The Value Proposition for Stakeholder Groups

Various stakeholder groups will have important roles to play in the successful implementation of an MIT rideshare trial, and are likely to derive some value from being involved. The focus here will be on the value proposition for key stakeholders. If successful, the trial could be expanded and might include other

stakeholders including local employers and MassRides, the statewide rideshare coordinating agency. In this initial trial design, the value proposition for these groups will not be discussed.

8.2.1 MIT Commuters

The value of this rideshare trial for existing rideshare participants is mainly the ability to take advantage of the incentives provided, while not being inconvenienced by changes in parking policies. Some may argue that existing rideshare participants should not be included in the trial because their behavior already mimics what the trial is attempting to promote. However, there are a number of reasons to include existing

rideshare participants. First, this group is already sharing rides and is likely to continue to do so. They form a core group of individuals that will almost always offer rides, or seek rides and may be willing to accept an extra participant every so often. Second, they are an important group of rideshare proponents that may be willing to encourage others within the Institute to share rides. Excluding them from participation (and the benefits of participation) may harm marketing and promotion of the trial. Third, their travel behavior can be analyzed in much the same way that other participants behavior will be. The results may reveal interesting differences between those that typically share rides and those that do not.

The value proposition for non-rideshare participants is largely to decrease the perceived costs of transportation. If the Institute switches to “pay-by-the-day” parking charges, the perceived costs immediately increase for all those participants that have a ‘Commuter’ permit. By offering incentives to increase the desirability of ridesharing, drivers have the option to continue driving for a lower perceived cost, if they share a ride. Passengers that switch to sharing rides rather than driving alone have significantly reduced their perceived cost of driving by leaving their vehicle at home, but have taken on what is

seemingly a less desirable mode of transportation. It is this group of commuters whose behavior will be the most difficult to change. Passengers that choose to share rides rather than take transit are rewarded with what is presumed to be a more convenient, or quicker, trip. Since this group is already using an alternative travel mode, they are not explicitly targeted but may still obtain value from the trial.

8.2.2 MIT Administration

From the Institute’s perspective, the ceiling that has been imposed by the City of Cambridge on the number of parking spaces allowed on campus makes the existing spots a valuable asset. This is a function of the fact that parking is in high demand. Yet, any future building construction that is to take place will likely be on

loss of a valuable asset that must be outweighed by the benefits of new building construction. The

‘compromise’ has recently been to proceed with building construction but to include costly underground parking. If, however, the demand for parking were not as substantial, future building construction could occur without the perception of such a significant trade-off and the need to replace parking. Ridesharing is certainly not going to eliminate the need for all parking on campus, but it has the potential to eliminate the need for one or more surface lots, thereby allowing for higher-value building construction without the need for costly underground or third-party leased commercial parking.

Beyond the purely financial benefits to the Institute, MIT is interested in attracting new staff and faculty and improving the work experience for existing employees. The provision of a variety of transportation options in combination with personalized travel planning is a small but valuable benefit for employees that not all organizations can provide.

8.2.3 Rideshare Service Provider

The rideshare service provider selected for this trial obtains value through the demonstration of their service in the context of a large organization. Beyond the publicity that this sort of trial provides, the use of a “real-time” system will generate a substantial amount of information on commuter travel behavior and responses to incentives that the provider will be able to use to improve their service offerings. This data and user feedback from a population the size of the MIT community has tremendous value for a rideshare service provider, so much so that it may be possible for the Institute to negotiate a reduced rate for the use of the service in exchange for the service providers use of some of the commuter data. These savings could be used to offset the cost of providing smart phones to rideshare participants.

8.2.4 Smart Phone Provider

In the technology hardware market, the opportunity to have one’s product used in a research setting at MIT carries some reasonable promotional value. This is particularly true when the devices themselves generate data that can be analyzed as part of an academic research project. Through a collaboration with the MIT Media Lab, for example, it may be possible to partner with a cellular handset provider such as Apple, Google or Nokia to receive free or reduced price smart phones for use in the trial in exchange for promotional opportunities and some use of the travel data that is generated.

8.2.5 City of Cambridge

The City of Cambridge has an obvious interest in seeing this trial succeed, as ridesharing reduces traffic congestion and emissions from private vehicle transport. The City relies heavily on its parking restrictions to encourage employers to reduce the transportation impacts of their employees travel; however, this trial offers the City an opportunity to work with MIT and possibly other nearby employers in a more

collaborative, non-regulatory way on reducing transportation impacts.

8.2.6 MBTA

The MBTA may be hesitant of a rideshare initiative at MIT, as transit and ridesharing are often viewed as competing services. However, the integration of a ridesharing initiative with real-time transit information and the MIT Mobility Pass has the opportunity to increase transit ridership and revenue for the Authority, as demonstrated by Block-Schachter’s thesis (2009). The provision of subsidized transit for those rideshare passengers that live near transit services is included in the trial design.