Best frenemies? A characterization of TNC and transit users

The emergence of transportation network companies (TNCs) has created new options for travelers and fierce competition for taxis and public transportation (PT). While the literature focuses either on TNCs or PT users, we contrast individuals/households who use only PT, only TNCs, or both by estimating a cross-nested logit on 2017 NHTS data. We analyzed both individuals (for consistency with most of the literature) and households (to ac-count for intrahousehold travel dependencies). Our results show that the unit of analysis (individuals vs. households) does not matter much for our dataset. We found that individuals/households who use either PT or TNCs or both share socio-economic characteristics, reside in similar areas, and differ from individuals/house-holds who use neither transit nor TNCs. In addition, individuals/households who use both PT and TNCs tend to be composed of Millennials and Generation Z, with a higher income, more education, no children, and fewer vehicles than drivers. Our findings highlight the danger for PT of entering into outsourcing agreements with TNCs, neglecting captive riders, and further exposing choice riders to TNCs.

Automated summary

This study compares individuals/households who use only public transportation, only transportation network companies (TNCs), or both. The results show that individuals/households who use either public transportation or TNCs or both have similar socio-economic characteristics and reside in similar areas. In addition, individuals/households who use both public transportation and TNCs are typically composed of Millennials and Generation Z, with higher income, more education, no children, and fewer vehicles.