Has Uber Made It Easier to Get a Ride in the Rain?

Abel Brodeur and Kerry Nield ()
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Kerry Nield: Bank of Canada, Ottawa, ON

No 1708E, Working Papers from University of Ottawa, Department of Economics

Abstract: In New York City (NYC), it has been a common complaint that it is difficult to find a taxi in the rain. Using all Uber rides in NYC from April to September 2014 and January 2015 to December 2016, we show that the number of Uber rides is significantly correlated with whether it rained. The number of Uber rides per hour is about 18 percent higher when it is raining, suggesting that surge pricing encourages an increase in supply. During the same time period, the number of taxi rides per hour increases by only 5 percent in rainy hours. We then show that the number of taxi rides, passengers and fare income all significantly decreased after Uber entered the New York market in May 2011, suggesting that Uber is depressing taxi demand. Last, we test whether the total (Uber plus taxi) number of rides in rainy hours increased since May 2011. Our estimates suggest that it is relatively easier to get a ride in rainy than in non-rainy hours in post-Uber years.

Keywords: Persistence; Rain; Uber; Taxi; Dynamic Pricing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D01 D03 J22 L92 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 34 pages
Date: 2017
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dcm, nep-lma, nep-pay and nep-tre
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Related works:
Journal Article: An empirical analysis of taxi, Lyft and Uber rides: Evidence from weather shocks in NYC (2018)
Working Paper: Has Uber Made It Easier to Get a Ride in the Rain? (2016)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ott:wpaper:1708e

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