Simulation Analysis on Benefits of Introducing Meeting Points Into On-Demand Shared Mobility Services

We investigate the benefits of introducing meeting points (MPs) into on-demand shared mobility services (OSMS). OSMS generally provide door-to-door transportation between passengers' origins and destinations. In addition, services using specific pick-up/drop-off locations, which are called as MPs, are also deployed. The operational efficiency of OSMS could be improved by asking passengers to walk to an MP. Previous studies have found that the introduction of MPs can improve operational efficiency in terms of the number of vehicles, the vehicle kilometers traveled (VKT), and the rejection rate of passengers' requests. However, the travel time of passengers (i.e. passenger convenience) has not been sufficiently explored. The introduction of MPs may reduce the average travel time of passengers by reducing the number of detours. We conduct a static analysis under simple settings, and a simulation analysis using actual road network data. The effects of the introducing MPs are evaluated via various configurations such as MP locations, the number of passengers' requests, the number of vehicles, and vehicle capacity. Results showed that the introduction of MPs reduces VKT as well as average travel time of passengers when the number of demands is greater than 200 per hour in the same conditions on service provider.