Modeling Travel Mode Choice of Young People with Differentiated E-hailing Ride Services in Nanjing China

E-hailing ride service (ERS) has become increasingly popular globally and is changing the urban mobility landscape. There is insufficient research effort in understanding the impact of ERS on travel behavior, in particular among young people. This paper aims to start filling that research gap by first collecting mode choice preference data through a stated preference survey in City of Nanjing, China and then applying nested logit (NL) models and a series of post-estimation analysis to address a number of key research questions of mode choice behavior without and with ERS. Three ERS modes are considered in the Chinese context: DiDi Taxi (D-Taxi), DiDi Express (D-Express), and DiDi Premier (D-Premier), all provided by DiDi Chuxing, the dominant ERS service provider in China. The study finds that age makes little difference in mode choice preference when ERS is introduced between the two age groups considered (18-30 and 31-45). The study results also suggest that young travelers are naturally drawn to ERS for what it represents (a technology innovation) and its business (pricing) model. ERS appears to be a competitive alternative to the conventional modes especially when they are under performed. The study also finds that ERS will likely increase vehicle kilometers traveled (VKT) considerably, which will lead to increase in on-road vehicular emissions, unless some mechanism to switch users to ridesharing is in place.