CPB Corporate Partnership Board Regulating App-Based Mobility Services Summary and Conclusions 175 Roundtable Regulating App-Based Mobility Services Summary and Conclusions 175 Roundtable The International Transport Forum The International Transport Forum is an intergovernmental organisation with 60 member countries. It acts as a think tank for transport policy and organises the Annual Summit of transport ministers. ITF is the only global body that covers all transport modes. The ITF is politically autonomous and administratively integrated with the OECD. The ITF works for transport policies that improve peoples’ lives. Our mission is to foster a deeper understanding of the role of transport in economic growth, environmental sustainability and social inclusion and to raise the public profile of transport policy. The ITF organises global dialogue for better transport. We act as a platform for discussion and pre- negotiation of policy issues across all transport modes. We analyse trends, share knowledge and promote exchange among transport decision-makers and civil society. The ITF’s Annual Summit is the world’s largest gathering of transport ministers and the leading global platform for dialogue on transport policy. The Members of the Forum are: Albania, Armenia, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China (People’s Republic of), Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States. International Transport Forum 2 rue André Pascal F-75775 Paris Cedex 16 [email protected] www.itf-oecd.org ITF Roundtables ITF Roundtables bring together international experts to discuss specific topics notably on economic and regulatory aspects of transport policies in ITF member countries. Findings of ITF Roundtables are published in a Summary and Conclusions paper. Any findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Transport Forum or the OECD. Neither the OECD, ITF nor the authors guarantee the accuracy of any data or other information contained in this publication and accept no responsibility whatsoever for any consequence of their use. This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area. Cite this work as: ITF (2019), Regulating App-based Mobility Services: Summary and Conclusions, ITF Roundtable Reports, No. 175, OECD Publishing, Paris. Acknowledgements This summary report of the ITF Roundtable on Regulating App-based Mobility Services was prepared by Rex Deighton-Smith with support from Tatiana Samsonova and Stephen Perkins, Co-Chair of the Roundtable. It draws on the input papers prepared by Ciro Biderman, Rex Deighton-Smith, Onésimo Flores Dewey and Dana Yanocha, the rich conversation which took place during the Roundtable meeting and the comments and other inputs received from participants during the drafting process. However, a wide range of views were presented and the conclusions presented in the report do not necessarily reflect the views of all participants. The ITF Secretariat wishes to thank the 35 participants, from 13 ITF member countries, who took part in the Roundtable. REGULATING APP-BASED MOBILITY SERVICES | SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS| ITF ROUNDTABLE 175 Table of contents Executive summary ............................................................................................................................. 5 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 9 Taxis and ridesourcing ....................................................................................................................... 10 Regulatory restrictions on taxis ..................................................................................................... 11 Rider and driver safety .................................................................................................................. 12 Equity in service provision ............................................................................................................. 15 Economic position and employment conditions of drivers ........................................................... 19 Addressing externalities ................................................................................................................ 22 Other, sector-specific taxes or levies............................................................................................. 32 Other competition issues .............................................................................................................. 34 Bikeshare ........................................................................................................................................... 35 Regulatory objectives .................................................................................................................... 35 Regulatory initiatives ..................................................................................................................... 36 Nature and extent of the problem ................................................................................................ 38 Potential non-regulatory interventions to address issues ............................................................. 39 Potential indirect cost impacts ...................................................................................................... 40 Broader public policy considerations ............................................................................................ 40 Other app-based services .................................................................................................................. 42 Ridesharing, micro-transit and demand-responsive transit .......................................................... 44 Mobility as a Service ...................................................................................................................... 46 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................................... 48 Notes ................................................................................................................................................. 50 References ........................................................................................................................................ 53 Annex: List of participants ................................................................................................................. 60 4 © OECD/ITF 2019 REGULATING APP-BASED MOBILITY SERVICES | SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS| ITF ROUNDTABLE 175 Executive summary What we did App-based mobility services have a brief history which essentially commenced early in the current decade. But these services have grown exponentially and now constitute a significant part of the urban mobility landscape. The ITF Roundtable on which this report is based focused primarily on ridesourcing and bikeshare, as these currently constitute both the most-developed and the most controversial parts of the sector. Emerging services such as e-scooters, vanpooling and demand-responsive transport were also discussed and their potential future role in the urban mobility landscape addressed. The Roundtable discussed experiences in these areas, including the different and sometimes rapidly evolving regulatory responses to app-based mobility services. It sought to identify key lessons learned and, on this basis, set out relevant regulatory principles that can help to ensure that the consumer benefits of app-based mobility are maximised and that they contribute effectively to the achievement of wider public policy objectives. What we found App-based mobility services have brought substantial consumer benefits. They have expanded choice and enhanced important aspects of service quality including availability, timeliness, comfort and the subjective customer experience, while often driving down prices.1 These benefits derive in part from the technological innovation they embody. For example, they have allowed rapid and reliable matching of services and customers, provided for reliable, cashless payment and enabled effective identification of riders and drivers and recording of journeys. GPS location and app-based communication and payment services have also enabled new business models in several sectors. The welfare gains also derive in part from these innovations sweeping away major regulatory failures in many jurisdictions and bringing transformative change to the urban mobility sector. They have effectively unblocked some long-standing political economy problems. For example, ridesourcing pioneer Uber was founded as a response to the sustained failure of the taxi industry and its regulators to meet passenger demand in San