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Can sharing a ride make for less traffic? Evidence from Uber and Lyft and implications for cities

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  • Schaller, Bruce

Abstract

The popularity of Uber and Lyft and advances in autonomous vehicle technology have spurred public interest in the potential of shared ride services to reduce traffic congestion, vehicle emissions and space devoted to parking. However, research has shown that long waiting times, circuitous routes and privacy concerns might lead most patrons to choose exclusive-ride services over shared services (ride-hail or autonomous), thus increasing rather than decreasing vehicle mileage.

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  • Schaller, Bruce, 2021. "Can sharing a ride make for less traffic? Evidence from Uber and Lyft and implications for cities," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 1-10.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:102:y:2021:i:c:p:1-10
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2020.12.015
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    5. Saxena, Aditya & Gupta, Vallary, 2023. "Carpooling: Who is closest to adopting it? An investigation into the potential car-poolers among private vehicle users: A case of a developing country, India," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 11-20.
    6. Wenyuan Zhou & Xuanrong Li & Zhenguo Shi & Bingjie Yang & Dongxu Chen, 2023. "Impact of Carpooling under Mobile Internet on Travel Mode Choices and Urban Traffic Volume: The Case of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-15, April.
    7. Ong, Felita & Loa, Patrick & Nurul Habib, Khandker, 2024. "Ride-sourcing demand in Metro Vancouver: Looking through the lens of disability," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
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    9. Jason Soria & Shelly Etzioni & Yoram Shiftan & Amanda Stathopoulos & Eran Ben-Elia, 2022. "Microtransit adoption in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from a choice experiment with transit and car commuters," Papers 2204.01974, arXiv.org.
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    11. Paolo Delle Site & André de Palma & Samarth Ghoslya, 2021. "Social optimality and stability of matchings in peer-to-peer ridesharing," THEMA Working Papers 2021-17, THEMA (THéorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications), Université de Cergy-Pontoise.
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    17. Steven E. Shladover, 2022. "Opportunities, Challenges, and Uncertainties in Urban Road Transport Automation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-19, February.
    18. André de Palma & Lucas Javaudin & Patrick Stokkink & Léandre Tarpin-Pitre, 2021. "Modelling Ridesharing in a Large Network with Dynamic Congestion," THEMA Working Papers 2021-16, THEMA (THéorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications), Université de Cergy-Pontoise.
    19. Loa, Patrick & Hossain, Sanjana & Liu, Yicong & Nurul Habib, Khandker, 2022. "How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the use of ride-sourcing services? An empirical evidence-based investigation for the Greater Toronto Area," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 46-62.
    20. Zhang, Kenan & Nie, Yu (Marco), 2022. "Mitigating traffic congestion induced by transportation network companies: A policy analysis," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 96-118.

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