Adoption and frequency of use of ride-hailing services in a European city: The case of Madrid

New app-based mobility services are revolutionizing urban transport. Particularly, ride-hailing has experienced a worldwide boom in the last decade since it provides a convenient, ondemand door-to-door service for urban trips. In parallel, an increasing number of studies have been conducted, mainly analyzing individuals' behavior towards this transport option, mobility patterns, as well as ride-hailing effects on urban sustainability. Nevertheless, the majority of these contributions focus on US cities, while almost no efforts have been devoted to other geographic areas, such as Europe. Cities in this continent present some particular characteristics that make them a case worth investigating, such as a higher presence of public transport modes or a great public concern on environmental issues. The aim of this paper is to explore travel behavior towards ride-hailing services in a European city. Based on the information collected from a survey campaign in the city of Madrid (Spain), we estimate a Generalized Heterogeneous Data Model approach to identify the key factors motivating ride-hailing adoption and frequency of use. The paper identifies a higher adoption of ride-hailing services among young, well-educated, wealthy individuals, who are familiar with new technologies. More interestingly, the research suggests a noticeable role played by environmental consciousness in ride-hailing frequency of use, compared to US cities. Particularly, individuals with lower environmental consciousness are more caroriented, which is also linked to a more intense use of ride-hailing. By contrast, individuals with a higher environmental consciousness tend to reduce their use of ride-hailing, which reflects their propensity towards public transport in a transit-intensive background.

Automated summary

New app-based mobility services are transforming urban transport, with research finding that in European cities, young, well-educated, wealthy individuals who are familiar with new technologies are more likely to adopt ride-hailing services. Interestingly, individuals with higher environmental consciousness tend to use ride-hailing less, opting for public transport instead.