Assessing the Impact of Ridehailing Service Use on Bus Ridership

Assessing the Impact of Ridehailing Service Use on Bus Ridership: A Joint Modeling Framework Accounting for Endogeneity and Latent Attitudes

Principal Investigator: Ram M. Pendyala, Director, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment
Co-Principal Investigator: Sara Khoeini, Assistant Research Professor, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment
Project Duration: 12 months
​Project Budget (Federal UTC Funds): N/A
Project Budget (Cost-share): N/A
Institution: Arizona State University

Abstract
Transit ridership has been on the decline for several years. One key contributing factor is the rise of ridehailing service usage and its impact on transit use. This research project attempts to provide a comprehensive and holistic assessment of the impacts of ridehailing service use on transit ridership while controlling for a host of socio-economic, demographic, and attitudinal factors. Using detailed survey data collected in four automobile-centric metropolitan areas of the US, this study jointly models the frequency of using ridehailing services and the extent to which an individual has changed bus use due to ridehailing. The results indicate that ridehailing use frequency is significantly associated with a decrease in bus use, suggesting that ridehailing serves as a substitute for bus use (more than it serves as a complement). The findings suggest that transit agencies need to explore pathways towards leveraging ridehailing services to better complement transit usage.

Research Products and Implementation

Final Report