Human factors and requirements for a successful mobile platform dynamic taxi-share system in the USA

Taxi sharing services are increasingly becoming important to meet rising accessibility needs and maintain stable income-earning societies with rising social capital [1]. Mobile platforms for taxi sharing are currently in development both commercially and within academic institutions. The success of these platforms relies not only on robust algorithms but also on appropriate consideration of human factors relating to system users. What safety, gender, monetary and time factors will affect both taxi drivers and passengers in a taxi share system? Specifically, safety factors are highly important to the success of taxi share systems. This paper presents results from a survey of one user population about potential ride share risk areas. Results from this survey both support and complicate previous findings regarding common group membership and optimal passenger count. Additionally, it was concluded that high gender diversity is desirable to taxi share participants.