Evaluating the Effects of Double-Apping on the Smartphone-Based E-Hailing Service: A Simulation-Based Study

Double-apping happens when passengers or drivers use multiple smartphone-based e-hailing applications. While it has been observed in practice, its effects on the e-hailing service have not yet been explored by any previous study. In this paper, we give the first systematic study of the phenomenon of double-apping and clarify its definition in a smartphone-based e-hailing market model with two ridesharing companies. We also define four cruising modes for drivers, i.e., stationary, random, gravity, and historical. To study the effects of the double-apping and compare different cruising modes, we conduct extensive simulations based on real taxi GPS trajectories. Our results demonstrate that: 1) the network effect exists in the e-hailing market, which makes the driver ratio of the market leader at equilibrium grows faster with higher market share; 2) the gravity and historical cruising modes outperform the other two modes, in terms of assigned ratio, dispatch distance, order number, and driver’s profit; 3) passenger’s and driver’s double-apping have the opposite effects for a ridesharing company; and 4) the ridesharing companies are in a Prisoner’s Dilemma, where two-sided double-apping cannot be achieved and a unilateral action of allowing driver’s double-apping brings no benefit to the ridesharing company itself.