes of transportation as a way to get to and from public transportation stops. But, these services may also be a replacement for public transportation for some riders. The average trip lengths for rail, bus and streetcar transportation are 4.9, 3.8 and 2.0 miles, respectively.¹ Distances that can easily be traversed with a bicycle or e-scooter. And, while lower ridership on public transportation is a concern for some cities that have banned or strictly regulated shared micromobility solutions, especially e-scooters, the bigger concern is with public safety.² Where bike lanes are unavailable, riders are more likely to share sidewalks with pedestrians. This presents a possible danger for pedestrians as well as e-scooter riders as these vehicles can travel up to 15 miles per hour. The danger for the e-scooter rider or e-bike rider if sharing the road with cars and trucks is even greater. Injuries due to inexperienced riders, uneven riding surfaces, nighttime use, and malfunctioning equipment are also concerning to city administrators. According to Consumer Reports, from the fall of 2017 to June 2019, there were 1,500 injuries³ to riders of rentable e-scooters and 8 deaths. 

Today’s market size shows the number of trips taken on shared micromobility vehicles in 2010, 2014 and 2018 in the United States. From 2017 to 2018 the total number of trips taken more than doubled from 35 million in 2017 to 84 million in 2018. Nearly all of this increase was due to e-scooter use. In fact, the number of e-scooter trips surpassed the number of station-based bike-share trips that year. Trips taken on shared e-scooters totaled 38.5 million, followed by station-based shared bicycles (36.5 million), e-bikes (6.5 million) and dockless shared bicycles (3 million). By the end of 2018, there were 85,000 e-scooters in use in 100 cities around the U.S. Station-based bikes numbered 57,000. Meanwhile, dockless bicycle-sharing all but disappeared. Seattle was the only city to still offer this service at the end of 2018. Despite the popularity of e-scooters overall, in 2019 both Lyft and Uber (JUMP brand) took their e-scooters off the streets of several cities due to lack of profitability and tightening regulations. Lyft reported they would refocus their e-scooter sharing operations in markets where population density is the greatest. Other leading e-scooter rental companies operating in the United States include Lime, Bird, Skip, Spin, and Scoot. Leading station-based bike-share systems by ridership include Citi Bike NYC (New York, NY), Capital Bike Share (Washington, D.C.), Divvy (Chicago, Ilinois), Ford GoBike (Bay Area, California), Bluebikes (Greater Boston area, Massachusetts), and Biki (Honolulu, Hawaii). In 2018, 84% of all station-based bike-share rides in the United States were concentrated in these 6 cities. That same year, 40% of all e-scooter rides were concentrated in Los Angeles, California; San Diego, California; and Austin, Texas.

¹ Includes both heavy rail and light rail but not commuter rail.
² Other concerns involve the dockless e-scooters and bikes being left on city sidewalks impeding pedestrians and the disabled. Some cities have imposed restrictions on the use of these vehicles in order to address the concerns.
³ Injuries in which the rider went to the hospital. Data from 110 hospitals in 47 cities.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2010, 2014 and 2018
Market size: 0.3 million, 18 million and 84 million, respectively
Sources: George Paul, “Lyft Will End E-Scooter Operations in 6 Cities and Lay Off Around 20 Staff Members,” Business Insider, November 18, 2019 available online here; Rasheq Zarif, Derek Pankratz, and Ben Kelman, “Small is Beautiful,” Deloitte Insights, April 15, 2019 available online here; “Micromobility,” Wikipedia, December 17, 2019 available online here; “Shared Micromobility in the U.S.: 2018,” National Association of City Transportation Officials, April 2019 available online here; Greg Gardner, “Nashville Mayor Proposed E-Scooter Ban; Then Council Changed the Rules,” Forbes, September 16, 2019 available online here; 2019 Public Transportation Factbook, American Public Transportation Association, April 2019 available online here; 2018 E-Scooter Findings Report, Portland Bureau of Transportation, January 15, 2019 available online here; Megan Rose Dickey, “JUMP Pulled Its Bikes From a Number of Markets in the Last Few Months,” Tech Crunch, September 13, 2019 available online here; Megan Rose Dickey, “Lyft is Ceasing Scooter Operations in Six Cities and Laying Off 20 Employees,” Tech Crunch, November 14, 2019 available online here; Adeyemi Ajao, “Electric Scooters and Micromobility: Here’s Everything You Need to Know,” Forbes, February 1, 2019 available online here.
Original source: National Association of City Transportation Officials.
Image source: Christian Bueltemann, “e-scooter-escooter-electric-scooter-4496668,” Pixabay, October 2019 available online here. Use of image does not constitute an endorsement.

