Working Paper: NBER ID: w24349
Authors: Michael Ostrovsky; Michael Schwarz
Abstract: We study the interplay between autonomous transportation, carpooling, and road pricing. We discuss how improvements in these technologies, and interactions among them, will affect transportation markets. Our main results show how to achieve socially efficient outcomes in such markets, taking into account the costs of driving, road capacity, and commuter preferences. An important component of the efficient outcome is the socially optimal matching of carpooling riders. Our approach shows how to set road prices and how to share the costs of driving and tolls among carpooling riders in a way that implements the efficient outcome.
Keywords: autonomous transportation; carpooling; road pricing
JEL Codes: C78; D47; L91
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| systemwide tolls (R48) | carpooling attractiveness (R41) |
| frictionless carpooling technology (R48) | concerns about distributional consequences of tolls (R48) |
| systemwide tolls + frictionless carpooling technology (R48) | efficient market design (D47) |
| tolls (R48) | coalition formation among riders (C71) |
| road pricing (R48) | optimization of traffic flow (C61) |
| carpooling (R48) | economic gains greater than increasing car utilization (R48) |