Do transportation network companies increase or decrease transit ridership? Empirical evidence from San Francisco

Transportation network companies (TNCs), such as Uber and Lyft, have been hypothesized to both complement and compete with public transit. Existing research on the topic is limited by a lack of detailed data on the timing and location of TNC trips. This study overcomes that limitation by using data...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Transportation (Dordrecht) 2022-04, Vol.49 (2), p.313-342
Main Authors: Erhardt, Gregory D., Mucci, Richard Alexander, Cooper, Drew, Sana, Bhargava, Chen, Mei, Castiglione, Joe
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Economic Geography
Economics
Economics and Finance
Engineering Economics
Innovation/Technology Management
Interfaces
Light effects
Light rail transportation
Logistics
Marketing
Organization
Panel data
Population growth
Public transportation
Regional/Spatial Science
Ridership
Statistical analysis
Transportation networks
Transportation planning
Transportation systems
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Transportation network companies (TNCs), such as Uber and Lyft, have been hypothesized to both complement and compete with public transit. Existing research on the topic is limited by a lack of detailed data on the timing and location of TNC trips. This study overcomes that limitation by using data scraped from the Application Programming Interfaces of two TNCs, combined with Automated Passenger Count data on transit use and other supporting data. Using a panel data model of the change in bus ridership in San Francisco between 2010 and 2015, and confirming the result with a separate time-series model, we find that TNCs are responsible for a net ridership decline of about 10%, offsetting net gains from other factors such as service increases and population growth. We do not find a statistically significant effect on light rail ridership. Cities and transit agencies should recognize the transit-competitive nature of TNCs as they plan, regulate and operate their transportation systems.
ISSN:0049-4488
1572-9435
DOI:10.1007/s11116-021-10178-4