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Do transportation network companies reduce public transit use in the U.S.?

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  • Malalgoda, Narendra
  • Lim, Siew Hoon

Abstract

The rise of transportation network companies (TNCs) in recent years has revolutionized urban transportation across the globe. Most noticeably, the increased popularity of TNC services coincides with the declining trend of public transit ridership in the U.S. The impact of TNCs on urban public transit needs to be carefully evaluated in light of the potential implications of any future policy changes in transit funding and planning. Using top 50 U.S. agency-level data from 2007 through 2017, this study examines the effect of TNCs and transit effectiveness on public transit ridership in the U.S. We find that (1) transit effectiveness of both bus and rail transits declined over the study period; (2) TNC availability increased rail transit ridership in 2015; (3) transit effectiveness was highly significant for public transit, and when examining its effect year-by-year, rail transit effectiveness trumped TNC availability; (4) TNCs are neither a complement nor a substitute of bus transit.

Suggested Citation

  • Malalgoda, Narendra & Lim, Siew Hoon, 2019. "Do transportation network companies reduce public transit use in the U.S.?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 351-372.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:130:y:2019:i:c:p:351-372
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2019.09.051
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    3. Ngo, Nicole S. & Götschi, Thomas & Clark, Benjamin Y., 2021. "The effects of ride-hailing services on bus ridership in a medium-sized urban area using micro-level data: Evidence from the Lane Transit District," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 44-53.
    4. Morris, Eric A. & Zhou, Ying & Brown, Anne E. & Khan, Sakib M. & Derochers, John L. & Campbell, Harry & Pratt, Angela N. & Chowdhury, Mashrur, 2020. "Are drivers cool with pool? Driver attitudes towards the shared TNC services UberPool and Lyft Shared," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 123-138.
    5. Zhang, Zhaolin & Zhai, Guocong & Xie, Kun & Xiao, Feng, 2022. "Exploring the nonlinear effects of ridesharing on public transit usage: A case study of San Diego," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    6. Tian, Guang & Ewing, Reid & Li, Han, 2023. "Exploring the influences of ride-hailing services on VMT and transit usage – Evidence from California," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    7. Brown, Anne, 2022. "Not all fees are created equal: Equity implications of ride-hail fee structures and revenues," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 1-10.
    8. Barajas, Jesus M. & Brown, Anne, 2021. "Not minding the gap: Does ride-hailing serve transit deserts?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    9. Malik, Jai & Bunch, David S. & Handy, Susan & Circella, Giovanni, 2021. "A deeper investigation into the effect of the built environment on the use of ridehailing for non-work travel," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    10. Brown, Anne, 2021. "Not All Fees are Created Equal: Equity Implications of Ride-hail Fee Structures," OSF Preprints cpsqu, Center for Open Science.
    11. Oded Cats & Rafal Kucharski & Santosh Rao Danda & Menno Yap, 2022. "Beyond the dichotomy: How ride-hailing competes with and complements public transport," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(1), pages 1-17, January.
    12. Yang, Chao & Yu, Chengcheng & Dong, Wentao & Yuan, Quan, 2023. "Substitutes or complements? Examining effects of urban rail transit on bus ridership using longitudinal city-level data," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
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