Recent transportation, economic and environmental trends demonstrate a need for altering the typical commuting practices in the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH) area. Travel Demand Management initiatives like Smart Commute’s, Carpool Zone, are working to reduce the negative externalities of commuting. Using a variety of secondary data sources, geographic visualization, and statistical methods, this thesis examines the carpool formation and use process in the GGH. The results indicate that municipalities with the highest rates of carpooling are in relatively affluent exurban/suburban areas, located beyond the Smart Commute programming jurisdiction. The most significant factor in the carpool process was found to be proximity to other Carpool Zone users. Other factors include; motivations to save time, gender, and current use of public transit. These results are both relevant in a behavioural science context – advancing current understanding of shared travel behaviour, and in the policy environment, as they inform how to improve carpool practices.

Recent transportation, economic and environmental trends demonstrate a need for altering the typical commuting practices in the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH) area. Travel Demand Management initiatives like Smart Commute’s, Carpool Zone, are working to reduce the negative externalities of commuting. Using a variety of secondary data sources, geographic visualization, and statistical methods, this thesis examines the carpool formation and use process in the GGH. The results indicate that municipalities with the highest rates of carpooling are in relatively affluent exurban/suburban areas, located beyond the Smart Commute programming jurisdiction. The most significant factor in the carpool process was found to be proximity to other Carpool Zone users. Other factors include; motivations to save time, gender, and current use of public transit. These results are both relevant in a behavioural science context – advancing current understanding of shared travel behaviour, and in the policy environment, as they inform how to improve carpool practices.

In the last thirty years, determined travelers have developed a new method of travel that allows them to receive the benefits of traveling on the HOV lane without forming traditional carpools. This new mode is known as casual carpooling (also known as ??slugging??). Casual carpools are impromptu carpools formed among strangers in order to meet the occupancy requirements of HOV lanes. In this research, survey respondent data from Houston, Texas were used to evaluate the behavior of casual carpool passengers. At the time of this research, there were approximately 500 casual carpool passengers in Houston each day during the morning peak period. These passengers gained time savings of up to 13 minutes over the alternative of driving alone on the main lanes. Statistical models were used to evaluate the factors that influence travelers to choose casual carpooling. The results of the analyses indicated that travelers on commute trips were more likely to casual carpool. The results also indicated that casual carpoolers in Houston made more trips per week, were between the ages of 25 and 34, and hadoccupations that were either professional/managerial or administrative/clerical. Additionally, Houston travelers that had incomes between $25,000 and $35,000 and were between the ages of 55 and 64 were significantly less likely to casual carpool. The research results provided insight into some of the factors that influenced the decision to casual carpool. It is important to understand the types of travelers that casual carpooled, and the information learned in these analyses can be used to better evaluate HOV and HOT lane use and performance. Casual carpool passengers can comprise a significant portion of HOV/HOT lane person movement and should be considered when considering HOV or HOT lane implementation. However, further research in this area is necessary to better understand these travelers.

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Submitted by Luiz Felipe Barbosa (luiz.fbabreu2@ufpe.br) on 2015-03-10T19:41:00Z No. of bitstreams: 2 DISSERTAÇÃO Vinicius Cezar Monteiro de Lira.pdf: 4006584 bytes, checksum: 5d1301329fabe34879780b3b17bb1e8a (MD5) license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Daniella Sodre (daniella.sodre@ufpe.br) on 2015-03-10T19:43:51Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 DISSERTAÇÃO Vinicius Cezar Monteiro de Lira.pdf: 4006584 bytes, checksum: 5d1301329fabe34879780b3b17bb1e8a (MD5) license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-10T19:43:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 DISSERTAÇÃO Vinicius Cezar Monteiro de Lira.pdf: 4006584 bytes, checksum: 5d1301329fabe34879780b3b17bb1e8a (MD5) license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-28 / The analysis of human movements has been the subject of several studies since the 70s. In recent years, the exponential growth of location aware devices must allow the study of the behavior of the individuals’ mobility from their trajectories collected. However, a significant part of the available literature is focused on the development of techniques for analyzing trajectories of people from a purely geometric point of view, while a smaller part, but increasingly group is looking at the semantic aspects of mobility. This work presents a contribution to the latest trend, and is concerned with the definition of semantic regularity profiles and the applicability of these concepts to the practice of carpooling. We propose a semantic regularity profile based on the entropy of the spatial and temporal frequency of visits to certain categories of places. We analyze the user’s behavior with respect to regularity and irregularity, identifying users who are more or less loyal to certain locations, in contrast to the irregularity of visiting different places. In a different point of view, an analysis over the place perspective was also performed. A web tool was developed to show on map, for each place of a given category, the computed information about the loyal behavior of their visitors. From the study about regularity, we have evidences that some human activities are not strictly associated to a unique POI (Point of Interest) and neither to a specific schedule of the day. Bringing to the carpooling context, in some situations it is worth for a person to change his destination or the time to perform an activity if there is a possibility of ride for him due all the benefits involved with the carpooling practice. This dissertation also presents a novel matching method for carpooling that is oriented to the passenger’s intended activity, aiming to boost the possibilities of rides. Three algorithms for carpool matching are proposed, which manipulates differently the spatial and temporal dimensions. Using a real data set of trajectories, we conducted experiments and our results showed that the proposed matching algorithms improved the traditional carpooling approach in +46.84% when the spatial dimension was considered, in +50.89% when the temporal dimension was prioritized and in +82.30% when both dimensions were tackled.

