Urban Mobility and the Smartphone

Transportation, Travel Behavior and Public Policy

Anne Aguilera, Virginie Boutueil

• Publisher: Elsevier
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9780128126486
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Transportation & Navigation
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Urban Mobility and the Smartphone: Transportation, Travel Behavior and Public Policy provides a global synthesis of the transformation of urban mobility by the smartphone, clarifying the definitions of new concepts and objects in mobility studies, accounting for the changes in transportation and travel behavior triggered by the spread of the smartphone, and discussing the implications of these changes for policy-making and research. Urban mobility is approached here as a system of actors: the perspectives of individual behavior (including lifestyles), the supply of mobility services (including actors, business models), and public policy-making are considered.

The book is based on an extensive review of the academic literature as well as systematic observation of the development of smartphone-based mobility services around the world. In addition, case studies provide practical illustrations of the ongoing transformation of mobility services influenced by the dissemination of smartphones. The book not only consolidates existing research, but also picks up on weak signals that help researchers and practitioners anticipate future changes in urban mobility systems.

Key Features

• Synthesizes existing research into one reference, providing researchers and policy-makers with a clear and complete understanding of the changes triggered by the spread of

the smartphone.

• Analyzes numerous case studies throughout developed and developing countries providing practical illustrations of the influence of the smartphone on travel behavior, transportation systems, and policy-making.

• Provides insights for researchers and practitioners looking to engage with the "smart cities" and "smart mobility" discourse.

• Synthesizes existing research into one reference, providing researchers and policy-makers with a clear and complete understanding of the changes triggered by the spread of the smartphone
• Analyzes numerous case studies throughout developed and developing countries providing practical illustrations of the influence of the smartphone on travel behavior, transportation systems, and policy-making
• Provides insights for researchers and practitioners looking to engage with the "smart cities" and "smart mobility" discourse

Chapter 1

Smartphone and Individual Travel Behavior

Anne Aguiléra University Paris-Est, LVMT, IFSTTAR, Marne la Vallée, France

Abstract

The issue of the links between the development of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) and individual travel has grown in importance and also undergone profound changes in recent years, firstly with the arrival of the Internet and mobile technologies and secondly with the growing interest in society (and in the social sciences) in the subject of mobility (Ben-Elia et al., 2018; Sheller and Urry, 2006; Urry, 2012). One reason is environmental: transport accounts for nearly a quarter of current energy-related carbon dioxide emissions and car travel for more than threequarters of all vehicle kilometers traveled. ICT could reduce our need to travel physically, by providing ways for a growing number of day-to-day activities to be carried out remotely (online shopping, teleworking, videoconferencing, etc.) (Aguiléra et al., 2012). Another reason relates, more broadly, to the way ICT is contributing to changes in lifestyles and, in particular, their spatial dimension (Aguiléra et al., 2012; Hubers et al., 2011; Sasaki and Nishii, 2010; Sheller and Urry, 2006; Schwanen and Kwan, 2008). With the Internet and mobile technologies, there is also growing interest in the consequences of the use of ICT while on the move, of the penetration of the digital economy (in particular the sharing or collaborative economy) into the mobility sphere, and of the massive production of new geolocated data (Wang et al., 2016).

Keywords

Activity schedules; Coordination; Flexibility; Lifestyles; Shared mobility; Travel behaviour; Use of time

Introduction

The issue of the links between the development of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) and individual travel has grown in importance and also undergone profound changes in recent years, firstly with the arrival of the Internet and mobile technologies and secondly with the growing interest in society (and in the social sciences) in the subject of mobility (Ben-Elia et al., 2018; Sheller and Urry, 2006; Urry, 2012). One reason is environmental: transport accounts for nearly a quarter of current energy-related carbon dioxide emissions and car travel for more than three-quarters of all vehicle kilometers traveled. ICT could reduce our need to travel physically, by providing ways for a growing number of day-to-day activities to be carried out remotely (online shopping, teleworking, videoconferencing, etc.) (Aguiléra et al., 2012). Another reason relates, more broadly, to the way ICT is contributing to changes in lifestyles and, in particular, their spatial dimension (Aguiléra et al., 2012; Hubers et al., 2011; Sasaki and Nishii, 2010; Sheller and Urry, 2006; Schwanen and Kwan, 2008). With the Internet and mobile technologies, there is also growing interest in the consequences of the use of ICT while on the move, of the penetration of the digital economy (in particular the sharing or collaborative economy) into the mobility sphere, and of the massive production of new geolocated data (Wang et al., 2016).

For a long time, the main focus of the literature was on the potential effects of growing ICT use on the number of trips. The debates pitted the argument that physical travel would be replaced by remote interactions (as certain activities became virtual) against the view that physical and virtual displacement were complementary. The truth is now out: ICT and mobility needs increase in parallel (Choo and Mokhtarian, 2007). However, the link is not direct (Aguiléra et al., 2012). Moreover, the question of the links between ICT and mobility goes well beyond the numbers of trips. It relates to complex transformations in lifestyles in the short-, medium-, and long-term, involving socioeconomic, cultural, and geographical factors (Aguiléra et al., 2012; Ben-Elia et al., 2018; Urry, 2012). Schedules of activity, the distribution of tasks within households, relations to space, route finding, methods of orientation, etc. are all domains that have been transformed, whether primarily or indirectly, by the use of technologies.

