Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
Hicks, J. F. (2022). Essays on historical and contemporary occupational licensing in the United States. [Doctoral dissertation, University of Minnesota]. University Digital Conservancy. https://conservancy.umn.edu/items/4c8b279c-49df-4417-89fd-f0e88b74cfeb [Houston]
Highlights
- The study's objective was to examine the impact of occupational licensing requirements for transportation network company drivers on the safety and quality of rides. This profile summarizes findings from an implementation of occupational licensing requirements in Houston, Texas. The author also investigated similar research questions related to an implementation of occupational licensing requirements in New York City, the profile of which can be found here.
- The author conducted a nonexperimental study to compare the quality and safety of rides in Houston, Texas performed by Uber drivers with an occupational license to those performed by Uber drivers without an occupational license. The author conducted statistical models using trip-level data provided by Uber, a transportation network company.
- The study suggested that rides in Houston performed by Uber drivers with an occupational license received higher average ride quality ratings but lower average ride safety indicators than rides performed by Uber drivers without an occupational license.
- The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to occupational licensing requirements for transportation network company drivers; other factors are likely to have contributed.
Intervention Examined
Occupational Licensing
Features of the Intervention
Before May 2017, the city of Houston required Uber drivers to complete a fingerprint background check and obtain an occupational license in order to pick up passengers within city limits. In May 2017, the Texas state legislature passed House Bill 100 which deregulated the transportation network companies’ market and superseded existing city-level regulations in Texas. This change in occupational licensing requirements for transportation network company drivers allowed Uber drivers without occupational licensure to pick up passengers within Houston city limits.
Features of the Study
The author conducted a nonexperimental study to compare the quality and safety of rides in Houston, Texas performed by Uber drivers with an occupational licensure to those performed by Uber drivers without an occupational license.
The author leveraged the quasi-random assignment of licensed and unlicensed drivers to pick up passengers since Uber's dispatch algorithm assigned rides based on how close drivers were to riders regardless of their occupational licensure.
The sample included 83,415 trips in Houston performed by Uber drivers who had previously obtained an occupational license (“previously licensed”) and 80,733 trips in Houston performed by Uber drivers who had not previously obtained an occupational license (“previously unlicensed”). In the trip-level analysis sample, the treatment group consisted of trips performed by a licensed driver when the licensed driver had the shortest estimated time of arrival (ETA) to the pickup location, and an unlicensed driver had the second shortest ETA. The comparison group consisted of trips performed by an unlicensed driver when the unlicensed driver had the shortest ETA to the pickup location and a licensed driver had the second shortest ETA.
Using trip-level data provided by Uber, the author measured trip quality using star ratings provided by passengers and trip safety using the percentage of hard brakes and accelerations measured with telematics data.
Findings
Attitudes
- The study suggested that, on average, rides in Houston provided by previously licensed Uber drivers received higher star ratings from their passengers than rides provided by previously unlicensed Uber drivers.
Health and safety
- The study suggested that rides in Houston provided by previously licensed Uber drivers had higher fractions of hard brakes on their trips than rides provided by previously unlicensed Uber drivers.
- The study suggested that rides in Houston provided by previously licensed Uber drivers were more likely to have more than 20% hard brakes than rides provided by previously unlicensed Uber drivers.
- The study suggested that rides in Houston provided by previously licensed Uber drivers were more likely to have more than 20% hard accelerations than rides provided by with previously unlicensed Uber drivers.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
Although the author adjusted for select driver characteristics in the analysis, baseline differences in driver experience for previously licensed versus previously unlicensed drivers were too large to effectively control for. Additionally, the author did not account for other factors or driver characteristics that could have affected the difference between the treatment and comparison groups. Thus, preexisting differences between the treatment and comparison groups—and not the driver’s occupational licensure status —could explain the observed differences in outcomes. Therefore, the study is not eligible for a moderate causal evidence rating, the highest rating available for nonexperimental designs.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to occupational licensing requirements for transportation network company drivers; other factors are likely to have contributed.