How does the suspension of ride-sourcing affect the transportation system and environment?

Abstract

• Study the alternative mode choice of ride-sourcing users based on survey data. • 54.71% of respondents choose public transit when the ride-sourcing is suspended. • Age, gender, income, car ownership, and trip purpose are significant determinants. • More metro stations around the trip origin could reduce private vehicle use. • Suspension of ride-sourcing services would lead to lower vehicle emissions. Despite the popularity of ride-sourcing services among the public, some cities consider suspending ride-sourcing services because of repeated safety failures and protests from taxi drivers. The impact of such a policy on the transportation system and environment is rarely studied. To fill this gap, we performed a stated preference survey in Chengdu, China, to investigate the alternative mode choice (AMC) of ride-sourcing users. We collected data of 435 trips from 340 respondents. The analysis results show that with suspension, 53.71%, 27.36%, 10.80%, and 7.13% of ride-sourcing trips would shift to public transit, taxi, active mode (walking and cycling), and private car trips, respectively. The mixed logit modeling results show that age, gender, household income, number of cars per person, trip purpose, and transit accessibility significantly influence AMC. Results of Monte-Carlo Markov Chain simulations indicate that vehicle emissions related to ride-sourcing trips will decrease by more than 50% after the suspension.