Mid Sweden University staff has several different meetings around the year. Most meetings take place in Mid Sweden University's various campuses (Sundsvall and Östersund). In order for the staff to be able to participate in these meetings, rental-cars are rented from different rental companies. The rental cars are used to transport the staff between the university's campuses. The trips are mostly made by one or two people per car which can lead to unneces- sary extra costs. The goal of this project has been to provide a solution to this problem. The solution was in the form of a web application which the staff can use to register and join carpool trips. Since there are many carpool applications out there, the usability of the web application will be compared to the usability of a similar carpool application called GoMore to show if the developed appli- cation has any advantages in usability over similar applications. This was done by doing user-tests with 10 users followed by a questionnaire for each applica- tion. The usability metrics that were evaluated and compared for both applica- tions were the following: effectiveness, time based efficiency and the satisfac- tion of the user. The results showed a slightly better result in effectiveness and time based efficiency for the developed application. The results also showed a greater satisfaction for users who tested GoMore. Although the developed web application did not show a significant difference in usability over GoMore, the developed application is more specific for the university's problem and can be developed even further to suit the university's needs.

Carpooling in the light of private and public law Abstract The thesis deals with legal aspects of carpooling across the spectrum of the law of the Czech Republic. Due to carpooling not being a legal term, the thesis itself defines it as a phenomenon when multiple people are traveling simultaneously by one road transport vehicle, under the assumption that the transport is not being provided on a commercial basis. The thesis also describes the differences between carpooling and commercial transport of persons. As far as public law is concerned, the thesis discovers which areas of administrative law apply to carpooling and what consequences arise for the subjects concerned. This involves the regulation of road transport and road traffic in particular. The description of tax implications is also included. Furthermore, the thesis deals with criminal and administrative liability. The focus, however, is on private law. After an exploration of the legal history of transport of persons, the thesis answers the question whether or not contractual obligations arise from carpooling and inspects the elements of the contract along with the rights and duties of the parties. International aspects are taken into account - the thesis studies direct legal norms as well as rules governing conflicting laws. The centrepiece of...

La thèse vise à analyser la pratique du covoiturage, d’étudier les facteurs psychosociaux qui l’expliquent, ainsi que le changement de comportement relatif à cette pratique au moyen du paradigme de la communication engageante. Deux enquêtes ont été réalisées sur une population étudiante visant à analyser les attitudes envers le covoiturage et à en relever les principaux freins. A partir de ces résultats, deux expériences ont été réalisées pour tester l’impact de la communication engageante sur le changement de comportement dans le sens du covoiturage chez une population de salariés. Ce paradigme stipule que la réalisation d’un ou plusieurs actes préparatoires précédant un message persuasif engage davantage les individus dans le comportement souhaité qu’une communication persuasive classique. Les actes préparatoires testés dans les deux expériences sont de nature différente : réaliser des calculs des économies en lien avec l’écologie et/ou les finances occasionnées par la pratique du covoiturage et compléter un questionnaire portant sur les motivations pro-environnementales. Les résultats ont montré que la communication engageante a un effet significatif sur les comportements. Les individus placés dans cette situation ont significativement plus adhéré à la pratique du covoiturage que ceux qui se trouvaient dans une situation de communication persuasive classique. Enfin une enquête a été réalisée auprès d’inscrits sur un site internet de covoiturage. Il s’agissait de mesurer le covoiturage effectif et d’analyser la pratique au regard du processus décisionnel et de comparer les inscrits covoiturants et les inscrits ne pratiquant pas le covoiturage en matière de croyances et de contrôle perçu. On note que les raisons évoquées pour continuer à covoiturer traduisent une internalisation du comportement. / The aim of the thesis is to analyze several psychosocial factors that could explain the practice of carpooling. Moreover, behavioral change concerning carpooling is studied, with help from the committing communication paradigm. Two surveys on samples of students attempt to measure attitudes and restraints towards carpooling. These results led to design two experiments in order to test the impact of committing communication on behavior toward carpooling, on a sample of employees. According to this paradigm, the production of one or more preparatory acts previous to a persuasive message leads to more involvement than the single reception of a persuasive message. The preparatory acts tested in each experiment were different. In the first one, the participants had to estimate the amount of money or energy they would save by carpooling, and in the second one, they were asked to fill in a questionnaire about their pro-environmental motivations. The results indicate that the committing communication paradigm has a significant effect of carpooling intentions. A final survey was focused on members of a carpooling website. It had the objectives of measuring effective carpooling behavior and decisional processes, and comparing members who actually practiced carpooling to those who did not, in terms of beliefs and perceived control. It was noticed that the reasons given for carpooling before and after having adopted the practice showed an internalization of carpooling behavior.

