Does travel closer to TOD have lower CO2 emissions? Evidence from ride-hailing in Chengdu, China

Abstract

Despite contributions to reducing private car dependency and carbon emissions, impacts of transit-oriented development (TOD) on ride-hailing usage are largely overlooked in existing studies. Using massive ride-hailing trips data in Chengdu, the influence of subway proximity on vehicle kilometers traveled (VKT) and corresponding CO₂ emissions of ride-hailing is examined at the disaggregated level. Similarly, moderated multiple regression is adopted to investigate the interaction effects of subway proximity at pick-up and drop-off on VKT of ride-hailing. Results suggest that for each additional kilometer in subway proximity at pick-up/drop-off position, the VKT of ride-hailing trips is reduced by 0.315 km/0.273 km, resulting in the CO₂ emission reduction of 0.063 kg/0.055 kg. Moreover, the influence of pick-up proximity on VKT change is negatively moderated by drop-off proximity and vice versa. Our results suggest that the carbon emission reduction can benefit from "T (Transit)" however the problem of regional imbalances in "D (Development)" needs to be addressed.

Keywords: CO(2) emission; Ride-hailing; Sustainable development; TOD.