Ridehailing Service
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

A ridesharing company (or ridehailing service) is a company (or service offered by a company) that, via websites and
mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a smartphone, phone, tablet computer, tablet, or smartwatch, watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop appli ...
s, matches passengers with drivers of
vehicles for hire A vehicle for hire is a vehicle providing private transport or shared transport for a fee, in which passengers are generally free to choose their points or approximate points of origin and destination, unlike public transport, and which they ...
that, unlike
taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...
s, cannot legally be hailed from the street. The vehicles used in ridesharing/ridehailing service are called app-taxis or e-taxis. Ridesharing companies were founded beginning in the 2010s, after the proliferation of the Internet and mobile apps. In the 2020s, a few companies began offering rides in self-driving taxis. The
legality of ridesharing companies by jurisdiction The legality of ridesharing companies by jurisdiction varies; in some areas they are considered to be illegal taxi operations, while in other areas, they are subject to regulations that can include requirements for driver background checks, far ...
varies; in some areas they are considered to be
illegal taxi operation Illegal taxicabs, sometimes known as pirate taxis, gypsy cabs, or jitney cabs, are taxis and other vehicles for hire that operate illegally because they do not have proper licenses, permits, registrations, and accreditations, safety inspections, ve ...
s, while in other areas, they are subject to regulations that can include requirements for driver
background check A background check is a process used by an organisation or person to verify that an individual is who they claim to be, and check their past record to confirm education, employment history, and other activities, and for a criminal record. The fr ...
s, fares, caps on the number of drivers in an area, insurance, licensing, and
minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. List of countries by minimum wage, Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation b ...
. Studies have shown that ridesharing companies have created net jobs and improved the efficiency of drivers of
vehicles for hire A vehicle for hire is a vehicle providing private transport or shared transport for a fee, in which passengers are generally free to choose their points or approximate points of origin and destination, unlike public transport, and which they ...
due to advanced algorithms that pair riders with drivers. They have been subject to perennial criticism for seeking to classify drivers as
independent contractor Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any oth ...
s, enabling them to withhold worker protections that they would have been required to provide to employees. Studies have shown that especially in cities where it competes with
public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...
, ridesharing contributes to
traffic congestion Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s, resulting in m ...
, reduces public transport use, has no substantial impact on vehicle ownership, and increases
automobile dependency Car dependency is a pattern in urban planning that occurs when infrastructure favors automobiles over other modes of transport, such as public transport, bicycles, and walking. Car dependency is associated with higher transport pollution than tr ...
.


Terminology: ridesharing vs. ridehailing

Although the term "ridesharing" is used by many international news sources, in January 2015, the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
Stylebook, the authority that sets many of the news industry's grammar and word use standards, officially adopted the term "ride-hailing" to describe the services offered by these companies, claiming that "ridesharing" doesn't accurately describe the services since not all rides are shared, and "ride-sourcing" only is accurate when drivers provide rides for income. While the Associated Press recommended the use of "ride-hailing" as a term, it noted that, unlike
taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...
s, ridesharing companies cannot pick up street hails. The term "ride-sharing" has also been defined to refer to on-demand
carpooling Carpooling is the sharing of car A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather ...
or
shared transport Shared transport or shared mobility is a transportation system where travelers share a vehicle either simultaneously as a group (e.g. ride-sharing) or over time (e.g. carsharing or bike sharing) as personal rental, and in the process share the c ...
, whereas "ride-hailing" has been defined as the hiring of a private driver for personal transportation.


