Ride-Hailing Services in Germany: Potential Impacts on Public Transport, Motorized Traffic, and Social Welfare

David Ennen () and Thorsten Heilker
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David Ennen: Institute of Transport Economics, Muenster

No 29, Working Papers from Institute of Transport Economics, University of Muenster

Abstract: In the policy debate on ride-hailing services such as Uber, the impacts on traffic, emissions, and public transport are hotly discussed. The regulatory framework in Germany has so far prevented a widespread entry of ride-hailing providers. In this paper, we use a mode choice model and trip data to determine the likely impacts of ride-hailing services for a representative region in Germany. We find that the significantly lower fares compared to taxis lead to strong substitution of public transport, cycling, and walking. As a consequence, motorized traffic increases, despite the pooling of individual rides by ride-hailing providers. However, the total impact on mode choice and traffic remains modest, and a widespread displacement of public transport is not to be expected. The final welfare analysis shows that the emergence of ride-hailing services is beneficial for society as a whole. In particular, the benefits from lower fares exceed the external costs arising from additional motorized traffic.

Keywords: Ride-hailing; Transportation Network Company; TNC; Taxi; Regulation; Germany (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L92 L98 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 22 pages
Date: 2020-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dcm, nep-eur, nep-pay, nep-reg, nep-tre and nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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