A time-dependent logit-based taxi customer-search model

In this study, global positioning system data from 460 urban taxis are used to develop a time-dependent logit model. The rate of return (ROR, also known as profit per unit time) is used as a factor underlying taxi drivers' searching behaviour for customers. The data also reveal that the search behaviour across districts as well as the decisions towards a particular district in customer-search is strongly related to the daily profile of passenger demand, and that when the overall passenger demand is high, vacant taxi drivers tend to circulate within or wait at the area where their preceding customers got off to find their next customer. The results also show that the ROR is a significant factor that affects the customer-searching strategies of vacant taxi drivers over a day, and is inversely related to the percentage of taxi idling time. More importantly, this paper illustrates that there is a change in searching behaviour over time of day.