Women in the city: Are new sharedmobility services changing the game?
Jyot Chadha, Director of Urban Innovation, WRI India
The newest of app-based mobility services: bus aggregators
Flexible routes based on crowdsourced demand
Bus aggregator model
Source: Bus by Arthur Shlain, Bus Stop by Gast, and wifi by Aaron K. Kim from the Noun Project
• Aggregate existing bus owners and drivers on digital
platform
• Crowdsource demand
• Home-work-home commute > 30km
• Commuters mixed (i.e. not of a single employer)
• Responsive routes and timings
• Flexible fleet
• Target routes with high traffic but poor mobility options
Software
Bus ETA, bus tracking
Cashless payments
Optimized routes and stops
Hardware
Assured seat
Wifi Enabled
Fit for purpose vehicle
Orgware
Asset light model
Crowdsourced routes
Demand responsive model
The newest of app-based mobility services: bus aggregators
Source: WRI India interviews
Delhi
Minimum of three
interchanges not
including last and
first mile travel
Source: Google maps
Hyderabad
Sparse
network to
and within
economic hub
Dense network
in city core
Source: Hyderabad Urban Lab
Key bus aggregators in India
Cityflo Commut ZipGo Shuttl Ola Shuttle Easy Commute
Cities Mumbai Hyderabad Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bangalore,Hyderabad, Jaipur
Delhi-NCR Delhi-NCR, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune, Jaipur, Kolkota
Hyderabad
Launched Aug 2015 Dec 2015 Aug 2015 Apr 2015 Sep 2015 Dec 2015
Routes 10 100 NA ~100 120 (Delhi-NCR) 40
Daily bookings
300 1200 NA 20,000 20,000 (Delhi NCR) 500
Fleet Size 18 50 NA 500 500 (Delhi NCR) 95
Source: Desktop research and interviews with companies
Standoff with regulators?
Emissions and congestion impact of Shuttl (Delhi)
Vehicle type # off the road
Private Car 4,248
Taxi provided by employer 6
Carpool 104
On-demand taxi (e.g. Uber or Ola) 495
Auto-rickshaw 13
Private Motorcycle 107
Shared Taxi 166
Total 5139
Source: WRI India research
Clearly, policy will evolve. This study attempts to understand the impact of this new model on women’s accessibility, experience, and safety with the bus aggregator model
Key findings of Bhopal study by WRI India
Source: WRI India research
STUDY: Personal Safety of Women Commuters in Public Transport
2000 Women Surveyed
88 % 40 %
• Who are the female customers of bus aggregator services?
• What did they use prior to bus aggregator services and why did they shift?
• How did bus aggregator services stack up compared to their prior mode?
Fleet size ~120 shuttles
Daily bookings 1,500 daily bookings
Survey size 228 women surveyed
% of women customers 60%
Fleet size ~100 vehicles
Daily bookings 20,000 daily bookings
Survey size 137 women surveyed
% of women customers 33%
HYDERABADDELHI
About the study
About the study
Light Openness Visibility
Crowdedness Security Path
Transport Space Feeling
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Demographics
Section 4
General security perceptions
Experience with BAs
Service and perception of
security
Mode shiftService and
perception of security
Comparison between shuttle and prior modes of
transport
Who are the female customers of these services?
HY
DER
AB
AD
DEL
HI
99%
0.4% 1%
Work
Householdchores
Did not respond
Monthly Income profile Trip purpose
1%
1%
1%
23%
73%
21 to 30 years 31 to 40 yearsAbove 40 years Below 20 yearsNo answer
Age profile
6%
25%
69%
19 to 30 years31 to 40 years41 to 50 years
100%
Work
Young professional womenMajority under 30 years
Highly educatedHouseholds likely to have car (Delhi)
Access to disposable income
What did they use prior to bus aggregator services?
HYDERABAD – What did you use before Commut / Easy Commute?
DELHI: If Shuttl did not exist, how would you have made this trip?
39%
25%
13%
10%8%
4%
0%
PublicTransport
CompanyTransport
PrivateVehicles
Carpool On-DemandCabs
Others Did notanswer
AC Bus, 16%Non AC
Bus, 19%
Train, 4%
HYDERABAD* - What reasons influenced your shift to Commut / Easy Commute?
Why did they shift from their prior mode?
DELHI – What is your top reason for shifting to Shuttl?
18%
24%
31%
34%
42%
58%
There were no other options
This service is cheaper
This service is faster
This service has better timings
This service feels safer
This service is more comfortable
*Numbers for Hyderabad do not add up to 100% as respondents were allowed to choose multiple choices for this question
1%
1%
1%
2%
2%
17%
17%
23%
36%
No response
Low waiting time/Gives ETA
Fewer transfers
Ease of payment
Offered timings suitable to my needs
Affordable
Safe
Assured Seating
Reduced travel time
Del: 57% women shifted from car-based
transport39% shifted from metro
35% shifted from private carsTop reason: reduced travel time
Hyd: 55% shifted from car-based transport
39% shifted from public transport13% from private vehicles
Top reasons: comfort (punctuality, getting a seat, and reliability)18% reporting “no other option” likely experienced cancelling of
employee transport services
Impact on travel times
Percentage of women who reported a reduction in travel time
DELHI HYDERABAD
74%
29%
58%
30%26%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Public transport
Company transport
On-demand cabs
Private vehicles
Carpool
Del: Discrepancy in perceived vs actual
time savedLiterature shows that access to ETA reduces perception of time
Actual gains only achieved by women shifting from public transport
Hyd: Significant gain in time for most women
~30% of women shifting from public transport or on-demand taxis saved up to 30 minutes on each trip
~40% of women shifting from public transport or on-demand taxis saved > 30 minutes on each trip
33%
53%
50%
50%
47%
43%
10%
17%
13%
17%
10%
27%
40%
10%
33%
23%
27%
27%
10%
17%
3%
3%
3%
3%
7%
3%
7%
13%
Price
Reliability
Travel time
Convenience and comfort
Journey through well lit roads
Late night travel
Shuttle is better Private vehicle was better Both are the same Can't say NA
DELHI HYDERABAD
What was the experience of those shifting from private cars?
