Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

New York City Drunk Driving After Uber, Jessica Lynn Peck

Economics Working Papers

This study investigates the effect of the introduction of Uber in New York City in May 2011 on drunk-driving. A difference-in-differences estimation of this effect implies a 25-35% decrease in the alcohol-related collision rate for the affected New York City boroughs, or about 40 collisions per month. With differentiated treatment effects for each effected county, the difference-in-differences effect is higher for Manhattan, average for the Bronx and Brooklyn, and lower for Queens. A synthetic control analysis shows pronounced effects over time in the Bronx and Brooklyn, and a permutation test confirms the effect is not commonly reproducible using untreated counties.