Dynamic Ride Sharing for Optimizing Shared Transportation

Abstract

The rapid expansion of urban centers has precipitated a crisis in modern transportation, characterized by debilitating traffic congestion, a surge in greenhouse gas emissions, and the economic inefficiency of single-occupancy vehicles. While traditional public transit provides a backbone for movement, it often suffers from the \"last-mile\" problem, leaving a gap between transit hubs and final destinations. This project presents the design and implementation of a Dynamic Ride-Sharing System (DRSS), a high-performance computational framework designed to facilitate real-time, peer-to-peer transportation. Unlike static carpooling systems that require advanced scheduling, this system leverages mobile ubiquity and geospatial data to match drivers and riders on the fly. The core of the research focuses on the \"Dynamic Pick-up and Delivery Problem\" (DPDP), where the system must balance the conflicting goals of minimizing total vehicle travel distance while maximizing passenger convenience and minimizing passenger convenience and minimizing wait times.

Introduction

The text explains the need for a carpooling system as a solution to problems caused by the rapid increase in automobile usage, such as traffic congestion, rising fuel costs, and environmental pollution. While alternatives like public transport, cycling, and non-conventional fuels help reduce these issues, they have limitations such as poor infrastructure, inconvenience, high cost, and impracticality for long distances. To address these challenges, the proposed system introduces a dynamic carpooling platform that offers private-car-like flexibility while reducing the number of vehicles on the road.

The system leverages social media (Facebook) integration and an Android-based mobile application to enable users to create and join carpools dynamically using geolocation services. It also includes privacy controls, allowing users to decide who can view their ride offers or requests. A reputation system with ratings and reward points is introduced to build trust between users and encourage reliable participation.

The literature review highlights existing ride-sharing technologies such as real-time matching, GPS navigation, and payment systems, but notes that most lack full integration of services like booking, communication, and payments in one platform.

The proposed system architecture includes a frontend user interface, backend server, ride-matching services, payment processing, and a database. Key components include user authentication, ride services, booking management, notifications, and external APIs for location and payments. Sequence and class diagrams describe how users interact with the system and how components work together to handle ride requests, bookings, and transactions.

Overall, the system aims to provide a unified, efficient, and socially connected carpooling platform that improves transportation convenience while reducing cost, traffic, and environmental impact.

Conclusion

The Dynamic Ride Sharing System successfully demonstrates an efficient and reliable solution for modern transportation challenges such as traffic congestion, fuel consumption, and environmental pollution. By enabling users to share rides dynamically, the system improves vehicle utilization and reduces travel costs while providing a convenient and flexible transportation option. The system highlights the practical application of modern web technologies and real-time data processing in solving real-world transportation problems. Its modular architecture allows easy integration of additional features and supports scalability to handle a growing number of users. The use of secure database management and user-friendly interfaces ensures smooth operation and reliable performance. Overall, the Dynamic Ride Sharing System is scalable, efficient, and user-friendly, making it suitable for real-world deployment in urban environments. It promotes shared mobility, reduces traffic congestion, and supports sustainable transportation, contributing to the development of smarter and more connected cities.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2026 Sandhya K, Pranitha V, Ravi V, Joshuva S, Asha P. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.