Rider multihoming in the United States rideshare market

Abstract

This thesis examines rider multihoming in the US ridesharing market. Ridesharing services experience substantial multihoming on both sides of the platform, and appear to suffer from a combination of a lack of differentiation as well as low multihoming costs. Through an informational interview, a qualitative survey, and a conjoint survey and analysis, rider preferences were able to be categorized and quantified. An adapted conjoint survey and analysis allowed for a simulation of rider decisions to accept a ride or multihome along price, time, and company attributes. With baseline thresholds, examining the prevalence of multihoming with use of several multihoming reduction strategies, have shown that network bridging strategies may have an impact in reducing the prevalence of multihoming among riders. In-App Promotions and Incentive-based strategies, meanwhile, have shown to have the opposite results, showing an increased tendency to multihome in riders that utilize them.