Article citation information:
Turoń, K., Czech,
P., Tóth, J. Safety and security aspects in shared mobility systems. Scientific Journal of Silesian University of
Technology. Series Transport. 2019, 104,
169-175. ISSN: 0209-3324. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20858/sjsutst.2019.104.15.
Katarzyna TUROŃ[1],
Piotr CZECH[2],
János TÓTH[3]
SAFETY AND
SECURITY ASPECTS IN SHARED MOBILITY SYSTEMS
Summary. Shared mobility systems are becoming quite popular
around the world. This trend has led to the continuous development of vehicle
fleet and use by a growing number of individual users. Due to this, the
services of shared mobility have been analysed from the viewpoint of many
different aspects. Safety and security issues are particularly important for
both the user and the operator.
This paper is dedicated to
the concept of different issues of safety and security in shared mobility
solutions such as bike-, car- and scooter-sharing, peer-to-peer sharing
services and on-demand riding systems. The idea of shared mobility and case
study, based on problems with safety and security aspects related to that kind
of mobility is presented in the text. The aim of the work was to show the
importance of safety and security aspects in the shared mobility solutions.
Keywords: shared mobility systems, shared mobility
problems, safety in shared mobility systems, security in shared mobility
systems, on-demand transport services, urban logistics.
1. INTRODUCTION
Current cities have
become centres where new types of urban logistics solutions are being tested.
This is due to the need for implementation of sustainable development policies
in the field of transport, improvement of the quality of life of the residents
and the state of the environment [7,10,12,13,14,24].
Of such solutions
introduced to the urban transport systems in order to implement the policy of
sustainable transport development are the shared mobility services [1,11,17].
Initially, systems that appeared in cities were mainly based on providing
factors such as [15,23,25,29]:
· providing the right
number of vehicles in the operator's fleet
· location of vehicle
rental zones in strategic city points (centres, stations, transfer nodes, etc.)
· adjusting the price of
services to users' capabilities
· ensuring proper access
to vehicles in a mobile application
· proposing an appropriate
system of renting and returning the vehicle, that is, in docks or dockless in
the case of sharing bicycles, or with the possibility of returning the vehicle
in another part of the city, at the discretion of the user in the case of car-
sharing which provides free-floating solutions, etc.
However, apart from the
above criteria, which is very important from the viewpoints of organisation and
systems management, little attention was paid to the aspects related to ensuring
an adequate level of user safety and the system security. Because vehicles in
fleets in urban conditions more visible, they become an integral part of
vehicle traffic in urban transport systems, hence, the authors decided to focus
on safety and security aspects in all services offered in the shared mobility
concept.
2. SHARED MOBILITY SOLUTIONS
Shared mobility concept
refers to the shared used of a vehicle – bicycle, car, scooter or other
transportation modes, for example, Segway. Shared mobility is the range of
transport services offered in municipal logistics including shared services
like bike-sharing, car-sharing scooter, sharing organised by specialised
operators in the industry. It includes peer-to-peer ridesharing – the
possibility of renting your own vehicle through organised platforms providing
advertising services. Furthermore, on-demand ride services – ordering car
transport services through a mobile application by associating passengers with
drivers using the application, that is, Uber, micro-transit, and other modes.
The fleet of shared
bikes and scooters is called micro-mobility initiatives [22].
Shared mobility is the
transportation strategy that allows users to access transportation services on
an as-needed basis. The idea gives the possibility to ride or drive the vehicle
without owning it. Initially, the systems were single initiatives, now we are
dealing with global, national and local enterprises providing shared mobility
services, giving an alternative to travelling by own vehicle.
The shared mobility
services in urban logistics appeared as first initiatives in 1948 in the case
of car-sharing,1965 in the case of bike-sharing and 2012 in the case of
scooter-sharing [5,6,27]. In the case of on-demand ride-sharing systems,
services started to be popular in years 2009-2012 [3,28].
