Nick Caros

New-York University

March 11, 2019, 11:15, Room GC B1 10 (click here for the map)

Dynamic Operations of a Mobility Service with En-Route Transfers

Emerging automotive technology is creating opportunities for more flexible ride-sharing services with shorter travel times and increased operational efficiency. A modular autonomous mobility service with the ability to transfer passengers between vehicles allows for new ride-matching and routing algorithms that reduce passenger disutility and operating cost. Our research, in partnership with NEXT Future Transportation, develops an insertion heuristic to assign trips to a fleet of modular autonomous vehicles and determine whether to engage in an en-route passenger transfer. The effectiveness of this algorithm is tested using a multi-day simulation with variable demand and an endogenous operator profit maximization algorithm. The simulation is tested using transit ridership data from the Dubai region in three scenarios: door-to-door service within an urban core, commuter first/last mile service and long-distance commuter service.

Bio

Nick Caros recently completed an M.S. in Transportation Planning and Engineering at New York University. During his studies he worked as a Research Assistant at the federally-funded C2SMART Tier 1 University Research Center, conducting research into simulation of flexible mobility services and network optimization in an autonomous vehicle environment. He holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Integrated Engineering from the University of British Columbia and is currently working as a Transportation Planner for Stantec in New York City.