Estimating socio-demographic and experiential differences in willingness to share a ride: a hierarchical Bayesian approach

Abstract

Ridepooling services have potential benefits in terms of reducing emissions and traffic volume. Unlike in a public transport setting, users of ridepooling services can put their preferences for (not) sharing into practice by paying a higher fare and riding alone. This study investigates heterogeneity in willingness to share (WTS). We conduct a contingent valuation study and estimate WTS using hierarchical Bayes methods, which allow modelling deep interactions between socio-demographic categories and within experience conditions. Our results show that groups that have experience with ridepooling tend to have a lower WTS in general, and younger men with higher incomes in particular. Encouraging women and older age groups, who are estimated to be more amenable to sharing, may therefore help increase the proportion of shared rides.