Research Seminar: Economic and Environmental Implications of Ride-Hailing for Car Sales
Ride-hailing services like Uber are often seen as a way to reduce car ownership and make transportation greener and more sustainable.
On May 4, we had the pleasure to have Natalie Huang, Assistant Professor of Management, Rutgers University, US, who has challenged this intuition in one of her recent works. The work shows that, surprisingly, ride-hailing can increase car ownership and total car sales, because it lowers used car prices and pushes manufacturers to reduce new car prices. It also finds that ride-hailing can increase environmental impact, since cheaper and more convenient travel leads people to take more trips. Overall, the work highlights that the effects of ride-hailing are more complex than commonly believed and may not always lead to more sustainable outcomes.
Profile Natalie Huang University Rutgers