Project
description
The EasyConnect field test was introduced at the Pleasant
Hill Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) District stations to evaluate the
effectiveness of shared-use low-speed modes vehicles service at bridging the
“last mile” from a transit station to the workplace. EasyConnect enabled
businesses within a four mile radius of the Pleasant Hill BART station to rent
shared-use bicycles, electric bicycles, and SegwayÒ Human Transporters (HTs)
for their employees to use for commute and day-time travel. Instead of driving
all the way to work, participants were able to take transit and carpool and
thus potentially saving fuel, reducing emissions and congestion, and lessening
demand for limited parking in the area. Each morning, employees would check out
a bicycle or HT from an electronic locker at the Pleasant Hill BART station and
then ride to work along the scenic Iron-Horse Trail, for instance. Units were
also available for rental from nearby offices as well for off-site meetings,
errands, or lunch appointments. At the end of the day, employees could ride the
bicycles or HTs back to the station, where they were stored and recharged in
electronic lockers.
The EasyConnect field trial is a partnership of the
University of California, Berkeley; the California Department of
Transportation; the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District; the
Metropolitan Transportation Commission; the Bay Area
Quality Management District, the Contra Costa Centre, Contra Costa County, 511
Contra Costa, Segway, Inc., and Giant Bicycles.
The
Pleasant Hill BART station was chosen as the base for the project because of
its proximity to Contra Costa Centre, a well-planned business and residential
development. The Centre is also the future site of a "transit
village," currently under construction, that is designed to facilitate
occupants' use of public transit.
Approximately
15 companies and more than 34 employees signed up to participate in the project.
Businesses paid $150 per vehicle per month, which allowed their employees to
use the HTs and bikes for free, after taking a short training course. Segway, Inc.
has loaned the program 10 of its unique self-balancing, electric vehicles
called Human Transporters or HTs, and Giant Bicycle, Inc. has loaned 10
bicycles to the program: five electric and five standard models.
The
next phase of EasyConnect will be to combine the project at the Pleasant Hill
BART station with other successful transportation technologies, such as the
smart parking reservation services, real-time freeway and transit information
signage, carsharing (short-term auto use), and power supplied by a hydrogen
fuel cell to support a small electric vehicle and Segway HTs.
Please read our full description of the Low-Speed
Modes Linked to Transit Research Project.
[ Download/View EasyConnect Full Description Here ]
Also, EasyConnect II: Integrating Transportation,
Information, and Energy Technologies at the
Learn More
Segway HT Press Releases
http://www.segway.com/aboutus/press_releases/pr_081402.html
http://www.segway.com/aboutus/press_releases/pr_061206.html
Contra Costa Centre Transit Village
Please see our EasyConnect report: