Expanding Access to Mobility-on-Demand Services

Last registered on July 18, 2022
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Expanding Access to Mobility-on-Demand Services
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0004966
Initial registration date
October 31, 2019

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
November 04, 2019, 10:25 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
July 18, 2022, 10:00 AM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
Egypt
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Adam Osman
Affiliation
University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Peter Christensen
PI Affiliation
University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2019-06-01
End date
2021-06-30
Keywords
Gender, Labor, Other
Additional Keywords
Mobility, Female Safety, Safety Perceptions
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Mobility-on-demand services such as Careem, Grab, Lyft and Uber increase transit options in developing country cities where many residents are underserved by public transit systems and private services are relatively costly. In this experiment we are collaborating with one of these service providers to assess the impacts of expanding access to its services through large subsidies. In particular, this research project aims to explore three main questions: (1) What is the demand response in a developing country city to reductions in the price of mobility-on-demand services? (2) Do reductions in travel costs differentially affect women versus men due to concerns about safety and harassment? (3) What are the labor market benefits of decreasing the travel costs of job seekers? Using a randomized experiment with three subsidy groups, three information groups, and detailed, high-frequency data collection, the project will be able to estimate parameters that are important to academics and policy makers around the world.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Christensen, Peter and Adam Osman. 2022. "Expanding Access to Mobility-on-Demand Services." AEA RCT Registry. July 18. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.4966-1.1
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Previously active users get either (1) a 50% subsidy for 3 months, (2) a 25% subsidy for 3 months, or (3) no subsidy. This is cross randomized with an information message about either (1) jobs, (2) safety, or (3) no additional info.
Intervention Start Date
2019-07-14
Intervention End Date
2020-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Mobility on the platform, Overall Mobility, Feelings of Safety, Labor Market Outcomes
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Life Satisfaction
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Previously active users get either (1) a 50% subsidy for 3 months, (2) a 25% subsidy for 3 months, or (3) no subsidy. This is cross randomized with an information message about either (1) jobs, (2) safety, or (3) no additional info.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Individual level randomization by cohort stratified by gender
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1950 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
1950 individuals, between 3-5 surveys per person.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
650 people in each subsidy group, 650 people in each information group
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign
IRB Approval Date
2018-09-17
IRB Approval Number
19102
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials