A system dynamics model for urban taxi price simulation
Abstract
Urban taxi services have been developing year on year, playing an increasingly important role in the economy and the transportation markets of each city. This increases interest in measuring their performance. This paper analysed the relationship among the four stakeholders (including administrative department, operational companies, taxi drivers and customers) for urban taxi passenger transport system in China, and applied System Dynamics (SD) model to explore the dynamic characteristics of urban taxi price system. The main achievements of this paper are as follows, firstly, this paper adopted stakeholder mapping to describe the relationships among the four stakeholders. Then analysed the causal flow diagrams and the different variables of urban taxi passenger transport system operation, and presented the SD model, which considers factors that affect the taxi operation. With the combination of taxi operation data of Harbin city, we simulated eleven urban taxi operation scenarios and proposed kinds of suggestions to improve urban taxi passenger transport system operation, which can provide a good basis for recommending policy decisions for urban taxi market.
Keyword : urban taxi, system dynamics, scenario analysis, stakeholders, performance analysis
How to Cite
An, S., Hu, X., Wang, J., & Lv, H. (2021). A system dynamics model for urban taxi price simulation. Transport, 36(5), 395-405. https://doi.org/10.3846/transport.2021.16147
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Gaunt, C.; Black, T. 1996. The economic cost of taxicab regulation: the case of Brisbane, Economic Analysis and Policy 26(1): 45–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0313-5926(96)50003-2
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Hang, W.; Li, X. 2010. Application of system dynamics for evaluating truck weight regulations, Transport Policy 17(4): 240–250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2010.01.007
Hackner, J.; Nyberg, S. 1995. Deregulating taxi services: a word of caution, Journal of Transport Economics and Policy 29(2): 195–207.
Kim, H.; Yang, I.; Choi, K. 2011. An agent-based simulation model for analyzing the impact of asymmetric passenger demand on taxi service, KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering 15(1): 187–195. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-011-1037-8
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Lv, H. 2011. Research on Urban Passenger Taxi Pricing Based on System Dynamic. Dissertation. Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China. (in Chinese).
Minato, N.; Morimoto, R. 2011. Designing the commercial sustainability of unprofitable regional airports using system dynamics analysis, Research in Transportation Business & Management 1(1): 80–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rtbm.2011.06.009
Morrison, P. S. 1997. Restructuring effects of deregulation: the case of the New Zealand taxi industry, Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space 29(5): 913–928. https://doi.org/10.1068/a290913
Qian, X.; Ukkusuri, S. V. 2015. Spatial variation of the urban taxi ridership using GPS data, Applied Geography 59: 31–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2015.02.011
Qian, X.; Ukkusuri, S. V. 2017. Taxi market equilibrium with third-party hailing service, Transportation Research Part B: Methodological 100: 43–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trb.2017.01.012
Roumboutsos, A.; Kapros, S. 2008. A game theory approach to urban public transport integration policy, Transport Policy 15(4): 209–215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2008.05.001
Santos, D. O.; Xavier, E. C. 2015. Taxi and ride sharing: a dynamic dial-a-ride problem with money as an incentive, Expert Systems with Applications 42(19): 6728–6737. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2015.04.060
Schaller, B. 1999. Elasticities for taxicab fares and service availability, Transportation 26(3): 283–297. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005185421575
Simoes, P.; Marques, R. С. 2010. Seaport performance analysis using robust non-parametric efficiency estimators, Transportation Planning and Technology 33(5): 435–451. https://doi.org/10.1080/03081060.2010.502375
Song, C. 2010. Resident trip characteristics comparison in main cities among three city circles of China, Traffic & Transportation (z1): 1–4. (in Chinese).
STSE. 2009. The Report of Harbin Taxi Operating Survey Analysis. School of Transportation Science and Engineering (STSE), Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China. (in Chinese).
Van de Velde, D. M. 1999. Organisational forms and entrepreneurship in public transport: classifying organisational forms, Transport Policy 6(3): 147–157. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0967-070X(99)00016-5
Wang, H. 2011. A Practice of Smart City: Intelligent Taxi Dispatch Services with Real-Time Traffic and Customer Information. Beihang University Press, Beijing, China. (in Chinese).
Wang, J.; Chen, X.-W. 2004. Analyzing the pricing mechanism of the taxi service with economics theory, Journal of Transportation Engineering and Information (4): 99–104. (in Chinese).
