Abstract

We use three quasi-natural experiments in Mexico and one in Panama to estimate the effects of having the option to pay with cash on Uber rides. The ability to pay in cash affects the demand for rides, which is reflected in large changes in the total number of trips, fares, miles, and number of users after Uber introduced cash payments, particularly in lower-income city blocks. On the other hand, the effects on prices, estimated times of arrival, and competitor pricing are negligible, consistent with the supply of trips being very elastic. Although cash payments naturally increase the fraction of users that pay exclusively with cash, more than half of the users have access to both cards and cash, and alternate between payment methods. We find evidence consistent with cash and card payments being imperfectly substitutable at both the intensive and extensive margins, which magnifies the impact of policies that restrict the availability of payment methods.

中文翻译：

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关于支付方式可用性的影响：优步的案例*

摘要

我们使用墨西哥的三个准自然实验和巴拿马的一个准自然实验来估计选择用现金支付优步乘车的影响。现金支付能力会影响乘车需求，这反映在优步引入现金支付后，出行总数、票价、里程和用户数量的巨大变化，尤其是在低收入城市街区。另一方面，对价格、预计到达时间和竞争对手定价的影响可以忽略不计，这与行程供应非常有弹性是一致的。虽然现金支付自然会增加只用现金支付的用户比例，但超过一半的用户可以同时使用卡和现金，并在支付方式之间交替使用。