Cited by 159Digital Economy and Work TransformationTransportation and Mobility InnovationsSharing Economy and Platforms

Disruptive Change in the Taxi Business: The Case of Uber

Open access
Cramer, Judd, Krueger, Alan·2016·National Bureau of Economic Research

Abstract

In most cities, the taxi industry is highly regulated and utilizes technology developed in the 1940s.Ride sharing services such as Uber and Lyft, which use modern internet-based mobile technology to connect passengers and drivers, have begun to compete with traditional taxis.This paper examines the efficiency of ride sharing services vis-à-vis taxis by comparing the capacity utilization rate of UberX drivers with that of traditional taxi drivers in five cities.The capacity utilization rate is measured by the fraction of time a driver has a fare-paying passenger in the car while he or she is working, and by the share of total miles that drivers log in which a passenger is in their car.The main conclusion is that, in most cities with data available, UberX drivers spend a significantly higher fraction of their time, and drive a substantially higher share of miles, with a passenger in their car than do taxi drivers.Four factors likely contribute to the higher capacity utilization rate of UberX drivers: 1) Uber's more efficient driver-passenger matching technology; 2) the larger scale of Uber than taxi companies; 3) inefficient taxi regulations; and 4) Uber's flexible labor supply model and surge pricing more closely match supply with demand throughout the day.

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  • The growth of online gig platforms creates challenges for traditional incumbent industries because these platforms have better matching algorithms, flexible schedules, and lower entry barriers.

    “The rise of these gig platforms has brought challenges to traditional, incumbent industries 1 due to their superior matching algorithms (Cramer and Krueger 2016), flexible work schedules (Hall and Krueger 2018), and lower entry barriers (Schwellnus et al. 2019).”

    From Skill-Biased Technical Change, Again? Online Gig Platforms and Local Employment (2025) · cites this paper as Cramer and Krueger 2016

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Authors
Cramer, J., & Krueger, A.
Affiliations
National Bureau of Economic Research (US)
Venue
National Bureau of Economic Research
Published
2016-03
OpenAlex
W3123953956
Cited by
158
References
7
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 62 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 1
Type
report
Language
en
Open access
Locations
National Bureau of Economic Research (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Economy and Work Transformation
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Automotive Engineering › Transportation and Mobility Innovations
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Sharing Economy and Platforms
Keywords
Uber, ride-sharing, taxi industry, capacity utilization, driver productivity, taxi regulation, surge pricing, disruptive innovation, ride-hailing

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