The Relationship between Regular Use of Ridesourcing and Frequency of Public Transport Use in the MENA Region (Tehran and Cairo)

Hamid Mostofi,Hans-Liudger Dienel,Houshmand Masoumi

doi:10.3390/su12198134

Hamid Mostofi, Hans-Liudger Dienel + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su12198134

Copy DOI

Abstract

Despite the growing share of ridesourcing services in cities, there is limited research about their impacts on other transport mode choices in the large cities of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). There is a debate about whether ridesourcing affects the frequent use of sustainable modes like public transport. This study uses the results of a large-scale series of face-to-face interviews in Tehran and Cairo to study the relationship between the regular use of ridesourcing and the frequency of public transport use. Descriptive statistics and logit regression are used to analyze this association. The findings indicate contradictory correlations between the regular use of ridesourcing and the frequent use of public transport in Tehran and Cairo. The regular use of ridesourcing has a positive correlation with the probability of frequent public transport use in Cairo. In contrast, this correlation is negative in Tehran, which means that the regular ridesourcing users are less likely than the non-regular users to use frequently public transport. The reasons for these different correlations are studied in terms of socioeconomic variables, accessibility, and the citizens’ perception of public transport in both cities.

Highlights

With the emergence of smart transport modes like ridesourcing in cities of the global south like the region of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), it is essential to study their impacts on the mobility behaviors of the citizens
This paper tried to give an insight into the relationship between ridesourcing adaptation and the frequency of public transport use in two cities of the MENA region
The principle of this study is based on the assumption that regular use of one transport mode affects other mode choices

Summary

Introduction

With the emergence of smart transport modes like ridesourcing in cities of the global south like the region of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), it is essential to study their impacts on the mobility behaviors of the citizens. There is a concern that ridesourcing encourages citizens to shift from their sustainable travel modes, like public transport, to the car travel by offering relatively convenient door to door services This would cause an increase in vehicle-kilometers traveled (VKTs) and, the traffic congestion in the cities. Ridesourcing uses cars efficiently because it decreases deadheading kilometers, which decreases the cost per person-kilometer This cost reduction may increase in car travel demand, which is a rebound effect. Clewlow and Mishra indicated that ridesourcing attracts people from the public bus and light rail [16] Regarding these different studies in the global north context, there is a possibility that the adaptation of ridesourcing as a regular mobility mode may cause a new form of car dependence with a lower tendency toward public transport use. Some researchers have studied the psychometric parameters of car-dependent travelers, and they indicated that regular car use is strongly correlated

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion