Matching and Pricing in Ride Hailing: Wild Goose Chases and How to Solve Them

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Castillo, Juan Camilo; Knoepfle, Dan; Weyl, E. Glen
• 署名单位: University of Pennsylvania; Uber Technologies, Inc.; Microsoft
• 刊物名称: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0025-1909
• DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2022.00096
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: Ride Hailing; market design; matching; first dispatch; surge pricing

摘要

We show that ride-hailing markets are prone to a matching failure (wild goose chases) in which high demand sets off a harmful feedback cycle of few idle drivers, high pickup times, and low earnings, drastically reducing welfare. After characterizing these failures theoretically and showing empirical evidence of their relevance, we analyze how platforms can avoid them. Raising prices brings demand back under control. Platforms can thus set a uniform high price, or they can use high surge pricing during high demand times while keeping prices low at other times. Some adjustments to the matching algorithm can also avoid the problem, but surge pricing performs better than them.