The effects of ridesourcing services on vehicle ownership in large Indian cities

The role of ridesourcing services on vehicle ownership is an important research area, especially in the context of the environmental implications and long term sustainability of these services. However, evidence from literature so far is mixed, with studies reporting both an increase and reduction in ownership, sometimes in the same country. This research adds to the current knowledge by econometrically estimating the impacts of ridesourcing services on vehicle ownership in a large emerging economy, India. Using a cross-sectional timeseries data on vehicle registrations in 18 large cities in India over 17 years, we find a statistically significant reduction in vehicle ownership (compared to baseline) since the introduction of these services. The growth in vehicle ownership has reduced by around 7.7% in the cities together since the introduction of ridesourcing services and this impact appears to grow over time; but the overall ownership is still increasing.