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The state-of-the-art of mobility services among large-scale agent-based travel demand models has focused predominantly on the demand side, whereas complexities of the supply side have been given much less attention. Conventional definitions must be revisited to establish solid foundations for model implementations. First, several mobility services are characterized from abstract attributes, by all agents involved, and by operational tasks involved in service provision. Then, a high-level generic service provision process is developed to allow instantiation of various services. Extensions for conventional travel demand model systems are also developed, including: a mobility services component containing service provider agentsand their operational tasks integrated logically into service provision processes; a fleet component containing vehicle agents of each service and a driver activity model when human-driven; a MaaS component containing mobility provider agents that coordinate and integrate mobility services. Generic modeling issues are also discussed, including treatment of time, data structures, and computational efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digitalisation in transport services offers many benefits for travellers. However, not everyone is willing or able to follow the new, more or less formal requirements digitalisation has brought along. Existing reviews on the intersection between Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and mobility cover a range of vantage points, but the perspective of how various levels of engagement with digital technologies affect access and navigation of transport services has not been addressed yet. In communication science, studying disparities in terms of ICT appropriation and their consequences is known as digital inequality research. This review paper aims at shedding light on what digital inequality in the context of transport services consists of and what its consequences are. To do so, we define and use a conceptual framework for the analysis of digital inequality in transport services. The review of the twenty-five papers, as selected in our systematic literature search, shows that there is a burgeoning interest in this topic. Vulnerability to digitalisation in transport services exists along dimensions of age, income, education, ethnicity, gender and geographical region. We find that motivations and material access get more attention than digital skills and effective usage. Nevertheless, literature acknowledges that having material access to technology does not mean that people benefit from what technology has to offer. Furthermore, the characteristics of ICTs impact one's possibilities to access digital technologies, such as how user-friendly a technology is. Data-driven and algorithm-based decision-making present a particularly pernicious form of digital exclusion from transport services. As digital technologies are progressively becoming indispensable to navigate the world of transport services, low levels of digital engagement may create a new layer of transport disadvantage, possibly on top of existing ones. Although digitalisation can be part of the solution to transport disadvantage, it can also be part of the problem. With network effects at play, what might start as a relative disadvantage may turn into an absolute disadvantage. Given the nascent state of research on digital inequality in transport services, much remains to be understood. Suggested research avenues include mechanisms of digital exclusion from transport services, the contribution of digital inequality to transport disadvantage, and importantly, solutions to mitigate its impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a holistic, within-day ridehailing service provision modelling approach, focusing on large-scale services with human-driven fleets. The model is powered by a full, two-year record of ridehailing trips in Toronto. Canada. Despite the abundant data, operations and fleet-related data still lacks, and uncertainty still exists concerning actual service provision deployment. Hence, a novel approach dealing with limited data availability is developed, which extracts implicit supply levels from trip-based demand data. The model is time-step driven, agent-based, and uses list-based data structures. It focuses on three key components: matching mechanisms, time intervals, and (several features of) driver activity. After testing various component combinations, a Hungarian matching algorithm, a normal distribution of driver work hours, and 5-minute time intervals allow close replication of observed wait time distributions and unique drivers per hour. Emergent model outputs also include VKT by vehicle states (idling, en-route, in-service), vehicle shifts and trip chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to evaluate and quantify the impact of demand forecast spatial resolution on the operational performance of a shared-use automated vehicle (AV) mobility service (SAMS) fleet. To perform the evaluation, this study employs an agent-based modeling framework that includes user requests, AVs, and an SAMS fleet controller. In the simulation, an SAMS fleet controller dynamically assigns AVs to on-demand user requests and repositions empty AVs throughout the service region to serve expected future demand requests. The fleet controller uses an offline demand forecast model and an online optimization model that jointly assigns AVs to users and repositioning trips. Results indicate that despite demand forecast quality decreasing at higher spatial resolutions, the operational efficiency of the SAMS fleet increases with higher spatial resolution forecasts (i.e. smaller subareas). Results also indicate that there is a significant operational value associated with improving short-term demand forecasts at high spatial resolutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a comprehensive literature review focused on the supply side of mobility services, providing relevant insights at the conceptual, operational, and modelling levels. Definitions are first drawn from the Mobility as a Service paradigm due to its predominance in the literature. This is followed by an assessment of the operational features of a range of mobility services, including carsharing, bikesharing, ridehailing, and demand responsive transit. To conclude the review, the state-of-the-art in modelling approaches for mobility services is reported, at different levels of complexity and integration. Three of the most important findings and arguments from this paper suggest that a high degree of generality exists for operational features of mobility services; that it is essential to make a distinction between Mobility as a Service and a mobility service in isolation; along with the argument that human agency should be carefully considered in modelling efforts, both for user agent and driver agent decision-making processes. Finally, key considerations are proposed for the future development of a conceptual framework for modelling the supply side of mobility services, which would have a generic service provider model as its core component. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advent of automated vehicles could be transformative to the existing transportation system; however, the ways in which changes could happen are uncertain. This research was aimed at contributing to the literature of acceptance of self-driving vehicles and the role of ride-hailing in this decision-making process. An online survey was implemented to collect information for two distinct segments of the population: ride-hailing users and non-ride-hailing users. The data were examined through bivariate descriptive analysis and multivariate models. The results provided several insights. The overall intent to use was found to be higher among users of ride-hailing services than among non-users of such services. The results highlighted significant association of several variables with intent to use, including demographics, residential characteristics, technology and shared mobility use factors, and attitudes and perceptions. The results of this research could inform several important policy issues at the intersection of emerging technology and mobility options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines two cases of technological innovation in individual mobility that are driven by purely entrepreneurial spirit. They entail the introduction into commerce of innovative, low-impact vehicles in the US: Sparrow, produced by Corbin Motors, and Gizmo, produced by NEVCO. Both are three-wheeled electric vehicles with seating capacity for one adult. They were first produced as experiments and then moved to a small commercial scale. Drawing on a larger set of actors could be accomplished by engaging: local governments concerned with the matters of transportation, technology, energy and spatial planning; citizen groups; universities; NGOs; and various businesses. These stakeholders should be encouraged to study the fate of Gizmo and Sparrow in the marketplace, adopt the vehicles on an experimental basis, and to include them as well as other such mobility solutions into long-term planning. Designing a programme for mapping out and interpreting the learning processes would also be constructive. A promising approach would be to introduce a system for obtaining systematic feedback from the purchasers of the vehicles and other stakeholders. Notably, the above changes would also facilitate the market diffusion of these innovations. In short, the business and social agendas would reinforce each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]