Wang, Y. 2009. Taxi market related stakeholders’ interest and the best operational mode analysis, Probe (1): 137–142. (in Chinese).
Yang, H.; Leung, C. W. Y.; Wong, S. C.; Bell, M. G. H. 2010. Equilibria of bilateral taxi–customer searching and meeting on networks, Transportation Research Part B: Methodological 44(8–9): 1067–1083. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trb.2009.12.010
Yang, H., Wong, S. C., Wong, K. I. 2002. Demand–supply equilibrium of taxi services in a network under competition and regulation, Transportation Research Part B: Methodological 36(9): 799–819. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-2615(01)00031-5
Yang, H.; Yang, T. 2011. Equilibrium properties of taxi markets with search frictions, Transportation Research Part B: Methodological 45(4): 696–713. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trb.2011.01.002
Yang, H., Ye, M., Tang, W. H., Wong, S. C. 2005. Regulating taxi services in the presence of congestion externality, Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 39(1): 17–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2004.05.004
Yang, J.; Dong, J.; Lin, Z.; Hu, L. 2016. Predicting market potential and environmental benefits of deploying electric taxis in Nanjing, China, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment 49: 68–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2016.08.037
An, S.; Hu, X.; Wang, J. 2011. Urban taxis and air pollution: a case study in Harbin, China, Journal of Transport Geography 19(4): 960–967. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2010.12.005
Arnott, R. 1996. Taxi travel should be subsidized, Journal of Urban Economics 40(3): 316–333. https://doi.org/10.1006/juec.1996.0035
Barlas, Y. 2007. Leverage points to march “upward from the aimless plateau”, System Dynamics Review 23(4): 469–473. https://doi.org/10.1002/sdr.389
Cairns, R. D.; Liston-Heyes, C. 1996. Competition and regulation in the taxi industry, Journal of Public Economics 59(1): 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/004-2727(94)01495-7
Chen, X.; Zahiri, M.; Zhang, S. 2017. Understanding ridesplitting behavior of on-demand ride services: an ensemble learning approach, Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies 76: 51–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trc.2016.12.018
Cooper, J.; Mundy, R. 2010. Taxi! Urban Economies and the Social and Transport Impacts of the Taxicab. Routledge. 208 p. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315611884
De Vany, A. S. 1975. Capacity utilization under alternative regulatory restraints: an analysis of taxi markets, Journal of Political Economy 83(1): 83–94. https://doi.org/10.1086/260307
Dempsey, P. S. 1996. Taxi industry regulation, deregulation & reregulation: the paradox of market failure, Transportation Law Journal 24: 73–120.
Drăgoicea, M.; Falcao e Cunha, J.; Pătraşcu, M. 2015. Self-organising socio-technical description in service systems for supporting smart user decisions in public transport, Expert Systems with Applications 42(17–18): 6329–6341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2015.04.029
Drew, D. R. 1990. System dynamics modeling of development induced by transportation investment, Transportation Research Record 1274: 63–81.
Federici, M.; Ulgiati, S.; Verdesca, D.; Basosi, R. 2003. Efficiency and sustainability indicators for passenger and commodities transportation systems: the case of Siena, Italy, Ecological Indicators 3(3): 155–169. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-160X(03)00040-2
Fu, L. 2002. Scheduling dial-a-ride paratransit under time-varying, stochastic congestion, Transportation Research Part B: Methodological 36(6): 485–506. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-2615(01)00014-5
Gaunt, C.; Black, T. 1996. The economic cost of taxicab regulation: the case of Brisbane, Economic Analysis and Policy 26(1): 45–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0313-5926(96)50003-2
Garling, T.; Laitila, T.; Marell, A.; Westin, K. 1995. A note on the short-term effects of deregulation of the Swedish taxi-cab industry, Journal of Transport Economics and Policy 29(2): 209–214.
Haghani, A.; Lee, S. Y.; Byun, J. H. 2002. A system dynamics approach to land use/transportation system performance modelling. Part I: methodology, Journal of Advanced Transportation 37(1): 1–41. https://doi.org/10.1002/atr.5670370102
Han, B.; Nie, W.; He, L. 2010. Research on Taxi Market System: Theory and Practice. China Communications Press, Beijing. (in Chinese).
