Highlights Cooperative and competitive analysis for a duopoly of TNC and public transit. TNC can be hurt by a good-intentioned subsidy in areas with high public transit accessibility. Win-win outcome achieved via subsidy design in areas with low public transit accessibility.
Abstract The substitution and complement of ride-sourcing services and public transit services greatly affect the mobility and accessibility of a multi-modal transportation system. Since the transportation network company (TNC) (operator of ride-sourcing) concerns the profit and the government (operator of public transit) promotes social welfare, the two policy-makers will both cooperate and compete with each other to enhance their benefits. In this paper, we develop a bi-level game-theoretic approach to model the cooperative and competitive relationship between the TNC and the government. In the upper level, the two policy-makers design a cooperative plan such that the government provides subsidies to public transit riders who use ride-sourcing to solve first- or last-mile problems. In the lower level, they attempt to optimize operational strategies to compete with each other for achieving their objectives. The outcome of the bi-level game depends on passengers’ choices among alternative travel modes, which is characterized by an aggregate multi-modal market. Based on the proposed game-theoretic approach, we analytically and numerically examine the impact of the competition with passenger-side subsidies on the multi-modal system, and the existence of optimal strategies that lead to a win–win situation for both the policy-makers. We find that a socially-optimal subsidy level may exist. In areas with high public transit accessibility, a good-intentioned subsidy that boosts first- or last-mile ride-sourcing services can reduce the TNC’s profit. Our research highlights the value of a carefully designed subsidy structure that benefits both the TNC (profit) and the society (social welfare), especially in areas with low public transit accessibilities.
Competition between the transportation network company and the government with subsidies to public transit riders
2021-07-17
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
Efficient Public Transit Subsidies
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1996
|Socioeconomic and usage characteristics of transportation network company (TNC) riders
Online Contents | 2019
|Socioeconomic and usage characteristics of transportation network company (TNC) riders
Online Contents | 2019
|Transit Incentive Program for Transit-Dependent Riders
Online Contents | 1997
|Transit Incentive Program for Transit-Dependent Riders
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1997
|