Title: Optimal pricing for ride sharing

Authors: Yongzhong Wu; Xiangying Chen; Yuxin Lu; Yongwu Zhou

Addresses: School of Business Administration, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China ' School of Business Administration, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China ' School of Business Administration, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China ' School of Business Administration, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China

Abstract: The ride sharing business has developed rapidly in recent years. The pricing of the ride sharing service is critical for the profitability of the operators. Pricing too high may reduce passenger demand, and hence increase detours and distance, while pricing too low may reduce the revenue. In order to analyse the dynamics of optimal pricing, a mathematical model is developed to maximise the total profit. In the model, the higher-level pricing decision depends on the lower-level order assignment and routing problem. Numerical experiments with the model show that the operator does not necessarily benefit from providing the ride sharing option. The pricing of ride sharing is critical for profitability. When the total travel demand is high (e.g., in peak hours), the operator should adopt a lower relative pricing in order to maximise profit.

Keywords: ride sharing; optimal pricing; vehicle routing problem; VRP; choice model; order assignment.

DOI: 10.1504/IJISE.2022.122242

International Journal of Industrial and Systems Engineering, 2022 Vol.40 No.3, pp.277 - 291

Received: 25 Oct 2019
Accepted: 24 Jan 2020
Published online: 14 Apr 2022 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article