History

Carpooling was popular in the mid-1970s due to the
1973 oil crisis In October 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) announced that it was implementing a total oil embargo against countries that had supported Israel at any point during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which began after Eg ...
and the
1979 energy crisis A drop in oil production in the wake of the Iranian revolution led to an energy crisis in 1979. Although the global oil supply only decreased by approximately four percent, the oil markets' reaction raised the price of crude oil drastically ...
. The first employee carpools/vanpools were organized then at
Chrysler FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...
and 3M. In the 1990s, carpooling was popular among college students, where campuses have limited parking space. The feasibility of further development of carpooling was investigated although the comprehensive technologies were not commercially available yet at the time. Ridesharing programs began migrating to the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
in the late 1990s. A 2006 report by the
Federal Transit Administration The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administration ...
stated that "next day" responsiveness has been achieved but that "dynamic" ridematching has not yet been successfully implemented. In 2009,
Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. is an American multinational transportation company that provides Ridesharing company, ride-hailing services, courier services, food delivery, and freight transport. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California, a ...
was founded as Ubercab by
Garrett Camp Garrett Camp (born October 4, 1978) is a Canadian-French businessman, investor, and software engineer. He helped build the search engine StumbleUpon and is a co-founder of Uber. He lives in Los Angeles. Early life and education Camp was born ...
, a computer programmer and the co-founder of
StumbleUpon StumbleUpon was a website, browser extension, toolbar, and mobile app with a "Stumble!" button that, when pushed, opened a semi-random website or video that matched the user's interests, similar to a random web search engine. Users were able to ...
, and
Travis Kalanick Travis Cordell Kalanick (; born August 6, 1976) is an American businessman best known as the co-founder and former chief executive officer (CEO) of Uber. Previously he worked for Scour, a peer-to-peer file sharing application company, and was th ...
, who sold his
Red Swoosh Red Swoosh was a peer-to-peer file sharing company founded by Travis Kalanick and Michael Todd in 2001. It was acquired by Akamai in 2007 for $19 million. History Red Swoosh was founded by Travis Kalanick and Michael Todd in 2001. The company ...
startup for $19 million in 2007. In 2011,
Sidecar A sidecar is a one-wheeled device attached to the side of a motorcycle, Scooter (motorcycle), scooter, or bicycle, making the whole a three-wheeled vehicle. The combination of a motorcycle with a sidecar is sometimes called a ''rig'', ''outfit' ...
launched; its founder Sunil Paul patented the idea of hailing a ride via
mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a smartphone, phone, tablet computer, tablet, or smartwatch, watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop appli ...
in 2002.
Lyft Lyft, Inc. is an American company offering ride-hailing services, motorized scooters, and bicycle-sharing systems in the United States and Canada. Lyft sets fares, which vary using a dynamic pricing model based on local supply and demand a ...
was launched in the summer of 2012 by computer programmers
Logan Green Logan D. Green is the chairman and former CEO of Lyft, which he co-founded with John Zimmer in 2012. Lyft grew out of Zimride, a rideshare company previously founded by the duo in 2007.Chima, ChikodiTicketfly partnership makes music events more ...
and
John Zimmer John Zimmer is the co-founder and former president of Lyft, an on-demand transportation company, which he founded with Logan Green in 2012. In March 2023, Zimmer announced that in June he would step down as Lyft president and become vice-chai ...
as a service of
Zimride Zimride by Enterprise Holdings was an American carpool program that matched inter-city drivers and passengers through social networking services. It was offered to universities and businesses as a matchmaking service.
, an intercity
carpool Carpooling is the sharing of Automobile, car journeys so that more than one person travels in a car, and prevents the need for others to have to drive to a location themselves. Carpooling is considered a Demand-Responsive Transport (DRT) serv ...
ing company they founded in 2007.
Careem Careem is a Dubai-based super-app with operations in over 70 cities, covering 10 countries across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia regions. It offers ride-hailing, bicycle rental, food delivery, grocery delivery, and digital wallets. It ...
began operations in July 2012. Bolt, a mobility company operating in Europe and Africa, was founded in 2013. In 2013,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
became the first state to regulate such companies; they are regulated as
public utilities A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and r ...
by the
California Public Utilities Commission The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC or PUC) is a regulatory agency that regulates privately owned public utilities in the state of California, including electric power, telecommunications, natural gas and water companies. In addition ...
and the legal term used is "Transportation Network Company" (TNC). In the 2020s, a few companies such as
Waymo Waymo LLC, formerly known as the Google Self-Driving Car Project, is an American autonomous driving technology company headquartered in Mountain View, California. It is a subsidiary of Google's parent company (Alphabet Inc., Alphabet Inc). T ...
began offering rides in
robotaxi A robotaxi, also known as robot taxi, robo-taxi, self-driving taxi or driverless taxi, is an autonomous car ( SAE automation level 4 or 5) operated for a ridesharing company. Some studies have hypothesized that robotaxis operated in an autono ...
s. Many pilot cities complained of vehicles blocking normal traffic flow and interfering with emergency services. BlackWolf began in May 2023 in
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
after security contractor Kerry KingBrown heard a woman claim she had been a victim of
sex trafficking Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Perpetrators of the crime are called sex traffickers or pimps—people who manipulate victims to engage in various forms of commercial sex with paying customers. Se ...
. He felt the need to focus on safety, and he created the service with the option of armed drivers. The company's web site says only those with military or law enforcemenmt experience can be hired as drivers, and their vehicles must meet requirements. BlackWolf expanded into cities in
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
,
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
and
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
. By November 2024, over 300,000 were using the service. Expansion into
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
is planned for 2025, because BlackWolf "identified a significant increase in human trafficking" there.


