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The disruptive effect of ridesourcing services on for-hire vehicle drivers’ income and employment

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  • Wang, Sicheng
  • Smart, Michael

Abstract

Ridesourcing services provided by Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) such as Uber and Lyft are spreading across the United States and are thriving. As a result of TNCs' expansion, there has been concern that ridesourcing is disrupting the traditional for-hire vehicle market, and those drivers are suffering. Based on 12-year Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) datasets from 2005 to 2016, we investigate how the income, worker classification, and employment status of for-hire vehicle drivers in the United States had changed after Uber entered their local markets. We find that with the entry of Uber, the hourly wage income of for-hire drivers had decreased, the percentage of self-employed drivers had increased, and the likelihood of being employed had increased in “Uber-adopted” metropolitan areas. The results confirm the disruptive effect of ridesourcing services on the for-hire vehicle industry and its labor force in the United States. The analysis for the five largest metropolitan areas provides more detailed evidence of the effect of ridesourcing.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Sicheng & Smart, Michael, 2020. "The disruptive effect of ridesourcing services on for-hire vehicle drivers’ income and employment," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 13-23.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:89:y:2020:i:c:p:13-23
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2020.01.016
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Xiong, Ziyue & Jian Li, & Wu, Hangbin, 2021. "Understanding operation patterns of urban online ride-hailing services: A case study of Xiamen," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 100-118.
    2. Jayita Chakraborty & Debapratim Pandit & Jianhong Xia & Felix Chan, 2024. "Modeling the decision of ridesourcing drivers to park and wait at trip ends: a comparison between Perth, Australia and Kolkata, India," Transportation, Springer, vol. 51(3), pages 1089-1124, June.
    3. Li-cai Lei & Shang Gao & En-yu Zeng, 2020. "Regulation strategies of ride-hailing market in China: an evolutionary game theoretic perspective," Electronic Commerce Research, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 535-563, September.
    4. Namgung, Hyewon & Fujiwara, Akimasa & Yamamoto, Jenny & Zhang, Junyi, 2023. "Small and medium-sized taxi firm operators' stated choices of future business models: A case study in Japan based on hybrid choice model with panel effects," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    5. Tri Basuki Joewono & Muhamad Rizki & Jeanly Syahputri, 2021. "Does Job Satisfaction Influence the Productivity of Ride-Sourcing Drivers? A Hierarchical Structural Equation Modelling Approach for the Case of Bandung City Ride-Sourcing Drivers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-17, September.
    6. Wang, Sicheng & Du, Rui & Lee, Annie S., 2024. "Ridesourcing regulation and traffic speeds: A New York case," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    7. Sweet, Matthias N. & Scott, Darren M., 2021. "Shared mobility adoption from 2016 to 2018 in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area: Demographic or geographic diffusion?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    8. Wang, Sicheng & Huang, Xiao & Shen, Qing, 2024. "Disparities in resilience and recovery of ridesourcing usage during COVID-19," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).

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