Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0002-1322-9720

Semester

Summer

Date of Graduation

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Department

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Committee Chair

Kakan Dey

Committee Member

Dimitra Pyrialakou

Committee Member

Yoojung Yoon

Abstract

Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) are emerging as a promising mobility solution to address growing transportation demands, particularly unmet traffic demand in rural areas where conventional transit systems often fall short. Rural areas face unique mobility challenges due to dispersed populations, limited infrastructure, and low/no transit coverage. Existing transit services tend to concentrate around dense urban cores, leaving low-demand areas outside underserved. This spatial undercoverage leads to significant mobility gaps for rural residents. This study examines the potential of AV-based ride-sharing services to address these mobility needs by providing flexible, demand-responsive mobility services where fixed-route transit services are either economically or operationally unfeasible. To evaluate this potential, we modeled a multimodal transportation system that integrates AV-based mobility service with the existing fixed-route transit network in a rural setting. Using a traffic simulation tool and a multi-objective optimization framework, we evaluated the performance of AV-based ride-sharing services across various travel demand scenarios, AV fleet sizes, and service-priority schemes, with current transit services. The AV-based ride-sharing service optimization aimed to minimize both travel time and passenger trip request rejection. A passenger prioritization mechanism was introduced, which ranked ride requests based on the current zonal transit accessibility to ensure that AV-based mobility services were directed toward passengers with the fewest or no other mobility alternatives. Results demonstrated that 100% of the trips in transit-unserved areas (known as the Transit Desert) in Monongalia County, West Virginia, can be served during peak hours with a fleet of 583 AVs. Even with significantly smaller AV fleets (10 or 20 vehicles), 0.27%–0.54% of total peak hour demand could be served. These findings highlight the value of integrating AV-based mobility services with existing transit systems to extend service coverage and improve accessibility, particularly in areas currently unserved by transit.

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