Does Ride Sharing have Social Benefits?

The social impacts of the sharing economy facilitated through the advancements of information technology is the subject of policy debates. For instance, the deployment of ride sharing on a large scale using smartphones has detractors who ask for new regulations. Research into the social effects of ride sharing are therefore an important contribution to better understand cost and benefits to society as a whole. This study investigates the relationship between the implementation of the UberX service and drunk driving. Our findings reveal that there is an association between UberX deployment and a decline in the number of DWI fatalities among youth ages 17-34, while there is a much smaller non-significant effect for the population ages 35 and older which may be due to this new technology being more adopted among younger people than older people. City officials should take into consideration the positive effects of ride sharing when designing regulations