Understanding multi-homing and switching by platform drivers
Name
guo_multihoming.pdf
Description
Accepted version
Size
1.23 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
a3ff4ca135bc889732fb8948844465b5
Author(s)
Guo, Xiaotong
Haupt, Andreas
Wang, Hai
Qadri, Rida
Zhao, Jinhua
Date Issued
September 2023
Journal
Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Citation
Guo, Xiaotong, Haupt, Andreas, Wang, Hai, Qadri, Rida and Zhao, Jinhua. 2023. "Understanding multi-homing and switching by platform drivers." Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 154.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Freelance drivers in the shared mobility market frequently switch or work for multiple platforms, affecting driver labor supply. Due to the importance of driver labor supply for the shared mobility market, understanding drivers’ switching and multi-homing behavior is vital to managing service quality on – and effective regulation of – mobility platforms. However, a lack of individual-level data on driver behavior has thus far impeded a deeper understanding. This paper taxonomizes and estimates perceived switching and multi-homing frictions on mobility platforms. Based on a structural model of driver labor supply, we estimate switching and multi-homing costs in a platform duopoly using public and limited high-level survey data. Estimated costs are sizeable, and reductions in multi-homing and switching costs significantly affect platform market shares and driver welfare. Driver labor supply elasticity with respect to platform wage is also discussed considering both multi-homing and switching frictions.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trc.2023.104233
