Analyzing the acceptance of electric ridesharing by drivers with and without local registered permanent residence

To achieve the sustainable development of ridesharing industry, the relevant policies on the operation of electric ridesharing (ER) vehicles have been introduced by Chinese government. However, existing knowledge on the driver’s acceptance of ER remains scarce, and the institutional difference (whether the driver has registered permanent residence, Hukou) in the acceptance of ER has been little investigated. To fill the knowledge gap, the objective of this study is to explore the factors affecting the acceptance of ER by drivers with and without local Hukou. Using 786 valid samples collected in Shenzhen, China, we analyze the basic attributes and travel information of the drivers. The ordered logit models are established to investigate the differences of the factors affecting the acceptance of ER between these two types of drivers. The results show that: (1) The acceptance of tailored car drivers is low while that of express service drivers is high and significant. (2) Insufficient endurance mileage is a significant barrier to the acceptance of ER, and this impact is greater for the drivers without Hukou. (3) These two drivers focus on different aspects of ER. The drivers with local Hukou care more about the external facilities, while the counterparts pay more attention to the vehicle performance. (4) As for policies, purchasing an electric vehicle (EV) without shaking number and allowing the registration, and shipping orders in different cities will significantly increase the acceptance of ER for drivers without Hukou. The cancellation of odd-even license plate policy could improve the acceptance of ER for local drivers. By contrast, financial subsidies and the purchase of an EV without license plate fees are not significant factors for both of them. Based on the results, some suggestions are proposed to promote the driver’s acceptance of ER.