Investigating factors that influence the frequency of ride hailing use among university students in Banda Aceh, Indonesia

The widespread deployment of information and communication technology (ICT) has allowed ride hailing services to grow exponentially over the last few years. This study aims to investigate ride hailing use frequency among university students in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The city offers unique characteristics since it has limited public transport facilities, a growing number of vehicle ownership, and traffic dominated by motorcycles. Ride hailing services in this city are predominantly motorcycle-based, hence they could potentially have substitution effects on private vehicle use and ownership. This study focused on university students because their travel behaviour often differs from general public, and they form the majority users of ride hailing services. Ordinal logistic regression was employed, drawing from 219 valid responses from a survey disseminated in 2023. The variables explored include individual and household characteristics, travel attributes, and perceptions on ride hailing services. It was found that the most significant factors that encourage students to frequently use ride hailing services include working part-time, having high allowance, perceiving good level of convenience and service. On the other hand, attributes that have the biggest effects in discouraging ride hailing use include low travel cost, sitting in 5th semester or later, and living in a private house. This study offers insights into ride hailing behaviour in the context of a city with limited public transport facilities and severe motorcycle composition, which can help regulators and operators to improve policies around the platforms.