Ride-hailing, travel behaviour and sustainable mobility: an international review

Abstract

A discussion of the sustainability and travel behaviour impacts of ride-hailing is provided, based on an extensive literature review of studies from both developed and developing countries. The effects of ride-hailing on vehicle-kilometres travelled (VKT) and traffic externalities such as congestion, pollution and crashes are analysed. Modal substitution, user characterisation and induced travel outputs are also examined. A summary of findings follows. On the one hand, ride-hailing improves the comfort and security of riders for several types of trips and increases mobility for car-free households and for people with physical and cognitive limitations. Ride-hailing has the potential to be more efficient for rider-driver matching than street-hailing. Ride-hailing is expected to reduce parking requirements, shifting attention towards curb management. On the other hand, results on the degree of complementarity and substitution between ride-hailing and public transport and on the impact of ride-hailing on VKT are mixed; however, there is a tendency from studies with updated data to show that the ride-hailing substitution effect of public transport is stronger than the complementarity effect in several cities and that ride-hailing has incremented motorised traffic and congestion. Early evidence on the impact of ride-hailing on the environment and energy consumption is also concerning. A longer-term assessment must estimate the ride-hailing effect on car ownership. A social welfare analysis that accounts for both the benefits and costs of ride-hailing remains unexplored. The relevance of shared rides in a scenario with mobility-as-a-service subscription packages and automated vehicles is also highlighted.