  Despite the promising benefits that ride-sharing offers, there has been a
lack of research on the benefits of high-capacity ride-sharing services. Prior
research has also overlooked the relationship between traffic volume and the
degree of traffic congestion and emissions. To address these gaps, this study
develops an open-source agent-based simulation platform and a heuristic
algorithm to quantify the benefits of high-capacity ride-sharing with
significantly lower computational costs. The simulation platform integrates a
traffic emission model and a speed-density traffic flow model to characterize
the interactions between traffic congestion levels and emissions. The
experiment results demonstrate that ride-sharing with vehicle capacities of 2,
4, and 6 passengers can alleviate total traffic congestion by approximately 3%,
4%, and 5%, and reduce traffic emissions of a ride-sourcing system by
approximately 30%, 45%, and 50%, respectively. This study can guide
transportation network companies in designing and managing more efficient and
environment-friendly mobility systems.
