Understanding demographics of ride-sourcing and the factors that underlie its use among young people

Abstract

App-based ride-hailing, as an alternative to traditional taxis, has attracted a lot of interest recently. Ride-sourcing has changed the local passenger transport industry and is seen as a threat to traditional taxis which are mostly, station based or obtained by outstretched arm on the street. Ride-hailing, in contrast, uses the customer's smartphone to detect their location, and instantly connects the customer to the nearest available driver. Little data, however, exists on travellers’ use of ride-sourcing in Ghana. This study aims at examining the spread and use of ride-hailing among the demographic most likely to use it, amidst the complaints of commercial vehicle drivers that ride-hailing is disrupting their business. A stratified random sampling survey was conducted on the campus of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) with the aim of understanding the use of these services among young people in Ghana. Four hundred (400) questionnaires were answered and results analyzed using descriptive and chi-square tests to assess statistical significance. Interviews with taxi and ride-hailing drivers were also conducted to ascertain the levels of priority they respectively gave specific factors that influenced travellers in their mode choice. From the results, it can be inferred that young people are inclined towards ride-sourcing because it is convenient and presents a cost advantage over conventional taxis. However, their use of ride-hailing services was not on a regular basis since few reported using the services as their primary mode of transport (7.1%). Respondents also used these services for social trips and more on weekends; suggesting a limited use. Use of ride-hailing overall can be described as consistent with previous studies among young people. It is recommended that to remain competitive, drivers of conventional modes of transport innovate by including ride-matching technologies and prioritizing passenger convenience to remain relevant to younger clientele.