2023/10/27 by Michael Anderson, Lucas W. Davis · 2 voices · 12 citations
Business, Management and Accounting · Engineering · Social Sciences · #Business #Census #Census tract #Demography #Economic surplus #Economics #Engineering #Geography #Sharing Economy and Platforms #Transport engineering #Transportation and Mobility Innovations #Urban Transport and Accessibility #Welfare
paper · doi:10.1162/rest_a_01385
published in The Review of Economics and Statistics 108(2), 525-532 (The MIT Press)
openalex publication_date 2023/10/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/28
Abstract Previous studies of the effect of ridesharing on traffic fatalities have yielded inconsistent conclusions. We revisit this question using proprietary data from Uber measuring monthly rideshare activity at the Census tract level. We find a consistent negative effect of ridesharing on traffic fatalities, with impacts concentrated during nights and weekends. Our results imply that ridesharing has decreased U.S. traffic fatalities by 5.2% in areas where it operates. The annual life-saving benefits are 6.8 billion. Back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that these benefits are of similar magnitude to producer surplus captured by Uber shareholders or consumer surplus captured by Uber riders.