Has Uber Made it Easier to Get a Ride in the Rain?

30 Pages Posted: 20 Jun 2016

See all articles by Abel Brodeur

Abel Brodeur

IZA Institute of Labor Economics; University of Ottawa - Department of Economics

Kerry Nield

Carleton University

Abstract

In New York City (NYC), it has been a common complaint that it is difficult to find a taxi in the rain. Using all Uber rides in NYC from April to September 2014 and January to June 2015, we show that the number of Uber rides is significantly correlated with whether it rained. The number of Uber rides per hour is about 25 percent higher when it is raining, suggesting that surge pricing encourages an increase in supply. During the same time period, the number of taxi rides per hour increases by only 4 percent in rainy hours.We then show that the number of taxi rides per hour decreased by approximately 8 percent after Uber entered the New York market in May 2011, confirming that Uber is depressing taxi demand. Last, we test whether the total (Uber plus taxi) number of rides in rainy hours increased since May 2011. Our estimates suggest that the total number of rides increased by approximately 9 percent since Uber entered the market and that it is relatively easier to get a ride in rainy than in non-rainy hours in post-Uber years.

Keywords: rain, Uber, taxi, dynamic pricing

JEL Classification: D01, D03, L92, J22

Suggested Citation

Brodeur, Abel and Brodeur, Abel and Nield, Kerry, Has Uber Made it Easier to Get a Ride in the Rain?. IZA Discussion Paper No. 9986, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2797557 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2797557

Abel Brodeur (Contact Author)

IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

University of Ottawa - Department of Economics ( email )

200 Wilbrod Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5
Canada

HOME PAGE: http://https://sites.google.com/site/abelbrodeur/

Kerry Nield

Carleton University

1125 colonel By Drive
Ottawa, K1S 5B6
Canada

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