Uber, Public Transit, and Urban Transportation Equity: A Case Study in New York City

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[edit] Uber, Public Transit, and Urban Transportation Equity: A Case Study in New York City

Jin, S. T., Kong, H., & Sui, D. Z. (2019). Uber, Public Transit, and Urban Transportation Equity: A Case Study in New York City. The Professional Geographer, 71(2), 315–330.

DOI: 10.1080/00330124.2018.1531038

Article Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/00330124.2018.1531038

• Context

The article looks at how Uber and public transport interact in New York City, with a particular emphasis on the app's distribution and effects on the equity of urban transit. It indicates places like Manhattan and Queens where Uber either competes with or enhances current services. Uber's role in improving transit equity is called into doubt by the report, which emphasizes how unevenly distributed it is when compared to public transportation.

• Overview

This article uses 2014 Uber pickup data to examine the spatiotemporal link between Uber and public transportation in New York City. Uber complements public transport while also competing with it, according to the data, albeit competition is more pronounced in New York City. When public transport is available and competitive during most of the day, Uber complements it; yet, when public transport is scarce or unavailable after midnight, it competes with it. Uber's services are distributed in a very unequal manner, and the company has no impact on increasing transportation equity. In addition to evaluating how Uber impacts urban transportation equity, the article attempts to quantify the spatiotemporal relationship between Uber and public transportation. There is little quantitative data to back up this claim that the relationship between ridesourcing and public transport has not been thoroughly investigated.The literature on transport equity and policy emphasizes both horizontal and vertical equity, with horizontal equity emphasizing the equitable distribution of costs and benefits among individuals and groups.

Ridesourcing equity studies look into how different socioeconomic classes and income levels can access ridesourcing services. When combined with public transportation, Uber might not increase transportation equity, even though it might increase accessibility to transit in low-income areas. Higher population density, shorter commute times, and denser road networks all correspond with improved accessibility, according to research on ridesourcing accessibility.The interaction between Uber and public transportation is investigated in three buffer regions in this study: the 100-meter buffer, the 100- to 400- or 800-meter buffer, and the outside buffer. In these regions, Uber pickup sites are viewed as either complementing or competing with public transportation. The spatial link between Uber pickups and scheduled public transportation pickups is measured at the Central Business District (CBG) scale using spatial cross-correlation, taking distance decay into consideration. Whereas a negative SCI denotes a complementary relationship, a positive SCI suggests a competitive interaction between Uber and public transportation. The Lorenz curve is used to visually depict the distribution of transportation supply throughout the population, while the Gini Coefficient is used to evaluate the distribution of transportation provision among populations. Uber's association with public transport services and different socioeconomic factors is examined through the calculation of the Pearson correlation coefficient.This study investigates the interaction between Uber and public transport in New York City, with a particular emphasis on the weekly and daily variations in both services.

Findings indicate that there is a plentiful supply of public transportation, a sharp drop in late-night and early-morning Uber pickups, and a steady volume of Uber journeys all week long, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. The survey also looks at Uber pickups and public transportation coverage, and it finds that Queens has the least amount of coverage while Manhattan has the most. In order to examine the connection between the quantity of Uber pickups and scheduled public transportation pickups, the study additionally computes a spatial cross-correlation (SCI). With the exception of midnight, Uber competes with public transportation most of the time in Manhattan; in Queens, however, it enhances it. According to the study's findings, there may be competition between the two forms of transportation given Uber's presence in Queens and Manhattan.The contribution of Uber to equitable urban transit in New York City is examined in this article. Compared to Uber and taxis, the Gini coefficient of public transport is substantially lower, suggesting a more equitable distribution among the populace. Uber's distribution is somewhat more egalitarian than that of public transportation. According to Lorenz curves, 20% of residents use 95% of Uber's services, indicating that the company's distribution is further from the ideal equality line. Uber plays a negligible influence in enhancing transport fairness; the Gini coefficient is only marginally smaller when it is added to the transportation system. Transportation supply and population, income, and minority groups do not significantly correlate, according to Pearson correlation coefficients.

• Strengths and Weaknesses

This article's thorough analysis is its strongest point. The study thoroughly examines how Uber and public transport interact in New York City. The emphasis on equity is another excellent job that this article provides. By concentrating on transport equality, it highlighted the differences in the distribution of services between socioeconomic classes, adding to a crucial component of the conversation about urban transport. It does, however, have a few weaknesses. The article's length is the first; it is rather lengthy. Another weakness is the dated data, this article uses data from 2014, which can alter the overall findings.

• Assessment

To sum up, this study uses Uber pickup data from 2014 to thoroughly examine how the service interacts with public transportation in New York City. By analyzing how Uber competes with and enhances public transportation in different locations and times, it reveals differences in the way that locals receive services. Using a variety of quantitative techniques, the study reveals relationships between Uber's existence and socioeconomic characteristics while also highlighting transportation equity. Uber services are not distributed equally, according to the study, but it has little effect on improving transportation equity.

Kh19an 00:43, 5 December 2023 (EST)