The emergence of new mobility models is justified by the new possibilities that the information and communication technologies currently offer for vehicles and also for user and operations in network, providing accessand fast connectivity between vehicles and smartphones via applications (Lenz, Barbara & Fraedrich, 2016). In this context, is highlighted the shared transport system among unknown users, which provides several benefits for urban traffic, for the environment and especially for the user who can enjoy quality services at lower costs. These new door-to-door sharing models allow passenger pick up and drop off locations to be specified, which is advantageous over other transport modes (d’Oreu & Ferrira, 2014). Among these urban mobility services, is worth highligting the shared mobility services called Ridesharing with allows users who do not know each other to be in the same vehicle, according to the routes similarities.
According to Amirkiaee and Evangeloupoulos (2018), Uberpool is considered a type of Ridesharing, being a new service that enables matches of rides for users that are moving in similar directions. Currently, the company provides this service in several cities in the world. The service divides opinions, Soprana (2016) mentions the experiences being both positive and negative by users during ridesharing with people with the different characteristics and diverse tastes such as political positioning, sexual orientation, gender, among others. These new technologies usages, as well as users’ perception regarding these sharing systems, may vary according to the generational cohorts, which can be differentiated and classified by the experienced historical contexts. In this sense we have Baby Boomers born between the 40s and 50s in a postwar context. The generation born between the 60s and 70s, called generation X, was influenced by the political transition environment. On the other hand, the Millennials (Generation Y from 1980 to 1994) fit into the context of globalization and the beginning of the internet era. Finally, generation Z represents the digital natives (1995 to 2010). Thus, different profiles related to the categorizations of these generations will imply differences in behavior, values, choices, openness and receptivity for innovations, characterizing themselves as decisive factors in the adoption and acceptance of mobility models (Kojikocko, Lancaster & Stillman, 2002; Kuron, Lyons, Schwitzer & Ng, 2015).
Considering the above, the following questions emerged as guiding issues of this study: How do the profiles of each generation behave with the evolution of these new models of mobility? What impacts can preferences have on shared mobility services? Finally, are there distinctions among generational cohorts regarding the preference for using Ridesharing services?
Thus, this work aims to describe how preferences the uses of Ridesharing services are related to global generations (also known as Generational Cohorts).
This can be justified by the need to optimize the offered service and, consequently, its quality, which affects the perception of shared mobility users. Several works address the relationship among the behavior of generations in face of products and services (Ordun, 2015; Parment, 2013; Gurãu, 2012). According to Parment (2013), the behavior of buying cars is segmented by generations, understanding such motivations helps in the construction of relationships with customers, as environmental events occurring during maturity.
This article is structured in 4 sections besides this introduction. In item 02 the main theories needed to reach the objectives of this paper are discussed. In item 03 the methodological paths are described. Already in item 04 the main results, analyzes and discussions are discussed. Finally, item 6 presents the final considerations as well as main limitations, gaps and suggestions for future research.