#  Iterative Network Pricing for Ridesharing Platforms 

 



####  calendar\_today Date and Time 

 **October 26, 2023** 

 11:00AM - 12:00PM EDT 

####  pin\_drop Location 

  **SEC 3.301+3.302**  



 

 



 

 **Speaker:** Hongyao Ma (Columbia Business School)

 **Time & location:** 11:00 - 12:00 on Thursday, Oct 26, at

 **Title:** Iterative Network Pricing for Ridesharing Platforms

 **Abstract:** Ridesharing platforms match riders and drivers, using dynamic pricing to balance supply and demand. The origin-based “surge pricing”, however, does not depend on the market condition of trip destinations, leading to inefficient trip flows in space and incentivizes drivers to strategize. In this work, we introduce the Iterative Network Pricing mechanism, addressing the main challenge in the practical implementation of optimal origin-destination (OD) based prices, that the model for rider-demand is hard to estimate. Assuming that the platform's surge algorithm clears the market for each origin in real-time, our mechanism updates the OD-based price adjustments week-over-week, using only information immediately observable during the same time window in the prior weeks. For stationary market conditions, we prove that our mechanism converges to an outcome that is approximately welfare-optimal. Using data made public by the City of Chicago, we illustrate (via simulation) the iterative updates under our mechanism for morning rush hours, demonstrating substantial welfare improvements despite significant fluctuations of market conditions from early 2019 through the end of 2020.

 Link to the paper: [https://tinyurl.com/iterative-network-pricing](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__tinyurl.com_iterative-2Dnetwork-2Dpricing&d=DwMFaQ&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=ZOP6tLIqLOHbdgCvrXjUlPta0tw7K_-ivqiItQhh6LQ&m=9euSljbt3ksJNCY_cy3pV0iIbmlekmv3G-7vxL7UqgXrkHx-zIyR-HZjvERK0Sza&s=RgI0S0IsFKfn-lz3qkRLoVppT1FOgSbTgvU7W_KI5K8&e=)

 **Speaker Bio:** Hongyao Ma is an Assistant Professor in the Decision, Risk, and Operations division at Columbia Business School. Her research is situated at the interface of computer science, economics and operations, with a particular focus on market design. Hongyao completed her Ph.D. in Computer Science at Harvard University in 2019, and worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Uber and then Caltech during 2019-2020. She obtained her M.S. in 2014 at Harvard, and B.E. in 2012 at Xi'an Jiaotong University, both in Electrical Engineering. She received the ACM SIGecom Doctoral Dissertation Award in 2020, a Siebel Scholarship 2017-2018, and a Certificate of Distinction in Teaching at Harvard in 2014.



 

 



 

 See also:- [ Fall 2023 EconCS Seminars ](/taxonomycalendarseminar/seminars-2023-fall)
- [ Seminar history ](/taxonomycalendarseminar/seminar-history)
 
 

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