Understanding the Problem

In order to get to the root of the actual issue, it was important to get a good understanding of what travel is like for people in Austin during these large events that come to the city. One of the first exercises I did was making a Process Map to understand all the players involved. Ultimately, when picking a target, I decided to focus on Rideshare Services and Picking up the Rider.

Getting to the Facts

Streetlight Facts

Austin Energy provides streetlight systems within Austin’s city limits. The average streetlight costs around $6K. LED lights are seen as the best option for lighting streetlight systems. LED lights use almost 85% less energy than traditional incandescent lights. On average they save cities $2.55 million per year in energy savings and reduce CO2 by roughly 23,000 tonnes. LED bulbs last for 100,000 hours as opposed to incandescent bulbs last 8,000 hours.

Rideshare Facts

Rideshare services can bring unwanted congestion and traffic to major cities which can often cause headaches for city officials and local commuters. 15% of ride-hailing trips are adding cars to the region’s roadways during the morning or afternoon rush hours. the average ride-hailing trip represents 35 cents of lost fare revenue for local public transportation. When the wrong passenger is picked up, often called “Lyft Jacking”, the confusion can cause even more traffic as passengers and the driver try to figure out the issue.

Traffic Facts

One of the new trends that city planners are researching is called “adaptive signal control”. This describes a system where streets are on an more adaptive timer to reduce clogging, car accidents, and protect pedestrians.