However, the development
of shared mobility services in the world dates back to the years: 2000 in the
case of car-sharing, 2005 in the case of bar-sharing and 2018 in the case of
scooter-sharing solutions [2,9,21]. The future of shared mobility solutions
looks very promising. The statistics indicate that in 2025 there will be 36
million users in the world using the car-sharing offer [26]. On the other hand,
in the case of ride-hailing services like Uber, it is forecasted that the world
market in 2025 will be worth over 125 $ billions [18]. Such forecasts show that
the shared mobility market will gain increased importance for the society,
which is the reason it is particularly important to ensure an adequate level of
safety and security for services provided by it.
3. SAFETY AND SECURITY IN SHARED
MOBILITY SOLUTIONS
Safety
in the context of transportation is one of the most important factors for the
society. Here safety refers to the methods and different measures of preventing
road users from being injured or killed [26]. Road safety is a complex problem.
The impact on traffic accidents has many factors. The cause may be human
errors, vehicle malfunctions and defects of the road environment.
In
the case of shared mobility systems, safety problems are connected with traffic
safety aspects. Based on the analysis of the authors, two main groups of
factors related to the shared mobility services – engineering aspects and
behaviour aspects were realised. Features associated with an insufficient level
of safety in shared economy services among others are presented below:
· insufficiently monitored
technical condition of vehicles offered in shared mobility services leading to
frequent lack of vehicle equipment elements from the lack of windscreen washer
fluid to the lack of emergency equipment such as a warning triangle, theft of
hubcaps, saddles in bicycles or whole scooters
· failure to provide
sufficient infrastructure for the safe parking of vehicles in designated places,
for example, envelopes in the case of cars or separate parking spaces for
scooters. As a result, the chaos of communication is widening. This chaos is
associated with the abandonment of vehicles on sidewalks or roads, reducing the
comfort of walking or disabled people
· vehicles are often not
equipped with additional protective elements for users such as child seats or
helmets for people riding scooters
· unknown technical
condition of the vehicle and driver's skills in the case of Uber type services
· insufficient knowledge
of users in the use of vehicles offered in shared mobility services, and thus,
problems with charging electric vehicles or driving/riding electric vehicles in
bad weather conditions - frequent skidding
· not respecting rental
vehicles and moving them too fast without complying with traffic regulations
All
the above factors can be ordered to issues related to the vehicles safety,
infrastructure safety or issues related to education with the mobility
management requirements. The proposal to divide the safety aspects related to
sharing mobility services is presented in the scheme in Figure 1.
Fig. 1. Shared mobility
traffic safety division scheme
Source: authors own
collaboration
One
should also remember about the aspect of vehicle safety related to age and
wear, and the multiplicity of various monitoring systems [4,16,19,20].
The second important
viewpoint of the two parties - users and shared mobility operators - are the
security issues. Security from the point of view of shared mobility services
are connected with the following factors, among others:
· monitoring and sharing
with other authorities and operators, information about users who used the
service without paying its fee, and then rented another car at the next
operator
· existence of a small
number of shared mobility service system operators who offer users the
opportunity to top-up their account on a "money box" basis
· due to internet
activity, there is a need to ensure an adequate level of data security for both
personal users and payment data
· some operators have
insufficient level of checking driving permissions or only one-step
verification is carried out, consisting of sending only photos of user's
documents
· exposure to hacking
attacks and competition attacks, inter alia, the possibility of reserving all
available vehicles of a given operator so that a competitor can offer his
services at that time
The
proposal to divide the security aspects related to sharing mobility services is
presented in the scheme in Figure 2.
The
presented factors affecting the level of both security are the problems that
operators and users of shared mobility services face on a daily basis.
Undertaking any attempts to counteract them provides the opportunity of
contributing to real improvement in the quality of the use of these services to
the public.