Criticism


Criticism from taxi companies and taxi drivers

Values of
taxi medallion A taxi medallion, also known as a CPNC (Certificate of Public Necessity and Convenience), is a transferable permit allowing a taxicab to operate, particularly in the United States. Several major cities in the US use these in their taxi licensing ...
s, transferable permits or licenses authorizing the holder to pick up passengers for hire, have declined in value significantly. In 2018, this led to
failures Failure is the social concept of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, and is usually viewed as the opposite of success. The criteria for failure depends on context, and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system. One ...
by
credit union A credit union is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit cooperative financial institution. They may offer financial services equivalent to those of commercial banks, such as share accounts (savings accounts), share draft accounts (che ...
s that lent money secured by taxi medallions and suicides by taxi drivers.


Legal cases by taxi companies and taxi drivers

No lawsuit against Uber in which the plaintiffs were taxi companies has ended with a judgment in favor of the taxis. The only case that proceeded to trial, Anoush Cab, Inc. v. Uber Technologies, Inc., No. 19-2001 (1st Cir. 2021), which alleged that Uber caused asset devaluation by competing unfairly, resulted in a full verdict for Uber. Flywheel, the largest operator of taxis in San Francisco, sued Uber in 2016, alleging
antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...
violations and
predatory pricing Predatory pricing, also known as price slashing, is a commercial pricing strategy which involves reducing the retail prices to a level lower than competitors to eliminate competition. Selling at lower prices than a competitor is known as underc ...
. In 2021, a federal judge threw out the bulk of the case and Uber settled the remainder of the case by integrating Flywheel taxis into its mobile app. In 2019, 8,000 taxi drivers, represented by law firm Maurice Blackburn, filed a
class action A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage Robot''), a 2002 e ...
lawsuit against Uber in Australia alleging
illegal taxi operation Illegal taxicabs, sometimes known as pirate taxis, gypsy cabs, or jitney cabs, are taxis and other vehicles for hire that operate illegally because they do not have proper licenses, permits, registrations, and accreditations, safety inspections, ve ...
s, loss of income and loss of value of taxi and/or hire car licences. Uber agreed to settle the case by paying AU$271.8 million.


