Examining the Relationship between Household Vehicle Ownership and Ridesharing Behaviors in the United States

Abstract

To improve the sustainability and efficiency of transport systems, communities and government agencies throughout the United States (US) are looking for ways to reduce vehicle ownership and single-occupant trips by encouraging people to shift from driving to using more sustainable transport modes (such as ridesharing). Ridesharing is a cost-effective, sustainable and effective alternative transportation mode that is beneficial to the environment, the economy and society. Despite the potential effect of vehicle ownership on the adoption of ridesharing services, individuals’ ridesharing behaviors and the interdependencies between vehicle ownership and ridesharing usage are not well understood. This study aims to fill the gap by examining the associations between household vehicle ownership and the frequency and probability of ridesharing usage, and to estimate the effects of household vehicle ownership on individuals’ ridesharing usage in the US. We conducted zero-inflated negative binomial regression models using data from the 2017 National Household Travel Survey. The results show that, in general, one-vehicle reduction in households was significantly associated with a 7.9% increase in the frequency of ridesharing usage and a 23.0% increase in the probability of ridesharing usage. The effects of household vehicle ownership on the frequency of ridesharing usage are greater for those who live in areas with a higher population density than those living in areas with a lower population density. Young people, men, those who are unable to drive, individuals with high household income levels, and those who live in areas with rail service or a higher population density, tend to use ridesharing more frequently and are more likely to use it. These findings can be used as guides for planners or practitioners to better understand individuals’ ridesharing behaviors, and to identify policies and interventions to increase the potential of ridesharing usage, and to decrease household vehicle ownership, depending on different contextual features and demographic variables. Comprehensive strategies that limit vehicle ownership and address the increasing demand for ridesharing have the potential to improve the sustainability of transportation systems.

SRide: An Online System for Multi-Hop Ridesharing

“…For example, from 1(2) to 1(3), 2 hop itineraries increase from 15,621 to 26,974, 3 hop itineraries increase from 361 to 3170, and 4 hop itineraries increase 2 to 98. A similar increase is observed from 2(1, 2) to 2 (1,3). The number of hops in an itinerary affects a rider's journey time: the more the hops in the rider's itinerary, the more will be the waiting and transfer times.…”

“…A major drawback of these services is that they add vehicles to the roads and worsen traffic congestion in already traffic-congested areas, negatively affecting the environment and sustainability goals. Ridesharing is regarded as an effective approach to reducing traffic congestion on the roads [1][2][3]. Ridesharing has been shown to improve road network efficiency, which leads to shorter travel times and lower travel costs, without requiring heavy investment in new infrastructure [4,5].…”

Why Do They Ride with Others? Meta-Analysis of Factors Influencing Travelers to Carpool

“…As the sample was 219,026 participants in the study by Zhang and Zhang [45] and 28,147 participants in the study by Blumenberg and Smart [35], they dominated the comparisons with the other studies in our meta-analysis. To assess the potential impact of these two large studies, additional effect size calculations were performed with these two samples excluded.…”

Spatial Heterogeneous Characteristics of Ridesharing in Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region of China

“…For the value of the parameter, please see the article of Reference [37]. Furthermore, the existence of ridesharing service is likely to reduce the demand for vehicles and then the total amount of cars in the society [41]. Correspondingly, this change will lead the decline of energy consumption and emissions (CO 2 and air pollutant emissions) during the processes of vehicle manufacturing, transportation and disposal.…”