Requests for Ridehailing During an Extreme Weather Event: Exploratory Analysis of New York City

Abstract

Winter Storm Jonas had a significant impact on the transportation system in New York City. However, transportation system disruptions due to extreme weather events can be difficult to study using traditional data sources. In this study, a new data set from a smartphone application (simply referred to as an “app”) was utilized to examine changes in requests for Uber during Winter Storm Jonas. First, visualizations of app utilization data were conducted. Then, the rate of Uber requests compared with normal weather conditions were calculated. Finally, Uber requests per hour were decomposed into the seasonal, trend-cycle, and remainder components. The results revealed that requests for Uber increased substantially on the last day of the storm as a travel ban was being lifted and transit service was being restored; this suggests that ridehailing services may play a role in recovery after transportation system shutdowns due to extreme weather events. These empirical findings are valuable for transportation providers to better manage and communicate with the public during severe weather events, particularly considering the lack of publicly available ridehailing data sets.