Uber versus Taxi: A Driver's Eye View

A-Tier
Journal: American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
Year: 2021
Volume: 13
Issue: 3
Pages: 272-308

Score contribution per author:

1.341 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Rideshare drivers pay a proportion of their fares to a ride-hailing platform operator, a commission-based compensation model used by many service providers. To Uber drivers, this commission is known as the Uber fee. By contrast, traditional taxi drivers in most US cities make a fixed payment independent of their earnings, usually a weekly or daily medallion lease, keeping every fare dollar net of lease costs and other expenses. We assess these compensation models using an experiment that offered random samples of Boston Uber drivers opportunities to lease a virtual taxi medallion that eliminates the Uber fee. Some drivers were offered a negative fee. Drivers' labor supply response to our offers reveals a large intertemporal

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aejapp:v:13:y:2021:i:3:p:272-308
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-24