Initial Transit Effects of New York City's Ride-Hailing Congestion Tax

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: In February 2019, New York City implemented a $2.75 tax on non-pooled ride-hailing trips, a $0.75 tax on pooled trips, and a $2.50 tax on taxi trips that pass through a designated congestion zone in Manhattan. This paper offers an initial empirical analysis of how this tax may have impacted ride-hailing, taxi, and subway usage. Using a log-linear difference-in-difference approach between trip counts within the congestion zone versus outside the congestion zone, I find that the congestion tax was associated with a statistically significant decline in relative ride-hailing and taxi usage. Declines were generally larger during the day than at night, and shared ride-hailing trips actually saw a relative increase within the congestion zone, indicating potential substitution between non-shared and shared trips. Meanwhile, the tax was not significantly associated with a relative rise in subway ridership in the congestion zone, suggesting that, on average, there was likely not a large substitution effect between these modes after the tax. Additional analysis of concurrent policy changes, such as New York City’s August 2018 ride-hailing license cap, will be required to more confidently separate the tax’s impact from other ongoing changes in the city.

Author	Dilworth, Edmond
Thesis advisor	Levi, Margaret
Degree granting institution	Stanford University
Department	Public Policy Program

DOI	https://doi.org/10.25740/gg066cy0440
Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/gg066cy0440

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License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY).

Preferred citation: Dilworth, E. (2023). Initial Transit Effects of New York City's Ride-Hailing Congestion Tax. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at https://purl.stanford.edu/gg066cy0440. https://doi.org/10.25740/gg066cy0440.

Stanford University, Public Policy Program, Undergraduate Honors Theses and Practicum Projects

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