Taxi app users more likely to use public transport frequently, says study

The majority of people using taxi and other apps to get lifts or share cars report using trains more often, a U.S study of the travel habits of thousands of people in seven U.S cities has found.

The study Shared Mobility and the Transformation of Public Transit, for the American Public Transportation Association, found that public transport was at the heart of a shift in behaviour that results in less driving, said APTA chair Valarie J. McCall.

Based on the behaviour of 4,500 taxi app users in Austin, Boston, Chicago, L.A, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington D.C, the study says that users of taxi, car-sharing such as Zipcar and ride-sourcing apps such as BlaBlaCar own fewer cars in a household and the apps are "a gateway to a car-lite lifestyle" in which the apps "fill in the gaps" of transit.

The study found that 50% of the app users report using a train more often, 45% buses more often and 30% driving a car to work less often. The authors noted public sector transit agencies were starting to collaborate with private mobility operators "to improve the first and last miles" which could lead to shared mobility services folded into existing fixed-route services