Fig. 2. Shared mobility traffic security division scheme
Source: authors own collaboration
4. SUMMARY
In
conclusion, this paper showed the different aspects to be considered for the
secure operation of shared mobility systems. Often, due to the quick profit or
takeover of a given market, the issues of adequate safety are omitted, and this
is particularly important especially in the case of shared micro-mobility
services. In the case of cyclists and users of scooters, we talked about
unprotected road users, who often due to the lack of appropriate legal
conditions, lack of education in the field of mobility are not aware of the
dangers that await them moving along the road in the company of cars.
Therefore,
it is of utmost importance that detailed legal guidelines are adapted for
moving vehicles from the shared mobility offer. In addition, appropriate
recommendations and instructions should appear in the applications of service
providers before the start of the journey. Besides organisational issues, worth
focusing are the technical elements related to appropriate vehicle equipment,
helmets and child seats, as well as appropriate marking of vehicles and
equipment with reflective elements. It is also significant to note the need to
undertake attempts to develop systems (databases) that register users who
default when using these systems such as devastating vehicles, exceed7ing
speeds or unpaid journeys. Such activities would have the potential to increase
the level of security for service operators. In furtherance of this research
work, the authors want to develop recommendations for the safe movement of
vehicles with shared mobility services.
References
1.
Axsen
John, Benjamin K. Sovacool. 2019. “The roles of users in electric, shared
and automated mobility transitions”. Transportation
Research Part D: Transport and Environment 71:1-21. ISSN: 1361-9209. DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2019.02.012.
2.
Bieliński
Tomasz, Agnieszka Ważna. 2018. “New generation of bike-sharing
systems in China: lessons for European cities”. Journal of Management and Financial Sciences 9(33): 25-42. ISSN:
2657-5612.
3.
Bieliński Tomasz,
Agnieszka Kwapisz, Agnieszka Ważna. 2019. „Bike-sharing systems
in Poland”. Sustainability
11(9): 2458. ISSN: 2071-1050. DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3390/su11092458.
4.
Dell'Acqua,
Gianluca, Mario De Luca, Carlo Giacomo Prato, Olegas Prentkovskis, Raimundas
Junevicius. 2016. „The impact of vehicle movement on exploitation
parameters of roads and runways: a short review of the special issue”. Transport 31(2) Special Issue: 127-132.
5.
DeMaio
Paul. 2009. “Bike-sharing: history, impacts, models of provision, and
future”. Journal of Public
Transportation 12(4): 41-56. ISSN: 1077291X.
6.
Doherty
M., F. Sparrow, K. Sinha. 1987. “Public use of autos: mobility enterprise
project”. Journal of Transportation
Engineering 113: 84-97. ISSN: 2473-2893.
https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-947X(1987)113:1(84).
7.
Farooq Asim, Mowen Xie, Svetla
Stoilova, Edward J Williams. 2018. “The application of smart urban
mobility strategies and initiatives: application to Beijing”. European Transport/Trasporti Europei 71(paper 6): 1-22.
8.
Geetam Tiwari, Dinesh Mohan. 2016. Transport
Planning and Traffic Safety: Making Cities, Roads, and Vehicles Safer. New
York: CRC Press. ISBN 9781498751452.
9.
Innovationslandkarte.
“Scooter innovations”. Available at: http://www.scooter.innovationslandkarte.de.
10.
Jacyna
M., J. Merkisz. “Proecological approach to modelling traffic organization
in national transport system”. Archives
of Transport 2(30): 43-56.
11.
Jacyna M., M. Wasiak, K. Lewczuk, N.
Chamier-Gliszczyński, T. Dąbrowski. 2018. “Decision problems in developing
proecological transport systems”. Rocznik
Ochrona Środowiska 20: 1007-1025. ISSN 1506-218X.
12.
Jacyna M., M. Wasiak, K. Lewczuk, G. Karoń. 2017. "Noise and environmental
pollution from transport: decisive problems in developing ecologically
efficient transport systems". Journal
of Vibroengineering 19: 5639-5655. DOI: doi.org/10.21595/jve.2017.19371.
13.
Jacyna M., M. Wasiak, K. Lewczuk, M. Kłodawski. 2014. “Simulation model of transport
system of Poland as a tool for developing sustainable transport”. Archives of Transport 31(3): 23-35.
