An investigation into sharing economy enabled ridesharing drivers’ trust: A qualitative study

Abstract

Abstract The sharing economy enabled ridesharing has received much attention as a means of releasing the traffic pressure and maximizing car resource utilization. There is a lack of drivers sharing cars due to a trust issue in ridesharing. In order to understand the drivers’ trust and sharing intention in ridesharing, this study used a qualitative research method regarding uncertainty reduction theory (URT) as the main theoretical framework. By conducting and analysing interviews with the ridesharing drivers in China, this paper demonstrates that the key factors influencing trust-in-passenger are driving expenses, social interactions, enjoyment, cancelling the order, paying on time, politeness, appearance, rating and online reviews. We have also proposed a trust traffic-light model (TLM) of ridesharing as well as a ridesharing drivers’ trust (RDT) onion model to understand the importance of each factor and to exhibit them all. Meanwhile, trust-in-passenger influences the drivers’ sharing intention. This paper contributes to the field of ridesharing and trust.