Han, J.; Hayashi, Y. 2008. A system dynamics model of CO2 mitigation in China’s inter-city passenger transport, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment 13(5): 298–305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2008.03.005
Han, S. S. 2010. Managing motorization in sustainable transport planning: the Singapore experience, Journal of Transport Geography 18(2): 314–321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2009.06.010
Hang, W.; Li, X. 2010. Application of system dynamics for evaluating truck weight regulations, Transport Policy 17(4): 240–250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2010.01.007
Hackner, J.; Nyberg, S. 1995. Deregulating taxi services: a word of caution, Journal of Transport Economics and Policy 29(2): 195–207.
Kim, H.; Yang, I.; Choi, K. 2011. An agent-based simulation model for analyzing the impact of asymmetric passenger demand on taxi service, KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering 15(1): 187–195. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-011-1037-8
Liu, S.; Triantis, K. P.; Sarangi, S. 2010. A framework for evaluating the dynamic impacts of a congestion pricing policy for a transportation socioeconomic system, Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 44(8): 596–608. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2010.04.001
Lv, H. 2011. Research on Urban Passenger Taxi Pricing Based on System Dynamic. Dissertation. Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China. (in Chinese).
Minato, N.; Morimoto, R. 2011. Designing the commercial sustainability of unprofitable regional airports using system dynamics analysis, Research in Transportation Business & Management 1(1): 80–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rtbm.2011.06.009
Morrison, P. S. 1997. Restructuring effects of deregulation: the case of the New Zealand taxi industry, Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space 29(5): 913–928. https://doi.org/10.1068/a290913
Qian, X.; Ukkusuri, S. V. 2015. Spatial variation of the urban taxi ridership using GPS data, Applied Geography 59: 31–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2015.02.011
Qian, X.; Ukkusuri, S. V. 2017. Taxi market equilibrium with third-party hailing service, Transportation Research Part B: Methodological 100: 43–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trb.2017.01.012
Roumboutsos, A.; Kapros, S. 2008. A game theory approach to urban public transport integration policy, Transport Policy 15(4): 209–215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2008.05.001
Santos, D. O.; Xavier, E. C. 2015. Taxi and ride sharing: a dynamic dial-a-ride problem with money as an incentive, Expert Systems with Applications 42(19): 6728–6737. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2015.04.060
Schaller, B. 1999. Elasticities for taxicab fares and service availability, Transportation 26(3): 283–297. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005185421575
Simoes, P.; Marques, R. С. 2010. Seaport performance analysis using robust non-parametric efficiency estimators, Transportation Planning and Technology 33(5): 435–451. https://doi.org/10.1080/03081060.2010.502375
Song, C. 2010. Resident trip characteristics comparison in main cities among three city circles of China, Traffic & Transportation (z1): 1–4. (in Chinese).
STSE. 2009. The Report of Harbin Taxi Operating Survey Analysis. School of Transportation Science and Engineering (STSE), Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China. (in Chinese).
Van de Velde, D. M. 1999. Organisational forms and entrepreneurship in public transport: classifying organisational forms, Transport Policy 6(3): 147–157. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0967-070X(99)00016-5
Wang, H. 2011. A Practice of Smart City: Intelligent Taxi Dispatch Services with Real-Time Traffic and Customer Information. Beihang University Press, Beijing, China. (in Chinese).
Wang, J.; Chen, X.-W. 2004. Analyzing the pricing mechanism of the taxi service with economics theory, Journal of Transportation Engineering and Information (4): 99–104. (in Chinese).
Wang, Y. 2009. Taxi market related stakeholders’ interest and the best operational mode analysis, Probe (1): 137–142. (in Chinese).
Yang, H.; Leung, C. W. Y.; Wong, S. C.; Bell, M. G. H. 2010. Equilibria of bilateral taxi–customer searching and meeting on networks, Transportation Research Part B: Methodological 44(8–9): 1067–1083. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trb.2009.12.010
Yang, H., Wong, S. C., Wong, K. I. 2002. Demand–supply equilibrium of taxi services in a network under competition and regulation, Transportation Research Part B: Methodological 36(9): 799–819. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-2615(01)00031-5
Yang, H.; Yang, T. 2011. Equilibrium properties of taxi markets with search frictions, Transportation Research Part B: Methodological 45(4): 696–713. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trb.2011.01.002
Yang, H., Ye, M., Tang, W. H., Wong, S. C. 2005. Regulating taxi services in the presence of congestion externality, Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 39(1): 17–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2004.05.004
Yang, J.; Dong, J.; Lin, Z.; Hu, L. 2016. Predicting market potential and environmental benefits of deploying electric taxis in Nanjing, China, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment 49: 68–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2016.08.037