LAUSR

Abstract In the last decade, ride-hailing services have spread all over the world. While these technology-enabled services account for a small part of the modal split in many Western cities, the situation is different in the developing world, where many people use ride-hailing on a daily basis. To better understand the role of ride-hailing in the mobility system and to confirm the hypothesis that ride-hailing is a new mode of commuting, we constructed, tested, and administered a questionnaire on travel behavior and ride-hailing practices in Tehran, Iran. 601 questionnaires were completed in February 2019. Descriptive analysis is combined with correlation tests and a frequency model. The findings show substantial adoption of ride-hailing in the population, used by people from all social backgrounds as it is the most versatile and flexible mode of transportation in the metropolitan area. While there is a high rate of adoption, frequency of use is mainly determined by smartphone use and income level. Ride-hailing presents the comfort and speed of the private car to those who can afford this new mode on a daily basis, especially for university students, workers in the formal sector and women. Local authorities might consider ride-hailing as an alternative to the private car, in complement to public and semi-public transportation systems.