The spectacular development of mobile ICT (especially mobile phones and now smartphones) also casts new light on the relations between ICT and travel practices, in the new capacity to use technologies (and in particular the Internet) while on the move (Aguiléra et al., 2012). Much research has been done on the possibilities raised by GPS and mobile phone data in the measurement, analysis and modeling of individual travel behavior (Calabrese et al., 2013; Chen et al., 2016; Järv et al., 2014; Raento et al., 2009; Iqbal et al., 2014). The implications for travel practices as such have been less documented, except for the mobile phone, where the research is of limited interest for this chapter, since Internet access via the smartphone profoundly changes the landscape.

The two great ICT revolutions in recent years are, firstly, the Internet and, secondly, the fact that these technologies have become both personal and mobile. The smartphone owes its success to the fact that it represents the convergence of these changes. With it, mobility has become genuinely connected; in other words, individuals (subject to network coverage) have access to an unprecedented mass of content and contacts, notably, through access to the different social networks and mobile applications (Adoue, 2016). With the mobile phone, connectedness was only partial, limited to the content of one's address book. Mobile Internet considerably widens the possibilities of using ICT for many purposes including receiving and sending information while on the move. It therefore offers new prospects for transformations in travel practices. First, the smartphone makes it easier to manage mobility through access to real-time information: traffic jams, better routes, arrival time of the next bus, comparison of the performance of different modes on a route (in terms of cost, speed, CO2 emissions, calories used, etc), availability of a parking space, etc. Second, the access to multiple mobile content considerably broadens the range of activities possible while on the move and changes perceptions of transport times (Adoue, 2016; Jain and Lyons, 2008; Lyons and Urry, 2005). Third and finally, the arrival of digital technologies in the field of passenger transport has fostered the development of new mobility services, either by modifying the operating conditions of previous services such as the taxi (Uber, Lyft, etc.) and bike and car rental, or by developing shared mobility services (carsharing, ridesharing). These services are enhanced by the real-time coordination between providers and users via digital platforms, which widen the possibilities of matching supply and demand, facilitate financial transactions, and, to a certain degree, make sharing a journey with a stranger less risky. Another prospect is better mobility regulation, especially in big urban areas, thanks to the new capacity for the real-time processing of large masses of mobility data. The development of ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) and, more broadly, of “smart cities” where technology is used to optimize flow management is a new prospect for which governments hold high hopes.

This chapter proposes a review of the literature on the relations between ICT and travel practices, with an emphasis on the transformations associated with the spread of the smartphone. On this point, the thinking tends to be prospective since empirical research is still somewhat scanty. The focus is on the links between ICT, lifestyles, and individual mobility. The question of ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) is therefore not tackled, except in terms of the influence of travel information services (traffic jams, faster routes, etc.) on individual travel practices. As for the new mobility services, they are considered here primarily from the perspective of the transformations in travel practices that their development might foster.

The first part of the chapter looks at the links between the growing use of ICT and lifestyles, in terms of changes in the use of time and in activity schedules; in other words how activities are arranged in time and in space and in particular—since we are interested in mobility—between home and the outside world (Ben-Elia and Zhen, 2018). The second part discusses how the smartphone is changing the perception and utility of time spent in traveling and the consequences of this for travel practices (Adoue, 2016; Jain and Lyons, 2008; Lyons and Urry, 2005). Finally, the third part of the chapter analyzes the influence of the development of new mobility services, which either are changing the operational conditions of existing services such as the taxi (Uber, Didi, etc.) and/or seek to promote shared mobility practices, particularly in the sphere of car use (like carsharing and ridesharing).

1. Uses of Time and Activity Schedules

Travel behavior depends on how individuals use time and organize their activities in time and in space (Hägerstrand, 1970). Uses of time and schedules of activity vary according to socioeconomic factors (such as age, income level, work status, gender, family structure) and cultural and geographical factors, such as living in a dense urban environment or, conversely, a long way from jobs and urban services. In return, household transport conditions (e.g., access to one or more vehicles) and transport conditions in the area of residence (such as the presence of public transport) influence the activities that individuals pursue and their spatiotemporal organization.

ICT is involved in a growing number of human activities. We increasingly use technologies to work, communicate, read a newspaper, do our shopping, entertain ourselves, etc (Vilhelmson and Thulin, 2008). This growing embeddedness of technologies in human activities takes complex forms. It is increasing the time devoted to purely virtual activities (such as playing online video games, chatting on social networks, etc.). As a result, it is leading to often significant reorganizations of activities in time and space, notably, with regard to the choice between “remote” activity and physical trip(s) (Cairncross, 2001; Kwan, 2007; Ohmori, 2009; Schwanen et al., 2008).

The smartphone extends ...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Contributors
• About the Authors
• Context (Preface)
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter 1. Smartphone and Individual Travel Behavior
• Chapter 2. New Mobility Services
• Chapter 3. Using Mobile Phone Data to Observe and Understand Mobility Behavior, Territories, and Transport Usage
• Chapter 4. Implications for Public Policy
• Chapter 5. Impacts and Challenges for Developing Countries
• Index