CIVIC-PG Track B:Data-Driven Analytics for Scaling Up Community Carshare:Advancing Efficiency, Access, Sustainability, and Equity (EASE).

The proposed research-centered pilot will support the deployment of data-driven analytics to improve the efficiency, access, sustainability, and equity of the largest community carshare service in the nation and the development of fundamental knowledge about the science and engineering of community carshare. In 2022, the cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota launched the EV Spot Network in collaboration with HOURCAR, the largest nonprofit carshare provider in the US.

The EV Spot Network provides publicly owned electric vehicle (EV) carshare and chargers. The vehicles and chargers are owned by the cities, while HOURCAR operates the service. The system was designed from inception to serve those with the greatest transportation need, with at least half of serviced neighborhoods designated as disadvantaged.

The service is planned to grow significantly over the next three years with up to 200 additional EVs to be added in 2025 (and potentially more in subsequent years). Planned growth will allow for expanding the service region, extending the reach of public transit and making cars more available. If successful, the pilot can serve as a template for how community carshare can be scaled up in a cost-effective way while increasing access, reducing environmental footprint, and improving equity.

This scale-up poses challenges that have not been adequately addressed previously in the academic literature or practice and thus provides a unique opportunity to conduct a research-oriented pilot project. The proposed research-centered pilot will deploy data-driven analytics, developed by the research team, to support HOURCAR in making decisions as it seeks to densify of its service, expand its service region, and extend the reach of public transit.

Specifically, we envision working with HOURCAR and its stakeholders, to develop and deploy AI based decision support tools for demand estimation, design of the system network, pricing and incentive design, and overall system management and planning. The research will also test the effectiveness of various behavioral modification interventions and incentives that can promote the use of carsharing and enhance the body of social science research on this topic.

The approach developed here will demonstrate how community carshare can be scaled up in a cost-effective way while increasing access, reducing environmental footprint, and improving equity. It can also serve as a blueprint for how cities, transit authorities, and community-based organizations can partner to bridge the gap between essential resources and services and community needs.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.