In New York, mobility options for people who do not own a car include the subway, busses, Yellow taxis, Green taxis,¹ ride-hailing services, and livery cabs. Unlike other taxicabs, livery cabs are not authorized to pick up customers who hail them in the street. Customers must call a livery cab base station to book a ride. Many of the base stations are in the outer-boroughs and low-income areas of New York where public transportation options are sparse. Many stations are owned by Latino immigrants and owners and drivers live in the neighborhoods they serve. Dispatchers in some cases are multilingual. Many customers feel more comfortable calling for a ride from these services, from people they have known for years and who speak their native language. According to Cira Angeles, spokesperson for the Livery Base Owners Association, livery cabs continue to be an integral part of Latino neighborhoods.

However, in recent years, fewer livery cab bases are able to stay in business. Today’s market size shows the number of livery cabs in New York City in 2015 and 2019. More than 100 livery cab bases have gone out of business since 2015; 46 in 2019 alone. According to owners of these types of businesses, caps on the number of licenses, while meant to reduce traffic congestion and keep salaries high by limiting competition, make it harder for them to replace retiring drivers and drivers whose licenses cannot be renewed due to outstanding tickets. Also, more bookings through ride-hailing apps coincide with fewer calls to livery cab bases. Livery cabs are not the only types of transportation services to see fewer riders as a result of ride-hailing services, however.² From October 2015 to August 2019,³ rides per day increased by nearly 300% for ride-hailing services but dropped 75.5% for Green taxis, 57.6% for livery cabs, and 51% for Yellow taxis. In October 2015, Yellow taxis completed more than 397,000 trips per day; ride-hailing services, 163,168; livery cabs, 91,496; and Green taxis, 52,598. By August 2019, ride-hailing services topped 648,000 trips per day. Yellow taxis completed 194,798 trips per day; livery cabs, 38,815; and Green taxis, 12,866.

¹ Green taxis, also known as boro taxis, are types of livery cabs that operate in northern Manhattan and the boroughs outside of Manhattan. They are authorized to pick up customers who hail them in the street. Customers may also call their livery cab base to arrange a ride over the phone. In addition, as part of a two year pilot program that started in 2018, customers can use an app to book a ride.
² Ride-hailing companies include Uber, Lyft, Juno and Via.
³ August 2019 was the most recent month in which livery cab data were reported by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission.

Geographic reference: New York, New York
Year: 2015 and 2019
Market size: 22,000 and 9,600
Sources: Claudia Torrens, “In Ride-Hail Boom, Livery Cabs Feel Squeezed,” The Denver Post, December 29, 2019, p. 2K; “Taxi and Ridehailing Usage in New York City,” available online here; “Aggregated Reports,” New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission available online here; “Taxicabs of New York City,” Wikipedia, January 1, 2020 available online here; “You Can Hail NYC Green Cabs With an App,” Fox 5 New York, September 25, 2018 available online here.
Original Source: New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission
Image source: Pexels, “automobile-automotive-blur-car-1845650,” Pixabay, November 21, 2016 available online here

With Spring right around the corner and summer not far behind, have you been thinking about taking a vacation? Do your daydreams of a relaxing getaway include camping? If so, you are not alone. More than 77 million households in the United States include someone who enjoys this activity.

Most campers use tents but nearly one-quarter prefer the safety and comfort of a recreational vehicle, or RV. While a large percentage either borrow or rent their motorhome or towable camper, 56% own theirs. Just a few years ago, in 2014, a majority of people who camped using RVs were baby boomers or older. By 2017, 70% of RV campers were Millenials and Generation Xers. RV manufacturers are taking notice. The recreational vehicles of today are not the rustic accommodations of yesteryear. Newer models are equipped with solar panels, USB ports, entertainment systems, and wi-fi signal boosters.

Today’s market size shows the total wholesale shipments of RVs in the United States in 1998, 2008, and 2018. Leading manufacturers include Thor Industries, Forest River, and Winnebago Industries. Ford Motor Co. makes the chassis, engines, and transmissions for most of the motorhomes in the United States. By state, the highest percentage of recreational vehicles were shipped to Texas, followed by California and Florida. Ohio and Michigan tied for fourth.

Shipments for 2018 were down from a high of 504,600 in 2017. They are forecast to drop farther in 2019. According to Frank Hugelmeyer, President of the RV Industry Association, “slowing sales were inevitable due in part to the fact that so many Americans have bought RVs over the past decade.” Another factor may be RV prices. They are expected to climb due to increases in the cost of raw materials and components, such as microwaves, stoves, and lighting as a result of the tariffs imposed on goods from China and Canada. While 83% of recreational vehicles are manufactured in Indiana, many of the components are imported from other countries.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 1998, 2008 and 2018
Market size: 292,700, 237,000 and 483,700, respectively
Sources: Trevor Hughes, “Youth Movement Is Driving RVs,” USA Today for the Lansing State Journal, January 28, 2019, pages 1B and 2B; “Addition of 6 Million New North American Campers Since 2014 Showcases Continued Popularity of Camping,” The National RV Dealers Association News Release, April 11, 2018 available online here; The 2018 North American Camping Report, Kampgrounds of America, Inc. available online here; RV Industry Association Staff, “RV Industry Association’s 2017 Profile Now Available,” RV Industry Association, June 6, 2018 available online here; “Historical RV Data,” RV Industry Association available online here; Dale Buss, “RV Sales Boom Is Fueled By Millenials as They Overturn Stereotypes and Enjoy The Itinerant Life,” Forbes, December 29, 2017 available online here; Peter Valdes-Dapena, “RVs Are Back and Bigger Than Ever,” CNN Business July 12, 2017 available online here.
Image source: Airstream Inc., “Airstream Travel Trailer in Nature,” Unsplash, October 2, 2018 available online here. Use of image does not constitute endorsement.

The Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA) is the largest public transit provider in the tri-county area around Lansing, Michigan. The tri-county area consists of Ingham, Clinton, and Eaton counties. CATA has been operating public transportation in the mid-Michigan area since 1972 and has been twice named the best transit system of its size in North America by the American Public Transportation Association.

Ridership grew steadily during the 1970s, before leveling off during the 1980s and most of the 1990s. During the 1980s and 1990s, the number of rides fluctuated around 3-4 million annually. In 1999, CATA took over the Michigan State University bus service. Since then ridership has increased nearly 3-fold. In contrast, the population of the tri-county area grew by 22.6% from 1970 to 2010.

In 2013, CATA set a fourth consecutive yearly record for number of rides. By 2014, however, ridership was down overall despite seeing increased ridership on its Michigan State University routes and increased requests for its paratransit services. In the fourth quarter of 2014, gasoline prices fell which could account for the decreased ridership. Bus ridership both nationally and locally continued to decline in 2017. Nationally bus ridership dropped by 4.3 percent in 2017. CATA saw a ridership decline of 6.0 percent overall that same year.

According to the American Public Transportation Association, several factors contributed to the multi-year decline in bus ridership overall. Gas prices remained low and the ability to obtain car loans, including sub-prime car loans for those with poor credit, became easier. More employees are working from home. In 2016, 66% of employers allowed some of their employees to work from home occasionally; 40% allowed some employees to work regularly from home, a drastic change from a decade ago. The use of transportation network companies such as Uber and Lyft along with bike-sharing services and biking, in general, have become more popular. Customers who employ these services may find them more convenient to use, allowing them to get to their destination sooner than if they would take public transportation.

In response to the increased popularity of bike-sharing across the country, CATA partnered with Michigan State University and the cities of Lansing, East Lansing and Meridian Township to study the feasibility of bike-sharing programs in the region in 2018. Bike-sharing is one way of meeting a commuter’s need for transportation to and from a bus stop or transit facility in order to more easily access the public transportation system.

Today’s market size represents the number of rides annually on CATA vehicles in 1972 and 2017.

