Choosing transit vs. ride share

It's the little things

When I visit a city, I like to use as many modes of transportation as I can. This helps me get to know a city better, and it’s interesting to compare the differences between cities in terms of how they implement and manage different types of transit, cycling and bike share, walking, and roadways.

I’m currently visiting San Diego, and as I previously covered, they have unfortunately lost most of their bike share system, as well as shared e-scooters. That narrows my choices significantly, but I’ve been exploring their transit system to get to and from various destinations. As with most smaller cities, there is no subway, but there is an LRT system which they adorably call trollies.

One destination I have been to several times is squash club about 5.5 miles away. By LRT, this involves either a 20-minute walk then a 20-minute LRT ride, or a very short walk, a short LRT ride, and the same 20-minute LRT ride. Both options take about 40 minutes, so an hour to add buffers for waiting. By Uber, it is 12-15 minutes depending on traffic. The LRT is $2.50 each way, while the Uber is about $20 each way. Big difference in duration and cost.

While duration and cost are significant factors in mode choice, there are others. Ride share is door-to-door, so eliminates any interaction with the public space or others along the route. This could be a pro or a con depending on what that public space looks like. In this example, it does not look great. There is a lot of debris, graffiti, and a general lack of pedestrian friendliness. Like many American cities with always-warm weather, there are also quite a few homeless people roaming the streets and on the trollies. All of this results in a not-great experience while walking and on transit.

This is a good example of how improving transportation requires systems thinking. The whole thing won’t improve unless you consider all the interralted factors that go into mode choice. Addressing cleanliness is always a good start, and addressing the underlying causes of homelessness is important but also complex and long-term. Reliability and frequency of transit helps too.

Some people will default to choosing ride share in this situation, despite the cost, because it doesn’t require any planning and is consistent and quick. Others will default to transit because that’s what they can afford. But there are a good number of folks whose mode choice may be swayed by some of the other factors beyond cost and duration. If the experience along the way is pleasant and enjoyable, transit becomes much more appealing.