Association of Rider-to-Rider Discriminatory Attitudes and Ridesharing Behavior

TitleAssociation of Rider-to-Rider Discriminatory Attitudes and Ridesharing Behavior
Publication TypeConference Paper
Year of Publication2019
AuthorsJoanna Moody, Scott Middleton, Jinhua Zhao
Conference NameTransportation Research Board 98th Annual Meeting
Conference LocationWashington, D.C.
Abstract

Using electronic survey data from N = 2,041 Uber and Lyft users in the United States collected in 2016 and 2018, this paper establishes the validity, reliability, and invariance of a measure of rider-to-rider race and social class discrimination in ridesharing. We then incorporate this measure into three structural models to investigate associations between rider-to-rider discriminatory attitudes and ridesharing behavior. We find that discriminatory attitudes in the ridesharing context do not significantly predict whether a TNC user has used a ridesharing service, suggesting that this decision is dominated by utilitarian considerations rather than attitudes. However, among those who have used ridesharing services (such as uberPOOL or Lyft Line) before, we find that discriminatory attitudes in ridesharing are marginally negatively predictive of an individual's percentage of shared trips and strongly negatively predictive of an individual's level of satisfaction with the sharing option. Finally, among those who have not yet used dynamic ridesharing services, we find discriminatory attitudes in ridesharing are strongly negatively predictive of willingness to consider using uberPOOL or Lyft Line in the future. We find no statistically significant difference in these relations across the two survey years. These findings indicate a significant association between rider-to-rider discriminatory attitudes and ridesharing behavior, and suggest that such attitudes may persistently discourage sharing. Further research is required to identify strategies for addressing discriminatory attitudes in the ridesharing context and overcoming reluctance to share.