Understanding the effects of taxi ride-sharing - A case study of Singapore

This paper studies the effects of ride-sharing among those calling on taxis in Singapore for similar origin and destination pairs at nearly the same time of day. It proposes a simple yet practical framework for taxi ride sharing and scheduling, to reduce waiting times and travel times during peak demand periods. The solution method helps taxi users save money while helping taxi drivers serve multiple requests per day, thus increasing their earnings. A comprehensive simulation study is conducted, based on real taxi booking data for the city of Singapore, to evaluate the effect of various factors of the ride-sharing practice, e.g., waiting time, extra travel time, and taxi fare reduction. The results demonstrate that ride-sharing could serve 20%-25% more taxi booking requests and reduce traveler waiting time during peak hours. It also indicates that there is a reduction in travel distance of approximately 2-3 km per taxi trip on average, which is approximately 20%-30% of the average ride distance.