Is Uber a substitute or complement for public transit?

Jonathan Hall, Craig Palsson and Joseph Price

Journal of Urban Economics, 2018, vol. 108, issue C, 36-50

Abstract: How Uber affects public transit ridership is a relevant policy question facing cities worldwide. Theoretically, Uber’s effect on transit is ambiguous: while Uber is an alternative mode of travel, it can also increase the reach and flexibility of public transit’s fixed-route, fixed-schedule service. We estimate the effect of Uber on public transit ridership using a difference-in-differences design that exploits variation across U.S. metropolitan areas in both the intensity of Uber penetration and the timing of Uber entry. We find that Uber is a complement for the average transit agency, increasing ridership by five percent after two years. This average effect masks considerable heterogeneity, with Uber increasing ridership more in larger cities and for smaller transit agencies.

Keywords: Public transportation; Ride-hailing; Technological innovation; First mile/last mile; Difference-in-differences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H42 O33 R40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (146)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:juecon:v:108:y:2018:i:c:p:36-50

DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2018.09.003

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