The effects of ridesourcing services on vehicle ownership: The case of Great Britain

Understanding the impacts of ridesourcing on various transport externalities is an active research area. However, research on relatively long-term impacts such as vehicle ownership is limited and mostly focused on certain geographies. This is the first study that empirically examines the impacts of ridesourcing on vehicle ownership in Great Britain. We used vehicle licensing data for local authority districts from 2001 to 2019. We exploit the heterogeneity in entry dates of ridesourcing and employ the difference-in-differences method. We found that the impacts of the ridesourcing on vehicle numbers are heterogeneous across Great Britain. While the changes in vehicle numbers attributable to ridesourcing availability are not statistically significant in metropolitan districts and urban areas, we find 2.2% and 1.1% reductions in London and rural areas respectively. Our results contribute to future research on the broader impacts of ridesourcing and can inform research and policy efforts in this area, notably regarding decarbonisation.