Usage Frequency and Service Type Preference of Ride-Hailing Service in University Community: A Case Study in Suzhou, China

Ride-haling services are becoming popular in cities, especially for young people. Many studies have investigated ride-hailing usage behavior for the general population, few studies focus on the university population (key users). This paper conducts an online survey to investigate students' usage behavior of ride-hailing services in Chinese university communities. Descriptive analysis and discrete choice models (DCM) are performed to understand usage frequency and preference of service types. Descriptive analysis reveals that over 60% of students use ride-hailing 1-3 times per month and nearly 45% of students choose express service for traveling. The important factors impacting usage frequency include occupation, monthly expenses, car ownership, car-sharing membership, and public transport membership. Similarly, commuting time, usage frequency, time of day, travel time, status, age, monthly expense, as well as car ownership influence the preference of service types. The findings provide insights for optimizing the operation of ride-hailing services in cities.