Ride for SMILIES bike stations have been deployed in areas of Fort Smith.
A civil engineering researcher and community partners have deployed stations equipped with regular and electric bikes in low-income Fort Smith neighborhoods where 65% of residents don’t have a vehicle or access to reliable public transportation.
More than 70% of residents told researchers they were interested in using these so-called “shared micromobility services” when they were surveyed for the study, which is funded
by more than $1 million in National Science Foundation grants.
The study has many practical implications, said principal investigator Suman Mitra, an assistant professor of civil engineering. It will help determine strategies and policies to guide local governments, and community and business leaders, in establishing micromobility services in cities like Fort Smith. It’s also likely to improve access to jobs and essential services like health care in neighborhoods where per
capita annual income is $20,256, well below the national average.
“This project provides me an opportunity to do something that I always want to do as a transportation researcher — work directly with the community to solve a real-world problem that can improve the livelihood of the local community as well as advance scientific knowledge,” Mitra said.
Two community partners involved in the project are the Frontier Metropolitan Planning Organization and the city of Fort Smith.
Reese Brewer, director of Frontier MPO and co-principal investigator of the project, said it’s an honor to be part of the study.
“By shining a spotlight on the difficulties to connect low-income citizens to shared micromobility services, we can then begin to address longstanding transportation inequities and injustices,” Brewer said. “To be part of transformative ideas and change is immensely rewarding, especially when the project can positively impact diverse and often neglected neighborhoods.”
A $50,000 planning grant preceded the National Science Foundation’s decision to give a $1 million implementation grant for the study, “SMILIES: A community-based framework to develop Shared Micromobility for affordable-accessible housing.”
Bicycles provided through the project will be free for a time before researchers test three pricing and incentive strategies. The pricing scheme found to produce the most balanced profitability and affordability will be presented to the community in workshops to solicit final input on its potential for long-term implementation.
“Our plan is to develop a sustainable revenue model so that the city can continue the service after the pilot,” Mitra said.
In addition to Mitra and Brewer, other co-principle investigators for the project are: Sarah Hernandez, associate professor of civil engineering; Rogelio Garcia Contreras, director of the Social Innovation Program in the Walton College of Business; and Elizabeth McClain, chief wellness officer at Arkansas Colleges of Health Education.