Geographic reference: Lansing, Michigan area
Year: 1972 and 2017
Market size: Less than 1 million rides and 10.2 million rides respectively
Sources: Pam Latka, “Fiscal 2017 Ridership Closes at 10.2 Million,” CATA Drives: 2018 Community Report, September 2018, page 5; Understanding Recent Ridership Changes, American Public Transportation Association, April 2018 available online here; “National Trend Leaves Its Mark on Ridership,” CATA 2016 Community Report, June 2016, page 3; “Ridership Trends Vary by Service Type,” CATA 2015 Community Report: Where Public Transportation Goes Community Grows, June 2015, page 3; “Passenger Trips Reflect Stable Demand,” CATA 2014 Community Report: Moving You Forward With Pride, June 2014, page 3; “Growth in Ridership Remains Strong,” CATA 2013 Community Report: Moving You Toward Your Dreams, June 2013, page 4; “Riding High with Record Ridership,” CATA 2012 Community Report 40th Anniversary Edition: Greater Lansing on the Move, August 2012; “CATA Demand Grows with Community Need,” CATA 2011 Community Report: Greater Lansing on the Move, August 2011; Tri-County Regional Planning Commission, “Tri-County Regional Growth: Choices for Our Future,” Draft Report, August 2002 available online here; “Ingham County, Michigan” available online here; “Clinton County, Michigan” available online here; and “Eaton County, Michigan” available online here.
Image source: “CATA Administrative Offices,” available online here. No copyright infringement intended.

The Capital Area Transit Authority (CATA) is the largest public transit provider in the tri-county area around Lansing, Michigan. The tri-county area consists of Ingham, Clinton, and Eaton counties. CATA has been operating public transportation in the mid-Michigan area since 1972 and has been twice named the best transit system of its size in North America by the American Public Transportation Association.

Ridership grew steadily during the 1970s, before leveling off during the 1980s and most of the 1990s. During the 1980s and 1990s, the number of rides fluctuated around 3-4 million annually. In 1999, CATA took over the Michigan State University bus service. Since then ridership has increased nearly 3-fold. In contrast, the population of the tri-county area grew by 22.6% from 1970 to 2010.

In 2013, CATA set a fourth consecutive yearly record for number of rides. By 2014, however, ridership was down overall despite seeing increased ridership on its Michigan State University routes and increased requests for its paratransit services. In the fourth quarter of 2014, gasoline prices fell which could account for the decreased ridership. Gasoline prices remained low in 2016. Bus ridership both nationally and locally continued to decline in 2016. According to the American Public Transporation Association, nationally bus ridership dropped by almost 3 percent in 2016. CATA saw a ridership decline of 4.6 percent overall that same year. However, CATA saw ridership on its Michigan State University and some of its Redi-Ride and paratransit routes increase by double-digits in 2016.

Today’s market size represents the number of rides annually on CATA vehicles in 1972 and 2016.

Geographic reference: Lansing, Michigan area
Year: 1972 and 2016
Market size: Less than 1 million rides and 10.9 million rides respectively
Sources: “Ridership Mirrors National Trend”, CATA 2017 Community Report, June 2017, page 4; “National Trend Leaves Its Mark on Ridership,” CATA 2016 Community Report, June 2016, page 3; “Ridership Trends Vary by Service Type”, CATA 2015 Community Report: Where Public Transportation Goes Community Grows, June 2015, page 3; “Passenger Trips Reflect Stable Demand”, CATA 2014 Community Report: Moving You Forward With Pride, June 2014, page 3; “Growth in Ridership Remains Strong”, CATA 2013 Community Report: Moving You Toward Your Dreams, June 2013, page 4; “Riding High with Record Ridership,” CATA 2012 Community Report 40th Anniversary Edition: Greater Lansing on the Move, August 2012; “CATA Demand Grows with Community Need,” CATA 2011 Community Report: Greater Lansing on the Move, August 2011; Tri-County Regional Planning Commission, “Tri-County Regional Growth: Choices for Our Future,” Draft Report, August 2002 available online here; “Ingham County, Michigan” available online here; “Clinton County, Michigan” available online here; and “Eaton County, Michigan” available online here.