Self-Driving Cars May only Lower Ride-Hailing Prices Under Specific Conditions

Self-driving cars may only lower ride-hailing prices under specific conditions

In 2018, when Zhen Lian, then a Ph.D. student at Cornell, started working on a research project about self-driving cars, the technology still seemed like "a futuristic topic," she says. Just five years later, while traveling in Phoenix, she was able to hail a self-driving car—also known as an autonomous vehicle (AV)—to get a ride from her hotel to the airport.

Will Self-Driving Cars Lower Ride-Hailing Prices?‌‌

Lower cost is one anticipated advantage of incorporating autonomous vehicles (AVs) into ride-hailing services. But a study co-authored by Prof. Zhen Lian suggests that lower prices will only materialize under certain market conditions, such as using a single app for both AVs and human drivers.‌