Transportation planners in Boston released results of a survey of ride-hailing passengers to learn more about the impact that services like Uber and Lyft are having on regional travel patterns.

The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) surveyed nearly 1,000 ride-hailing passengers in late 2017 and asked about their demographics, the nature of their trip, and why they chose ride-hailing over other modes of transportation.

Studies suggest that ride-hailing services may replace other options such as public transit, walking, and bicycling. Credit: David WagmanResearchers say that the results confirmed many common assumptions about ride-hailing users; they also provided new insight into the ways that the services are changing travel behavior and affecting existing transportation system.

As a starter, the survey found that most users are under age 35, that most of them use the service on a weekly basis, and that most don’t own a car. Less predictably, researchers say they found that reported rider incomes are similar to the region overall, and a substantial number of trips are made by people from households earning less than $38,000 a year.

Most trips start or end at home, but nearly one-third (31 percent) are from one non-home location to another. Ride-hailing usage is distributed throughout the day; the evening hours from 7:00 p.m. to midnight see the greatest frequency of trips, but about 40 percent of weekday trips take place during the morning or afternoon commute periods.

People also like to travel by themselves: around one-fifth of customers opt for a truly shared ride (for example, UberPOOL), and the majority of travel is for a single passenger. Riders are willing to pay a substantial premium for the convenience and predictability of ride-hailing. Nearly two-thirds of trips cost more than $10, and one in five costs more than $20.

The report says that while the services are popular, their growing use may result in negative outcomes for traffic congestion, transit use, and active transportation. When asked how they would have made their current trip if ride-hailing hadn’t been an option, 12 percent said they would have walked or biked, and over two-fifths (42 percent) of respondents said they would have taken transit.

Transit Substitution

Some of this “transit substitution” takes place during rush hours, the report says. Researchers estimate that 12 percent of all ride-hailing trips are substituting for a transit trip during the morning or afternoon commute periods; an additional 3 percent of riders during these times would have otherwise walked or biked. Overall, 15 percent of ride-hailing trips are adding cars to the region’s roadways during the morning or afternoon rush hours.

The research says that this “transit substitution” is more frequent among riders with a weekly or monthly transit pass. Those who ride transit more often are more likely to drop it for ride hailing, even while doing so at a cost differential, and even when they have already paid for the transit.

After accounting for transit pass availability and substitution options, researchers estimate that the average ride-hailing trip represents 35 cents of lost fare revenue for the transit authority, known as the MBTA.

"Even if future ride-hailing vehicles were fully electric and autonomous, the region’s roadways could not accommodate unchecked growth in single-occupant vehicle travel," the report says. "For transit to thrive, it must change, perhaps by incorporating the types of on-demand response and real-time information that riders value."

Denver, San Francisco, and Manhattan

Results from the Boston study are mirrored by a doctoral dissertation published in January 2017 by a civil engineer from the University of Colorado Denver. Ride-hailing services were found to be pulling riders off transit or biking and walking.

A solo drive in Denver takes just over 26 minutes compared to nearly 49 minutes on transit, according to Colorado Public Radio (CPR).

CPR says that a study released in December found that big jumps in the number of taxis and ride-sharing vehicles are slowing traffic in Manhattan. That study recommended policies to prevent further increases in what it said were the number of vacant vehicles occupied only by drivers waiting for their next trip request.

In San Francisco, a study released in June found that on a typical weekday, ride-hailing drivers make more than 170,000 vehicle trips, about 12 times the number of taxi trips, and that the trips are concentrated in the densest and most congested parts of the city.

CPR also reported on a survey released in October of more than 4,000 adults in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle and Washington, D.C., that showed that 49 to 61 percent of ride-hailing trips would have not been made at all — or would have been made by walking, biking, or public transit — if the option didn't exist.