Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
1-1-2025
Keywords
Ride-hailing, transportation network companies, personal vehicle use, VMT, transit
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.5038/CUTR-NICR-Y3-3-5
Abstract
App-based ride-hailing has become a popular form of urban transportation. Previous research suggests that it may in some cases enable lower reliance on private vehicles, but that it is also associated with increases in congestion and vehicle miles traveled (VMT). We examined how the introduction of the Uber ride-hailing service in the Boston area related to changes in the average daily VMT of individual vehicles. This research is unique because it focuses on the use patterns of individual automobiles instead of relying on aggregate measures of auto use, or estimates based on surveys, as done in previous research. Using data sourced from vehicle registrations and odometer readings collected during state-mandated annual inspections, we tracked changes to the average daily VMT of 1,668,215 vehicles over five years as Uber launched in the Boston area. We applied fixed-effects panel regression methods to model the relationship between Uber availability, VMT, and transit access. We also examined vehicle turnover and ownership at the Census Tract level to investigate if neighborhood change may have influenced observed changes in daily VMT. In contrast to previous studies finding associations between ride-hailing and large increases in VMT, we found that Uber availability was not related to changes in VMT in the cities of Boston and Cambridge and was significantly related to only marginally higher average daily VMT outside those core cities (0.6% increase from the mean VMT). We also found slightly lower rates of vehicle turnover and ownership in areas outside of Boston and Cambridge after Uber availability. These results suggest that ride-hailing’s influence on VMT is likely smaller than indicated in other research, limited to vehicles registered outside MPO cores, and is likely not related to neighborhood change.
Scholar Commons Citation
Montilla, Michael A. N.; Hui, Matthew; and Chatman, Daniel G., "Using Disaggregate Vehicle Data to Investigate How Ride-Hailing Services Influence Personal Vehicle Use Across a Metropolitan Region" (2025). Research Reports. 49.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cutr_nicr/49
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