21%
33%
33%
21%
21%
19%
31%
29%
77%
63%
54%
67%
67%
67%
67%
63%
2%
4%
13%
10%
10%
6%
2%
6%
2%
2%
8%
2%
Punctuality
Physical condition of the vehicle
Safe driving
Security against theft
Safety for women against harrasment
Behaviour of drivers and other staff
Security features
Mechanisms to address grievances
Shuttl is better Alternative transport is better Both are similar Cannot say
Del: Majority rated car experience as superior despite having shifted
But… ~1/3rd felt that the Shuttl was superior on security features, mechanism to address grievances, safe driving, and vehicle condition
Hyd: BAs ranked better than car on most parameters
50% or > ranked it better on reliability, travel time, convenience, comfort43% ranked it as better for late night travel than a car
BA = bus aggregator
DELHI HYDERABAD
What was the experience of those shifting from public transport?
Note: Public transport in Delhi = Metro and public busPublic transport In Hyderabad = public AC bus, public non-AC bus, train
30%
38%
27%
73%
57%
52%
64%
18%
45%
63%
57%
46%
45%
18%
21%
20%
13%
57%
29%
21%
13%
16%
25%
9%
16%
23%
18%
16%
16%
7%
4%
5%
5%
5%
9%
11%
9%
Punctuality
Physical condition of the vehicle
Safe driving
Security against theft
Safety for women against harrasment
Behaviour of drivers and other staff
Behaviour of copassengers
Ratio of women to men
Security features
Mechanisms to address grievances
Shuttl is better Alternative transport is better Both are similar Cannot say
84%
51%
67%
70%
47%
49%
61%
60%
55%
3%
3%
3%
1%
9%
3%
2%
2%
2%
15%
12%
17%
19%
30%
26%
20%
15%
12%
8%
11%
4%
10%
7%
3%
11%
11%
1%
24%
6%
6%
22%
4%
7%
7%
17%
Getting a seat
Familiarity of route at night
Punctuality
Travel time
Safety at the drop point at night
Distance to the pick up point
Safety at the pickup point
Safety features
Presence of other passengers at night
Commut/Easy Commute is better Public transport is better
Both are the same Can't say
Del: BAs ranked better than metro on most
parametersException of men-to-women ratio, safe driving, and punctuality which
may be explained by women’s coaches and right of way for metroBA = bus aggregator
Hyd: BAs ranked better than PT on all
parameters
BA = bus aggregator; PT = public transport
What was the experience of those shifting from on-demand taxis?
DELHIHYDERABAD
22%
22%
28%
50%
61%
39%
28%
44%
61%
44%
11%
11%
17%
39%
17%
17%
33%
61%
39%
33%
44%
33%
39%
6%
Punctuality
Physical condition of the vehicle
Safe driving
Security against theft
Safety for women against harrasment
Behaviour of drivers and other staff
Security features
Mechanisms to address grievances
Shuttl is better On-demand taxis were better Both are the same No reponse
58%
47%
53%
47%
53%
58%
21%
21%
5%
16%
47%
16%
21%
16%
42%
37%
21%
16%
5%
Familiarity of route at night
Safety at the drop point at night
Driver Ratings
Punctuality
Distance to the pick up point
Travel time
Commut/Easy Commute is better On-demand taxis were better
Both are the same Can't say
Del: BAs ranked better than on-demand taxis on most parameters
Except punctuality and vehicle condition
BA = bus aggregator
Hyd: BAs ranked better than on-demand taxi
on all parametersIncluding punctuality and travel time
BA = bus aggregator
IN SUMMARY
• Not a solution for low-income populations; their customer is young, professional, and technology savvy
• Impact needs to be looked at in the context of the city• The extent of sprawl (impacting travel times on modes without dedicated lanes), and • Whether public transport is seamless (few interchanges) and has reliable operations
• Working women valued time (travel time, punctuality, and reliability) then comfort, safety, affordability
• In both cities, the model has been successful at shifting a majority of women out of car-based transport
• A significant minority shifted from the metro in Delhi and public transport in Hyderabad• There is a segment of women taking public transport willing to pay more for better options – [will moving to a BA
delay their acquisition of a personal vehicle?]• When considering both men and women customers in Delhi, the majority shift, however, was from private cars
• Closer bus stop locations and bus ETA impacted the experience while traveling to and waiting at bus stops
• To a large extent, BAs are able to compete with the level of service provided by on-demand taxis such as Uber and Ola