Qualitative Analysis of Ride-Hailing Regulations in Major American Cities

Ride-hailing services, which are provided by companies such as Uber and Lyft, are increasingly common in many American cities. Several cities are now regulating or considering regulation of these services. However, regulation has not been well documented across jurisdictions, and city planners and policy makers often want to understand what regulations are being put in place in comparable metropolitan areas. Therefore, the objective of this research was to provide a qualitative comparison of the regulations of ride-hailing companies between major American cities. This goal was accomplished through the evaluation of five driver-related and three company-related types of ride-hailing regulations in 15 major American cities. The driver-related regulations included requirements for background checks, driver’s licenses, vehicle registrations, special licenses such as business licenses, and external vehicle displays. The company-related regulations included requirements for the number of ride-hailing vehicles operating in a metropolitan area, providing a list of drivers to the city, and sharing trip data with the city. The results of this qualitative analysis reveal significant variation in the number of driver-related regulations imposed in the cities that were evaluated. Another key finding is that ride-hailing companies may be less likely to operate in cities where fingerprint-based background checks are mandatory. As ride-hailing regulations continue to evolve, this research can help planners and policy makers better understand the current state of local regulations by providing a systematic comparison across major metropolitan areas in the United States.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.3141/2650-10
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/9780309442091
• Authors:
  • Beer, Rachel
  • Brakewood, Candace
  • Rahman, Subrina
  • Viscardi, Jennifer
• Publication Date: 2017

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 84–91
• Monograph Title: Public Transportation, Volume 4: Paratransit, Accessibility, Mobility, and the Sharing Economy
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
  • Issue Number: 2650
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Demand responsive transportation; Qualitative analysis; Regulations; Ridesharing; Ridesourcing
• Geographic Terms: United States
• Subject Areas: Passenger Transportation; Planning and Forecasting; Policy; Public Transportation;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01623294
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 9780309442091
• Report/Paper Numbers: 17-00755
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Jan 24 2017 3:31PM