On the Relocation Behavior of Ride-sourcing Drivers

On the Relocation Behavior of Ride-sourcing Drivers

Ashkrof, P. (TU Delft Transport and Planning)
Correia, Gonçalo (TU Delft Transport and Planning)
Cats, O. (TU Delft Transport and Planning)
van Arem, B. (TU Delft Transport and Planning)

2023

Ride-sourcing drivers, as individual service suppliers, can freely adopt their own relocation strategies, including waiting, cruising freely, or following the platform recommendations. These decisions substantially impact the balance between supply and demand, and consequently affect system performance. We conducted a stated choice experiment to study the searching behaviour of ride-sourcing drivers and examine novel policies. A unique dataset of 576 ride-sourcing drivers working in the US was collected and a choice modelling approach was used to estimate the effects of multiple existing and hypothetical attributes. The results suggest that ride-sourcing drivers’ relocation strategies vary considerably between different drivers groups. Surge pricing significantly stimulates drivers to head toward the designated areas. However, the distance between the driver’s location and surge or high-demand areas demotivates them from following the platform repositioning recommendations. We discuss the implications of our findings for various platform policies on real-time information sharing and platform repositioning guidance.

driver behaviour
relocation behaviour
repositioning
ride-hailing
Ride-sourcing drivers
transport network companies

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:7edf100f-5e5c-4bb6-ac90-ee335ce2625b

https://doi.org/10.1080/19427867.2023.2192581

1942-7867

Transportation Letters: the international journal of transportation research

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2023 P. Ashkrof, Gonçalo Correia , O. Cats, B. van Arem