Global warming, increasing greenhouse gases emissions, global pollution, exhaustion of natural resources... Those are all consequences of human activities on the environment. Today's world is facing major environmental challenges and sustainability has become a burning topic during the last decades. In our consumption-focused society, the concept of the sharing economy has emerged as an alternative to existing consumption patterns. Advocating the "use rather than own" principle, this concept has a true potential in terms of changing the way we consume and produce to lead to more sustainable behaviors. Current literature has investigated the motivations influencing the decision to participate in the sharing economy. Three main motivations have been highlighted: economic, social and environmental. Indeed, the sharing economy offers the possibility to save or make money, strengthen social ties and reduce one's ecological impact. Even though the environmental aspect plays a part in the decision-making process, it is unclear whether it is a determining factor or only a secondary concern. Thus, our study aims at developing an in-depth understanding of the motivations that drive people's participation in the sharing economy and the role of environmental sustainability. To fulfill that purpose, we have formulated the following research question: How important is environmental sustainability among the motivations to participate in the peer-to-peer sharing economy? To answer our research question, we conducted a qualitative study. We interviewed six French users of the collaborative carpooling platform Blablacar. Questions about the sharing economy in general and use of this specific platform were asked. These interviews allowed us to understand users' perceptions and attitudes towards the sharing economy and to make the connection with the environmental motivation. Our findings reveal that the environmental motivation exists and is part of the decision- making process. We could note a behavior change as the willingness to use collaborative platforms in the future is increasing. At the same time, a growing environmental consciousness has been expressed. However, the economic motivation still strongly prevails over the environmental and social motivations to engage in sharing activities. This observation leads us to conclude about the uncertain future of the sharing economy as a more sustainable consumption pattern.

Usability is one important factor for customers to reach satisfaction. The purpose of this report was to investigate how information should be displayed on a carpooling web application to increase usability, focusing on the aspects of effectiveness and attitude. A market survey indicated that young adults were especially interested in carpooling services, the age group of 18-31 therefore became the target group of this study. After studying existing literature relevant to the research question and creating a prototype, a functional web application was created in two different versions. User tests were then conducted on the different versions to compare how the design aspects of detailed descriptions on buttons, breadcrumbs and different sign-in and register buttons affected usability. The methods used to measure usability were SUS-questionnaires, CTA and Smith’s lostness formula. The results showed that the usability score was higher for the version with less detailed description on buttons, single sign-in and register buttons (instead of multiple), with breadcrumbs. Those results aligned with the time taken by test users to execute each task, as well as the overall comments from the test users. In conclusion, the results from this report confirms that the implemented design aspects improved effectiveness and attitude in regards to usability. / Användbarhet kan bedömas vara en viktig faktor för kundnöjdhet. Syftet med denna rapport var att undersöka hur information ska visas på en webbapplikation för samåkningstjänster för att öka användbarheten, med fokus på aspekterna effektivitet och attityd. En marknadsundersökning visade att det fanns ett särskilt stort intresse för samåkningstjänster hos unga vuxna – användare i åldern 18-31 år blev därmed målgruppen för denna studie. Efter studerande av relevant forskning och framställning av en prototyp, skapades en funktionell webbapplikation i två olika versioner. Användartester genomfördes på de olika versionerna för att jämföra hur detaljerade beskrivningar på knappar, breadcrumbs samt olika inlogg- och registrerar-knappar påverkar användbarheten. Metoderna som användes för att mäta användbarhet var SUS-frågeformulär, CTA och Smith’s “lostness”-formel. Det sammanställda resultatet visade att testpersonerna gav ett högre betyg till versionen med mindre detaljerade beskrivningar på knapparna, en knappför inloggning och en för registrering samt breadcrumbs. Dessa resultat stämde överens med tiden det tog för testpersonerna att utföra de olika uppgifterna samt kommentarerna från dem. Slutsatsen är att resultaten av denna rapport bekräftar att de implementerade designaspekterna ledde till förbättrad effektivitet och attityd kopplat till användbarhet.