Abstract

Most seats in private cars are empty when drivers hit the road. Carpooling thus represents a low-cost strategy to reduce carbon emissions and road congestion in the transportation sector. Using revealed preference data from actual long-distance carpooling trips in France, we estimate passengers’ preferences for the different characteristics of a ride. We find that passengers are highly price-elastic and value significantly the convenience of pick-up and drop-off locations. In contrast, their value of time once in the car is significantly lower than typical reference values. Finally, we assess the extent to which drivers and passengers could be better matched.

Practical information