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Uber and urban crime

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  • Weber, Bryan S.

Abstract

This paper investigates the association of Uber, a substantial transportation innovation, with crime counts in urban areas that have accepted the program. I find the introduction of Uber to be associated with a large and significant reduction of personal crimes by 5% in treated cities (about 43 personal crimes a month, roughly 41 assaults), and discuss several mechanisms through which Uber may be enacting this change. The detailed data set allows us to identify that this crime reduction is equally significant on the weekends, when Uber is expected to deliver the most rides to and from bars. Furthermore, the significant personal crime reduction is almost entirely composed of assaults, which are known to typically be alcohol-related, while no significant reduction occurs in the plausibly irrelevant crimes against property, society, or other personal crimes. These estimates suggests that such ride-sharing programs may have positive effects toward crime reduction that otherwise may not inherently be taken into account by policy makers.

Suggested Citation

  • Weber, Bryan S., 2019. "Uber and urban crime," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 496-506.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:130:y:2019:i:c:p:496-506
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2019.09.044
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    1. Vania Ceccato & Nathan Gaudelet & Gabin Graf, 2022. "Crime and safety in transit environments: a systematic review of the English and the French literature, 1970–2020," Public Transport, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 105-153, March.
    2. Shaheen, Susan & Darling, Wesley & Broader, Jacquelyn & Cohen, Adam, 2021. "Understanding Curb Management and Targeted Incentive Policies to Increase Transportation Network Company Pooling and Public Transit Linkages," Institute of Transportation Studies, Research Reports, Working Papers, Proceedings qt6gz9w0v9, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley.
    3. Danlin Yu & Chuanglin Fang, 2022. "How Neighborhood Characteristics Influence Neighborhood Crimes: A Bayesian Hierarchical Spatial Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-16, September.
    4. Jiyong Park & Min-Seok Pang & Junetae Kim & Byungtae Lee, 2021. "The Deterrent Effect of Ride-Sharing on Sexual Assault and Investigation of Situational Contingencies," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 32(2), pages 497-516, June.

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