 A path-based equilibrium model for ridesharing matchingYuanyuan Li, Yang Liu and Jun Xie Transportation Research Part B: Methodological, 2020, vol. 138, issue C, 373-405 Abstract: This paper examines how the ridesharing program will reshape the spatial distribution of traffic congestion. With ridesharing services, travelers make multi-dimensional decisions concerning mode choices, route choices, and matching decisions. We build a path-based equilibrium model to describe the decision-making of travelers in the presence of the ridesharing program and thereby to forecast the stable congestion distribution in the long run. Specifically, our model can explicitly track the path information of the matched drivers and riders by solving the proposed equilibrium model. The model is formulated as variational inequalities due to the non-separable cost functions and asymmetric link interactions. We first demonstrate the non-uniqueness of mode-specific link flows and derive the condition for the uniqueness of link flows. We then derive sufficient conditions for a matching failure. A matching failure occurs if the lowest total inconvenience cost of a pair of rider and driver exceeds a threshold. In this situation, matching between the ridesharing supply (drivers) and demand (riders) cannot be established by adjusting the compensation scheme. Moreover, we derive the sufficient and necessary conditions for the existence of equilibrium with a positive ridesharing ridership. These conditions help operators gain insights into how to appropriately design compensation schemes. We reformulate the variational inequalities as the equivalent mixed complementarity problem, and propose a heuristic routing algorithm to identify the feasible routing paths for shared rides that interest both ridesharing drivers and riders. Finally, Our numerical experiments show that ridesharing is effective in relieving the overall congestion but leads to high congestion on some links. In the scenarios where the demand into the central business district (CBD) is high, the commuters entering CBD are all better off with ridesharing service. In contrast, the commuters traveling to certain non-CBD areas are worse off. Our experiments also reveal various path choice behaviors of ridesharing participants. The solo drivers always use the paths with short travel times, while the ridesharing drivers tend to use paths with short travel distances. By considering a commission to the platform, we demonstrate the regime in which increasing the commission rate improves the platform’s revenue without harming the social welfare. Keywords: Ridesharing matching; Compensation pricing; User equilibrium; Welfare; Market failure (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:transb:v:138:y:2020:i:c:p:373-405 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from DOI: 10.1016/j.trb.2020.05.007 Access Statistics for this article Transportation Research Part B: Methodological is currently edited by Fred Mannering More articles in Transportation Research Part B: Methodological from Elsevier |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.