Research: occupational licensing of Uber drivers
A study examining occupational licensing of Uber drivers finds no consistent evidence that licensing improves consumer outcomes related to service quality or driving safety. Researchers used trip-level Uber data, including passenger ratings and telematics-based measures of driving behavior, to compare licensed and unlicensed drivers in two settings: a cross-border comparison involving New York City and New Jersey and a deregulation event in Houston. The analysis used proximity-based dispatch as a quasi-random source of variation and found that, in Houston, drivers entering the market after deregulation were indistinguishable from previously licensed drivers in both customer ratings and driving behavior, despite differences in age and experience. For professional regulatory organizations, the study raises questions about how effectively licensing requirements achieve intended public-protection outcomes and underscores the importance of evaluating licensing policies using measurable outcomes rather than assuming that licensure itself necessarily produces improvements in service quality or safety.