Ride-sharing transaction reaching factors’ impact on the performance of ride-hailing system

Ride-sharing is widely regarded as an effective means to improve urban traffic efficiency, reduce the number of vehicles, and alleviate traffic congestion. However, the reaching of a ride-sharing transaction depends on the joint decision-making of passengers and ride-hailing platforms: passengers must be willing to share, which is often influenced by waiting times, described here as the willingness dependent tolerance (WDT) mechanism; the platform determines ride-sharing matching through regulating route similarity strategies. To explore how the interaction mechanisms between the two parties affect ride-sharing operations and thereby the efficiency and resilience of ride-hailing systems, this paper employs queuing theory and multi-agent approaches to build models for extensive analysis, and verifies these with actual data from Beijing. The results show that the WDT mechanism can adaptively adjust passenger choices and system operating modes in response to supply and demand changes, maintaining high efficiency and resilience of ride-sharing services during supply shortages. However, there exists a competitive equilibrium point between platform regulation and the WDT mechanism, where adjusting the route similarity standard before and after this point affects the adaptability of the WDT mechanism differently. Based on these findings, recommendations are made from the perspectives of platform operation and government management, aiming to seize the optimal moments to encourage ride-sharing, balance individual comfort with overall system performance, and optimize platform regulation effectiveness.