No abstract

The introduction of mobile application-based ride hailing services represents a convergence between technologies, supply of vehicles, and demand in near real time. There is growing interest in quantifying the demand for such services from regulatory, operational, and system evaluation perspectives. Several studies model the decision to adopt ride hailing and the extent of the use of ride hailing, either separately or by bundling them into a single choice dimension, disregarding potential endogeneity between these decisions. Unlike developed countries, the literature is sparser for ride hailing in developing countries, where the demand may differ considerably because of differences in vehicle ownership, and availability and patronage of many transit and intermediate public transport (IPT) modes (the shared modes carrying 40% shares in some cases). This study aims to bridge these gaps in the literature by investigating three interrelated choice dimensions among workers in Chennai city: consideration of IPT modes, the adoption of ride hailing services and the subsequent usage intensity of ride hailing services. The main factors influencing these decisions are identified by estimating a trivariate probit model. The results indicate that sociodemographic and locational characteristics and the availability of IPT modes influence ride hailing adoption, whereas work-related constraints and perception of other modes affect its frequency. Work and non-work characteristics affect both the dimensions of ride hailing. Further, endogeneity is observed between ride hailing and IPT adoption after controlling for these variables, whereas evidence of endogeneity is absent among other dimensions. Mainly, the model separates the effect of the exogenous influences on the usage frequency level from their effect on the adoption of ride hailing services.

Rising traffic congestion and severe air pollution in urban areas have led policymakers to find appropriate strategies to encourage the use of sustainable modes. In this context, this paper investigates three choice dimensions related to the work commute travel: (i) Whether and to what extent are sustainable modes considered? (ii) What factors influence the propensity to shift from the primary work commute mode? (iii) Which mode is most likely to be chosen conditional on the decision to shift? These dimensions are analyzed using data of workers from Chennai, India. As the three choices of an individual may be correlated and mutually endogenous because of common and persistent psychological attributes and modal service characteristics, they are modeled using a multi-dimensional probit model. The results show significant evidence of endogeneity, state-dependence, and unobserved correlation across these dimensions leading to significant improvement in fit measures. The results show that perceptions of walkability and environmental impacts of travel modes affect only the consideration of sustainable modes, while vehicle ownership and accessibility to transit affect all three dimensions. Four different behavioral motivations for the decision to shift from the usual mode: dissatisfaction with service attributes, activity constraints, multimodal travel pattern, and inertia, were identified. The mode to which shift occurs is influenced by household vehicle fleet (number and type), exclusive availability to the given decision-maker, and work distance. The insights from this study can be used to identify suitable factors and frame policies to promote sustainable mode choice at various levels.