Legal cases by drivers


Driver classification under employment law

Unless otherwise required by law, ridesharing companies have classified drivers as
independent contractor Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any oth ...
s and not employees under
employment law Labour laws (also spelled as labor laws), labour code or employment laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship be ...
, arguing that they receive
flextime Flextime, also spelled flex-time or flexitime ( BE), is a flexible hours schedule that allows workers to alter their workday and adjust their start and finish times. In contrast to traditional work arrangements that require employees to work a sta ...
not generally received by employees. This classification has been challenged legally since it affects taxation,
minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. List of countries by minimum wage, Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation b ...
requirements,
working time Working time or laboring time is the period of time that a person spends at paid Wage labour, labor. Unpaid work, Unpaid labor such as personal housework or caring for children or pets is not considered part of the working week. Many countri ...
,
paid time off Paid time off, planned time off, or personal time off (PTO), is a policy in some employee handbooks that provides a bank of hours in which the employer pools sick days, vacation days, and personal days that allows employees to use as the need or ...
,
employee benefits Employee benefits and benefits in kind (especially in British English), also called fringe benefits, perquisites, or perks, include various types of non-wage compensation provided to an employee by an employer in addition to their normal wage o ...
,
unemployment benefits Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work d ...
, and
overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...
benefits. Jurisdictions in which drivers must receive the classification of "employees" include the United Kingdom (after the case of '' Aslam v Uber BV'' which was decided by the
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC) is the final court of appeal for all civil cases in the United Kingdom and all criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as some limited criminal cases ...
),
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
,
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
, and the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
.
California Assembly Bill 5 (2019) California Assembly Bill 5 or AB 5 is a state statute that expands a landmark Supreme Court of California case from 2018, '' Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court'' ("Dynamex"). In that case, the court held that most wage-earning work ...
was passed to force drivers to be classified as employees in
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, although ridesharing companies received an exemption by
2020 California Proposition 22 Proposition 22 was a ballot Popular initiative, initiative in California that became law after the 2020 California elections, November 2020 state election, passing with 59% of the vote and granting app-based transportation and delivery companies ...
, a ballot
initiative Popular initiative A popular initiative (also citizens' initiative) is a form of direct democracy by which a petition meeting certain hurdles can force a legal procedure on a proposition. In direct initiative, the proposition is put direct ...
. Ridesharing companies spent tens of millions of dollars on the campaign. In some jurisdictions, laws were passed to guarantee drivers a minimum wage before and after expenses as well as paid time off and insurance benefits. Uber has paid to settle accusations of having misled drivers about potential earnings and shortchanging drivers.


Price fixing allegations

In the United States, drivers do not have any control over the fares they charge. A lawsuit filed in California, Gill et al. v. Uber Technologies, Inc. et al., alleged that this is a violation of the
Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 (, ) is a United States antitrust law which prescribes the rule of free competition among those engaged in commerce and consequently prohibits unfair monopolies. It was passed by Congress and is named for S ...
. The lawsuit was denied
class action A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage Robot''), a 2002 e ...
status; a judge forced each plaintiff to go to
arbitration Arbitration is a formal method of dispute resolution involving a third party neutral who makes a binding decision. The third party neutral (the 'arbitrator', 'arbiter' or 'arbitral tribunal') renders the decision in the form of an 'arbitrati ...
individually. The case was dropped in March 2024.


Safety issues

Crimes have been committed by rideshare drivers as well as by individuals posing as rideshare drivers who lure unsuspecting passengers to their vehicles by placing an emblem on their car or by claiming to be a passenger's expected driver. The latter led to the murder of Samantha Josephson and the introduction of Sami’s Law. Ridesharing companies have been accused of not taking necessary measures to prevent sexual assault. They have been fined by government agencies for violations in their background check processes. Ridesharing has also been criticized for encouraging or requiring phone use while driving. To accept a fare, some apps require drivers to tap their phone screen, usually within 15 seconds after receiving a notification, which is illegal in some jurisdictions since it could result in
distracted driving Distracted driving is the act of driving while engaging in other activities which distract the driver's attention away from the road. Distractions are shown to compromise the safety of the driver, passengers, pedestrians, and people in other vehic ...
. Ridesharing vehicles in many cities routinely obstruct
bicycle lanes A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. ...
while picking up or dropping off passengers, a practice that endangers cyclists.


Insufficient accessibility

Ridesharing has been criticized for providing inadequate accessibility measures for disabled people, in violation of local laws. In some areas,
vehicle for hire A vehicle for hire is a vehicle providing private transport or shared transport for a fee, in which passengers are generally free to choose their points or approximate points of origin and destination, unlike public transport, and which t ...
companies are required by law to have a certain amount of
wheelchair accessible van A wheelchair-accessible van is a vehicle that has been modified by increasing the interior size of the vehicle and equipping it with a means of wheelchair entry, such as a wheelchair ramp or powered lift. Modifications The general steps manufa ...
s (WAVs) in use. However, most drivers do not own a WAV, making it hard to comply with the laws. While ridesharing companies require drivers to transport service animals, drivers have been criticized for refusal to transport service animals, which, in the United States, is in violation of the
Americans with Disabilities Act The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...
. In 2021, an arbitrator awarded $1.1 million to a visually impaired passenger who travels with a
guide dog Guide dogs (colloquially known in the US as seeing-eye dogs) are assistance dogs trained to lead people who are blind or visually impaired around obstacles. Although dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, they are red–green c ...
because she was denied rides 14 separate times.


