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