Evaluating The Effects Of Low-income Reduced Fare Programs In Shared Micromobility Systems
Background
Lime offers reduced fares to qualifying riders as part of the company’s Lime Access program. To date, the program has seen over 3 million rides taken by 40,000 riders. Lime Access is expanding within Canadian cities, presenting a unique opportunity to evaluate the impacts of the program and experiment with different implementations, both in terms of the discount provided as well as the target population.
The McGill research team is partnering with multiple Canadian cities and Lime to conduct a pilot evaluation that takes advantage of this opportunity to understand how pricing discounts for micromobility benefit riders from equity-deserving communities. Specifically, this research will consider how Lime Access may uniquely meet the needs of low-income travelers, ways the program can be improved, and the policy and business implications of how to sustain what has been to-date an unfunded program.
Research Questions
- How sensitive are trip characteristics (frequency, purpose, and distance) to the depth of subsidy provided?
- How do different discount levels impact users’ health and finances?
- How does shared micromobility fit into the travel needs of low-income travelers?
- What mobility problems does shared micromobility help travelers with low incomes solve?
Study Area
Lime operates shared scooters in Edmonton, Alberta; Mississauga and Toronto, Ontario; Laval, Quebec; Kelowna, British Columbia; and several cities in the Vancouver, British Columbia area. The research plan is to focus primarily on Edmonton, Mississauga, and Kelowna.
Timelines
The project’s schedule is detailed as follows:
| Spring 2024 | Refine and finalize experimental design |
| Summer 2024 | Launch Lime Access experiments, deploy pre and “pulse” surveys |
| Winter 2025 | Deploy end-of-experiment survey Data analysis |
| Spring 2025 | Data analysis and preparation of report |
| Summer and Fall 2025 | Dissemination of the study findings |