The Relationship between Regular Use of Ridesourcing and Frequency of Public Transport Use in the MENA Region (Tehran and Cairo)

Abstract

Despite the growing share of ridesourcing services in cities, there is limited research about their impacts on other transport mode choices in the large cities of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). There is a debate about whether ridesourcing affects the frequent use of sustainable modes like public transport. This study uses the results of a large-scale series of face-to-face interviews in Tehran and Cairo to study the relationship between the regular use of ridesourcing and the frequency of public transport use. Descriptive statistics and logit regression are used to analyze this association. The findings indicate contradictory correlations between the regular use of ridesourcing and the frequent use of public transport in Tehran and Cairo. The regular use of ridesourcing has a positive correlation with the probability of frequent public transport use in Cairo. In contrast, this correlation is negative in Tehran, which means that the regular ridesourcing users are less likely than the non-regular users to use frequently public transport. The reasons for these different correlations are studied in terms of socioeconomic variables, accessibility, and the citizens’ perception of public transport in both cities.

Predicting the Likelihood of Using Car-Sharing in the Greater Cairo Metropolitan Area

“…In several transportation-related studies, different genres of discrete choice analysis have been used, such as the Probit model [21], Nested Logit model [22], Ordered Logit model [13,23], Multinomial Logit (MNL) model [22,24], and Binary Logit model [3,14,25,26]. With the help of stated preference (SP) surveys, these models aim to discover the attributes influencing the travelers' choice of either an existing transportation system or a new recommended service, which helps to set the right parameters for a desired modal shift [27][28][29].…”

“…In 2016, the different car-sharing services reached all six continents, covering 2095 cities in 46 countries with nearly 15 million users and more than 157 thousand shared cars [5]. Unfortunately, car-sharing has In general, information and communications technology (ICT)-based mobility, like ride-hailing and car-sharing, are marketed as environmentally sustainable systems that mitigate traffic emissions by lowering the car dependency [10,13,14]. However, there are concerns that these applications could lead people to drift away from public transportation and non-motorized modes [14].…”

“…Unfortunately, car-sharing has In general, information and communications technology (ICT)-based mobility, like ride-hailing and car-sharing, are marketed as environmentally sustainable systems that mitigate traffic emissions by lowering the car dependency [10,13,14]. However, there are concerns that these applications could lead people to drift away from public transportation and non-motorized modes [14]. In the case of Cairo, Mostofi et al (2020) found that ICT-based transportation apps have a positive effect on frequent public transit usage [14], which is encouraging in launching a new ICT-based mobility service, like car-sharing, in the city.…”

“…However, there are concerns that these applications could lead people to drift away from public transportation and non-motorized modes [14]. In the case of Cairo, Mostofi et al (2020) found that ICT-based transportation apps have a positive effect on frequent public transit usage [14], which is encouraging in launching a new ICT-based mobility service, like car-sharing, in the city.…”

The Association between the Regular Use of ICT Based Mobility Services and the Bicycle Mode Choice in Tehran and Cairo

“…It is necessary to study whether ICT-based mobility services support or compete with sustainable modes like cycling, in order to evaluate their role in the sustainability of urban transport systems [ 39 , 40 , 41 ]. There is a debate around ridesourcing that it encourages commuters to shift from sustainable mobility modes, like nonmotorized modes, to car travels.…”