The impact of ride-hailing services on road traffic accidents in China: Focused on the moderating effect of ride-hailing regulatory policy.

As ride-hailing services become more widespread, traffic safety has raised attention among the public. However, existing research has not fully revealed the impact of ride-hailing services on road traffic accidents in Chinese cities. Although ride-hailing regulatory policy sets industry entry thresholds, it remains to verify whether the policy can change the relationship between ride-hailing services and road traffic accidents. The aims of the study are to assess the impact of the entry of ride-hailing services on road traffic accidents, exploring the moderating effect of ride-hailing regulatory policy in this relationship. Based on panel data from 79 Chinese cities between 2007 and 2017, this article uses a multi-period difference-in-differences model to analyze the impact of the entry of ride-hailing services on accident casualties. To explore ride-hailing regulatory policy validity, this article uses a moderating effect model to assess whether the regulatory policy influences the relationship between ride-hailing services and accident casualties. The entry of ride-hailing services has no significant impact on accident injuries but has increased accident fatalities. Although the implementation of ride-hailing regulatory policy has not significantly moderated the irrelevant relationship between ride-hailing services and accident injuries, it significantly alleviates the positive impact of ride-hailing services on accident fatalities. The varying policy intensities were ineffective in moderating the relationship between ride-hailing services and accident injuries. Under the positive effect of ride-hailing services on accident fatalities, loose policy strengthens this effect, medium-intensity policy has no significant moderating effect, while strict policy weakens the effect. In China, ride-hailing services are closely linked to an increase in accident fatalities. By raising industry entry thresholds, the implementation of strict regulatory policy can improve road traffic safety. The findings provide management insights for the government in regulating the ride-hailing market.