An Empirical Analysis of On-Demand Ride Sharing and Traffic Congestion

Proc. International Conference on Information Systems 2016 (ICIS'16)

24 Pages Posted: 26 Sep 2016

See all articles by Ziru Li

Ziru Li

Arizona State University (ASU) - Thunderbird School of Global Management

Yili Hong

University of Miami Herbert Business School

Zhongju Zhang

Arizona State University, W. P. Carey School of Business

Date Written: September 25, 2016

Abstract

Sharing economy, which leverages information technology to re-distribute unused or underutilized assets to people who are willing to pay for the services, has received tremendous attention in the last few years. Its creative business model has disrupted many traditional industries (e.g., transportation, hotel) by fundamentally changing the mechanism to facilitate the matching of demand with supply in real time. In this research, we investigate how Uber, a peer-to-peer mobile ride-sharing platform, affects traffic congestion in the urban areas of the United States. Combining data from Uber and the Urban Mobility Report, we empirically examine whether and how the entry of Uber car services affect traffic congestion using a difference-in-difference framework. Findings from this research provide evidence on the potential effect of ride sharing services in the transportation industry, contributing to the understanding of the sharing economy and government policy decisions.

Keywords: Uber, sharing economy, ride sharing, platforms, traffic congestion, induced demand, difference in difference

Suggested Citation

Li, Ziru and Hong, Yili and Zhang, Zhongju, An Empirical Analysis of On-Demand Ride Sharing and Traffic Congestion (September 25, 2016). Proc. International Conference on Information Systems 2016 (ICIS'16), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2843301

Ziru Li

Arizona State University (ASU) - Thunderbird School of Global Management ( email )

Phoenix, AZ 85004
United States

Yili Hong (Contact Author)

University of Miami Herbert Business School ( email )

P.O. Box 248126
Florida
Coral Gables, FL 33124
United States

Zhongju Zhang

Arizona State University, W. P. Carey School of Business ( email )

400 E Lemon St
Tempe, AZ AZ 85287
United States

HOME PAGE: http://wpcarey.asu.edu/people/profile/2712702

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