Driver bias against passengers in certain demographic groups

Several audit studies of ridehailing companies have been conducted by researchers around the U.S. While these studies do find evidence that ridehailing drivers discriminate against riders on the basis of race (and in one of the studies, alliance with LGBT groups), two of the studies which also examined taxis found suggestive evidence that rates of discrimination by taxi drivers are significantly higher than by ridehailing drivers. The two studies that compare rates of discrimination in ridehailing services to taxis include an audit study set in Los Angeles in 2017 and another in Boston in late 2015 to 2016. In the study set in Los Angeles, the author had participants of different races request rides from Uber, Lyft, and taxis. She found that Black riders were 73% (11 percentage points) more likely to have a taxi driver cancel on them than White riders. On the other hand, she found that Black riders were only 4 percentage points more likely to be cancelled on by an Uber driver than White riders (there was no statistically significant difference in likelihood for Lyft). The Boston study notes that, at least at the time that the study was conducted, Lyft drivers were able to see all information in a rider's profile (including their uploaded photo and name) when reviewing a ride request; on the other hand, Uber drivers were only able to see a rider's name (and not their picture) ''after'' accepting a ride request. Thus, in the Boston study, riders were assigned distinctly "African American sounding names" and "white sounding names" to use when requesting a ride from both Uber and Lyft. Uber's setup of not allowing drivers to see rider's names till after a ride was accepted meant that the authors could quantify rates of discrimination by keeping track of how often riders assigned white sounding names were cancelled on compared to those assigned African American sounding names. In the end, the authors found that the riders assigned African American sounding names were more than twice as likely to get cancelled on as those assigned White sounding names. Despite this large disparity across the two groups, the authors found that there was no statistically significant difference in how long each group had to wait for a driver to arrive. In 2024, a study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University was published that focused on explaining why African American and White riders could experience such different cancellation rates but very similar wait times. Using an agent-based model developed to simulate real Uber and Lyft trips that have occurred in the city of Chicago, they found that the rapid rematching speed of Uber and Lyft drivers after a cancellation drastically reduces the effect of that cancellation on a rider's wait time. However, the paper also found that ridehailing services were not able to overcome the effects of racial residential segregation in Chicago (one of the most racially residentially segregated cities in the country); even when no drivers were cancelling on riders because of their race, the authors found that Black riders were waiting around 50% longer on average than White riders. In addition to the studies discussed in detail above, a 2018 study in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
found that drivers cancelled ride requests from
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
s and
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
and
straight ally A straight ally, heterosexual ally, cisgender ally, or cis ally (often simply called an ally) is a heterosexual and cisgender person who supports equal civil rights, gender equality, and LGBTQ+ social movements. Individuals may meet this designat ...
passengers (indicated by a
rainbow flag A rainbow flag is a multicolored flag consisting of the colors of the rainbow. The designs differ, but many of the colors are based on the seven spectral colors of the visible light spectrum. History In the 18th century, American Revolutionary ...
) more often, but cancelled at the same rate for women and men. The higher cancellation rate for African American passengers was somewhat attenuated at peak times, when financial incentives were higher.


