Disruptive Change in the Taxi Business: The Case of Uber

In most cities, the taxi industry is highly regulated and has restricted entry. Ride sharing services, such as Uber and Lyft, which use mobile internet technology to connect passengers and drivers, have begun to compete with traditional taxis. This paper examines the efficiency of ride sharing servi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inThe American economic review Vol. 106; no. 5; pp. 177 - 182
Main Authors Cramer, Judd, Krueger, Alan B.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Nashville American Economic Association 01.05.2016
Subjects
Analysis
Car pools
Cities
Economic theory
Jurisdiction
LABOR MARKETS WITH OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING: THEIR ECONOMIC EFFECTS
Labor supply
Licenses
Licensing
Marathons
Passengers
Regulation
Ride sharing services
Studies
Taxicabs
Working hours
United States > US
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:In most cities, the taxi industry is highly regulated and has restricted entry. Ride sharing services, such as Uber and Lyft, which use mobile internet technology to connect passengers and drivers, have begun to compete with traditional taxis. This paper examines the efficiency of ride sharing services vis-a-vis taxis. In most cities with data available, UberX drivers spend a significantly higher fraction of their time, and drive a substantially higher share of miles, with a passenger in their car than do taxi drivers. Reasons for this efficiency advantage are explored.
ISSN:0002-8282
1944-7981
DOI:10.1257/aer.p20161002