Cost and viability estimation of shared mobility services

Abstract

The regulation of novel shared mobility services including their meaningful integration into existing transport systems is widely discussed. While knowledge about the demand side is growing steadily, there is a gap in knowledge regarding the services' supply side, such as their true cost and revenue structures. Therefore, our work presents an extensive cost analysis that captures five different shared mobility operating types: free-floating and station-based car sharing, on-demand ride-pooling, hybrid bike sharing, and shared e-scooters. We aim to provide insights into the services' cost components their magnitudes and resulting viability. To achieve this, we first collect cost information based on an extensive literature review and guideline-based expert interviews. Second, cost components and their cost-generating activities are extracted for subsequent cost modelling. Finally, by adding empirical cost, revenue, and utilisation data, we model operating type-specific costs and viability. Our results indicate that the total costs per passenger kilometre are heavily dependent on the exact operating type. However, in relative terms operations-related costs and vehicle leasing account for more than 50 % of the total costs per passenger kilometre in all services. When comparing the relative shares of the operations-related costs, three different cost structures stand out. First, in both car sharing models, more than half of the operations-related costs originate from cleaning and parking activities. Second, in shared e-scooters and bike sharing, the expenses for field agents and mechanics dominate the operations-related costs. Third, in ride pooling, the operations-related costs are dominated by driver salaries. When estimating the viability almost all services indicate questionable profitability. Since we find a low share of variable costs to be present in all services, we conclude increased vehicle utilisation to be crucial for shared mobility's path to profitability.