Traffic congestion

Studies have shown that especially in cities where it competes with
public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...
, ridesharing contributes to
traffic congestion Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s, resulting in m ...
, reduces public transport use, has no substantial impact on vehicle ownership, and increases
automobile dependency Car dependency is a pattern in urban planning that occurs when infrastructure favors automobiles over other modes of transport, such as public transport, bicycles, and walking. Car dependency is associated with higher transport pollution than tr ...
.
Dead mileage Dead mileage, dead running, light running, empty cars or deadheading in public transport and empty leg in air charter is when a revenue-gaining vehicle operates without carrying or accepting passengers, such as when coming from a garage to begin ...
specifically causes unnecessary carbon emissions and traffic congestion. A study published in September 2019 found that
taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...
s had lower rider waiting time and vehicle empty driving time, and thus contribute less to congestion and pollution in downtown areas. However, a 2018 report noted that ridesharing complements public transit. A study published in July 2018 found that Uber and Lyft are creating more traffic and congestion. A study published in March 2016 found that in Los Angeles and Seattle the passenger occupancy for Uber services is higher than that of taxi services, and concluded that Uber rides reduce congestion on the premise that they replace taxi rides. Studies citing data from 2010 to 2019 found that Uber rides are made in addition to taxi rides, and replace walking, bike rides, and bus rides, in addition to the Uber vehicles having a low average occupancy rate, all of which increases congestion. A 2021 study found that shifting private vehicle travel to ridehailing services can reduce air pollution costs, on average, but the increased costs from crash risk, congestion, climate change and noise outweigh these benefits. This increase in congestion has led some cities to levy taxes on rides taken with ridesharing companies. Another study shows that the surge factor pricing mechanism used for ridehailing services are informative for predicting taxi bookings as well, and that taxis incorporating this relative price can improve allocative efficiency and demand prediction. A study published in July 2017 indicated that the increase in traffic caused by Uber generates collective costs in lost time in congestion, increased pollution, and increased accident risks that can exceed the economy and revenue generated by the service, indicating that, in certain conditions, Uber might have a
social cost Social cost in neoclassical economics is the sum of the private costs resulting from a transaction and the costs imposed on the consumers as a consequence of being exposed to the transaction for which they are not compensated or charged. In other w ...
that is greater than its benefits.


See also

*
Carpool Carpooling is the sharing of Automobile, car journeys so that more than one person travels in a car, and prevents the need for others to have to drive to a location themselves. Carpooling is considered a Demand-Responsive Transport (DRT) serv ...
*
Carsharing Carsharing or car sharing (AU, NZ, CA, TH, & US) or car clubs (UK) is a model of car rental where people rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour. It differs from traditional car rental in that the owners of the cars are often pri ...
, which allows consumer to access automobiles for self-driven journeys *
Demand-responsive transport Demand-responsive transport (DRT), also known as demand-responsive transit, demand-responsive service,
US National Trans ...
* Flexible carpooling *
Hitchhiking Hitchhiking (also known as thumbing, autostop or hitching) is a means of transportation that is gained by asking individuals, usually strangers, for a ride in their car or other vehicle. The ride is usually, but not always, free. Signaling ...
and slugging, also known as ''casual carpooling'' *
Illegal taxi operation Illegal taxicabs, sometimes known as pirate taxis, gypsy cabs, or jitney cabs, are taxis and other vehicles for hire that operate illegally because they do not have proper licenses, permits, registrations, and accreditations, safety inspections, ve ...
*
Mobility as a service Mobility as a service (MaaS) is a type of service that enables users to plan, book, and pay for multiple types of mobility services through an integrated platform. Transportation services from public and private transportation providers are combi ...
*
Peer-to-peer carsharing Peer-to-peer carsharing (also known as person-to-person carsharing and peer-to-peer car rental) is the process whereby existing car owners make their vehicles available for others to rent for short periods of time. The concept Peer-to-peer carsha ...
, where customers drive themselves in cars rented from individual owners * Rideshare advertising * Ride sharing privacy *
Sharing economy The sharing economy is a socio-economic system whereby consumers share in the creation, production, distribution, trade and consumption of goods, and services. These systems take a variety of forms, often leveraging information technology and the ...
*
Sustainable transport Sustainable transport is transportation sustainability, sustainable in terms of their social and Environmental issue, environmental impacts. Components for evaluating sustainability include the particular vehicles used; the source of energy; and ...
* Spaceflight, Inc. - rocket rideshare service *
Vanpool Vanpools or vanpooling is an element of the transit system that allow groups of people to share the ride similar to a carpool, but on a larger scale with concurrent savings in fuel and vehicle operating costs and thus usually a lower cost to the ...


References

{{Authority control Transport culture