Giving ride-hailing platforms better algorithms to predict driver availability actually makes the service less reliable for passengers.
March 31, 2026
Original Paper
Algorithmic Screening and Access in the Gig Economy
SSRN · 6493743
The Takeaway
Counterintuitively, as platforms get better at screening for 'available' drivers, they use that efficiency to lower driver pay and reduce idle times. This lower pay attracts a less reliable pool of workers, leading to higher rates of dispatch failures that didn't exist when the system was less 'efficient.'
From the abstract
Gig economy platforms face substantial uncertainty about whether dispatched workers will accept job offers—uncertainty reflecting workers’ transient circumstances rather than permanent characteristics, and one whose operational cost, in wasted capacity and delayed service, is growing as multihoming intensifies. A platform’s ability to screen for true worker availability therefore lies at the heart of marketplace efficiency and service access. Screening operates through two mechanisms: wage-setti