14. Jacyna-Gołda
Ilona, Mariusz Wasiak, Mariusz Izdebski, Konrad Lewczuk, Roland Jachimowski,
Dariusz Pyza. 2016. „The evaluation of the efficiency of supply chain
configuration”. Proceedings of the
20th International Scientific Conference Transport Means 2016. Transport Means
- Proceedings of the International Conference: 953-957.
15.
Ko Joonho, Hyeongyun Ki, Soojin Lee. 2017. “Factors affecting
carsharing program participants’ car ownership changes”. The International Journal of Transportation
Research 11(4): 208-218. DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1080/19427867.2017.1329891.
16.
Kosicka E., Kozłowski E.,
Mazurkiewicz D. 2015. „The use of stationary tests for
analysis of monitored residual processes”. Eksploatacja i Niezawodnosc
– Maintenance and Reliability 17(4): 604–609. DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.17531/ein.2015.4.17.
17.
Łebkowski
Andrzej. 2019. “Studies of energy consumption by a city bus powered by a
hybrid energy storage system in variable road conditions”. Energies 12(5):
951. ISSN 1996-1073. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/en12050951.
18.
Market
Realist. “Uber perspective”. Avialable at:
https://marketrealist.com/2019/05/why-paypal-bought-a-500-million-stake-in-uber/.
19.
Mazurkiewicz
D. 2014. „Computer-aided maintenance and reliability management systems
for conveyor belts”. Eksploatacja i Niezawodnosc – Maintenance and
Reliability 16(3): 377-382.
20.
Mazurkiewicz
D. 2010. „Tests of extendability and strength of adhesive-sealed joints
in the context of developing a computer system for monitoring the condition of
belt joints during conveyor operation”. Eksploatacja i Niezawodnosc
– Maintenance and Reliability 3: 34-39.
21.
Midgley
Peter. 2011. Bicycle Sharing Schemes.
Enhancing Sustainable Mobility in Urban Areas, Commission on Sustainable
Development Nine teenth Session New York, 2-13 May 2011, New York: United
Nations Department Of Economic And Social Affairs, Background Paper No. 8
CSD19/2011/BP8.
22.
Nacto -
National Association of City Transportation Officials Portal. “Shared
Micromobility in the U.S.: Report 2018”. Available at:
https://nacto.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/NACTO_Shared-Micromobility-in-2018_Web.pdf.
23.
Perboli
Guido, Francesco Ferrero, Stefano Musso, Andrea Vesco. 2018. “Business
models and tariff simulation in car-sharing services”. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and
Practice 115: 32-48. ISSN: 0965-8564. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2017.09.011.
24. Schmidt Marie, Stefan Voss. 2017.
„Advanced systems in public transport”. Public Transport 9(1-2) Special Issue: 3-6.
25.
Shaheen
Susan, Adam Cohen. 2012. “Carsharing and personal vehicle services:
worldwide market developments and emerging trends”. International Journal of Sustainable Transportation 7: 5-34. ISSN
1556-8318. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15568318.2012.660103.
26.
Statista Portal. “Numbers of car-sharing users around the
world”. Available at:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/415636/car-sharing-number-of-users-worldwide.
27.
TechCrunch.
“Zipcar For Scooters" Startup Scoot Networks Launches To The Public
In San Francisco. Available at:
https://techcrunch.com/2012/09/26/scoot-sf-launch/.
28.
Uber. „The history of uber“.Avialable at:
https://www.uber.com/pl/newsroom/historia/.
29.
Young Mischa, Steven Farber. 2019. “He who, why, and when of Uber
and other ride-hailing trips: An examination of a large sample household travel
survey”. Transportation Research
Part A: Policy and Practice 119: 383-392. ISSN 0965-8564, DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2018.11.018.
Received 02.06.2019; accepted in
revised form 20.08.2019
Scientific
Journal of Silesian University of Technology. Series Transport is licensed
under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License