Ride-Hailing Industry Induces Car Ownership, Research Says

New research from researchers at Carnegie Mellon University finds that instead of setting people free from cars, more people are buying and using cars than ever before.

1 minute read

January 11, 2021, 5:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Self-Driving Cars

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Kea Wilson shares news of research about the effect of ride-hailing companies in U.S. transportation trends.

"In a review of vehicle registration records in more than 200 metro areas, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found that per-capita car purchases increased 0.7 precent on average in the years after Uber, Lyft and other e-taxi giants deployed their fleets, compared to projected registration rates prior to the entry to of the companies," writes Wilson to summarize the findings of the new research.

What's more, car-dependent locations saw larger increases of vehicle registrations. "Metros that had higher-than-average rates of private vehicle ownership to start out experienced, on average, an additional 1 percent increase in vehicle registration over the course of the study period when compared to peer cities," adds Wilson.

Wilson's conclusion, based on these findings, is that ride-hailing companies have been less effective at reducing car dependence than some in the industry hoped.

The new research also suggests that ride-hailing trips have replaced transit rides, echoing to research first published by Planetizen in 2017.

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