International Journal of Sustainable Transportation

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Ride-hailing applications in Southeast Asia: A

literature review

Saksith Chalermpong, Hironori Kato, Phathinan Thaithatkul, Apiwat

Ratanawaraha, Alexis Fillone, Nguyen Hoang-Tung & Peraphan Jittrapirom

To cite this article: Saksith Chalermpong, Hironori Kato, Phathinan Thaithatkul, Apiwat
Ratanawaraha, Alexis Fillone, Nguyen Hoang-Tung & Peraphan Jittrapirom (2023) Ride-
hailing applications in Southeast Asia: A literature review, International Journal of Sustainable
Transportation, 17:3, 298-318, DOI: 10.1080/15568318.2022.2032885

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION
2023, VOL. 17, NO. 3, 298–318
https://doi.org/10.1080/15568318.2022.2032885

REVIEW ARTICLE

Ride-hailing applications in Southeast Asia: A literature review

Saksith Chalermponga, Hironori Katob, Phathinan Thaithatkulc, Apiwat Ratanawarahad, Alexis Fillonee, Nguyen
Hoang-Tungf, and Peraphan Jittrapiromg
a
Transportation Institute and Department of Civil Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand; bDepartment of Civil
Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; cTransportation Institute, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand; dDepartment of
Urban and Regional Planning, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand; eTransportation Engineering Division, Civil Engineering
Department, De La Salle University, Manila, The Philippines; fFaculty of Construction Management, University of Transport and
Communications, Hanoi, Vietnam; gNijmegen School of Management, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

This paper provides a review of the literature on ride-hailing applications (RHA) in Southeast Asia (SEA) Received 4 June 2021
to enhance the understanding of RHA’s impacts on the urban transportation sector and to inform Revised 17 January 2022
related planning and regulatory efforts in the context of developing countries. The conceptual frame- Accepted 19 January 2022
work is based on the stakeholder approach, which identifies three groups of stakeholders: the
KEYWORDS
demand-side, the supply-side, and the public-sector stakeholders. A search on scholarly databases informal transportation;
yielded 49 related articles. The results of the review illustrate certain similarities between RHA services motorcycles; ride-hailing
in SEA with those reported from developed countries, such as the socio-economic profile of the users. application; Southeast Asia;
However, several observations unique to the SEA context were also revealed, including (1) the domin- transportation regulation
ance of motorcycles; (2) commuting as the main RHA trip purpose; (3) a higher frequency of RHA use;
and (4) a significant proportion of full-time RHA drivers. The review also highlighted research gaps in
the literature of RHA in SEA, particularly on how RHA can influence travelers’ behavior, its effects on
the incumbent transport operators, and its environmental impacts.

1. Introduction
Ride-hailing applications (RHA) are arguably the most
impactful disruptor in the urban transportation sector in the
past decade. Across cities around the world, millions of people
are now using online applications on their mobile phones to
order customized rides to their destinations for a wide variety
of trip purposes. Southeast Asia (SEA) is no exception. Home
to 642.1 million people, or 8.5% of the world population, SEA
is a fast-growing region with a sizable GDP of US$2.8 trillion
or 3.5% of world GDP (ASEAN Secretariat, 2018). With open
and vibrant economies that are becoming increasingly diversi-
fied and more service-oriented, the region has been at the
forefront of the global phenomena of digital disruption in
various sectors. RHA epitomizes such digital disruption in the
urban transportation sector.
In the urban transportation sector, SEA is the cradle of
Grab and Gojek, two of 11 global RHA unicorns, i.e., pri-
vately held startup companies valued at more than US$1 bil-
lion (Brail, 2020). The two companies are in fact decacorns,
with market valuations of $14.9 billion (Grab) and $12.5 bil-
lion (Gojek). Grab claimed 183 million users (Consumer
News & Business Channel, 2020) and 2.8 million drivers
(Chandler, 2019), while Gojek boasted 170 million users and
two million drivers (Bangkok Post, 2020). Other than Grab
and Gojek, dozens of local RHA firms now operate in most
major cities of SEA. Table 1 shows a list of RHA companies
with more than 10,000 downloads that are operating in SEA
countries. The RHA and taxi market sizes and user penetra-
tion in SEA countries are illustrated in Figure 1.
The socioeconomic, demographic, and mobility contexts in
which RHA firms operate in SEA countries are different from
western countries or those in the Global North in general. It is
thus logical to expect that the implications of digital disrup-
tion in transportation are distinct from those in more eco-
nomically developed economies, particularly concerning the
scope and extent of effects on various groups of stakeholders
and the outcomes in terms of efficiency and sustainability of
the transportation system. Bearing that in mind, this study
aims to comprehensively review the literature on topics
related to RHA in SEA, including RHA demand and supply
characteristics, impacts of RHA on travel behavior, implica-
tions on the transportation system, and the development of
RHA regulations in SEA. This study specifically aims to pro-
vide input to inform the regulatory design of RHA that pro-
motes sustainable mobility in SEA, hoping to contribute to

CONTACT Phathinan Thaithatkul phathinan.t@chula.ac.th Transportation Institute, Chulalongkorn University, 6th Floor, Prajadhipok-Rambhai Barni
Building, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/15568318.2022.2032885
ß 2022 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor and Francis Group, LLC
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/
4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in
any way.
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION 299

Table 1. Major transportation applications in SEA countries.

Ride hailing
Number Country of
Applications Car Motorcycle Food & Parcel Delivery of downloads

SEA countries served Headquarter
Grab    > 100 million Cambodia, Singapore
Indonesia, Malaysia,
Myanmar,
Philippines,
Singapore,
Thailand, Vietnam
foodpanda  > 50 million Cambodia, Laos, Germany
Malaysia, Myanmar,
Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand
Lalamove  > 5 million Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong
Philippines,
Singapore,
Thailand, Vietnam
Gojek   > 50 million Indonesia, Indonesia
Malaysia, Vietnam
My Blue Bird 
> 1million Indonesia Indonesia
Angkas   > 1million Philippines Philippines
JoyRide   > 100,000 Philippines Philippines
Owto  > 100,000 Philippines Philippines
Mr.Speedy  > 50,000 Philippines Philippines
Move It   > 50,000 Philippines Philippines
hirna 
> 50,000 Philippines Philippines
Bolt  > 10 million Thailand Estonia
Line Man 
 > 5 million Thailand Thailand
SKOOTAR  > 100,000 Thailand Thailand
GoBike  > 100,000 Thailand Thailand
Robinhood  > 100,000 Thailand Thailand
Taxi OK 
> 50,000 Thailand Thailand
MyCar   > 100,000 Malaysia Malaysia
EzCab  > 100,000 Malaysia Malaysia
Gojo   > 50,000 Malaysia Malaysia
PassApp   > 1 million Cambodia Cambodia
WeGo Taxi  > 100,000 Cambodia Cambodia
Zelo  > 100,000 Cambodia Cambodia
Phumi / iTsumo 
 > 10,000 Cambodia Cambodia
Nham24  > 100,000 Cambodia Cambodia
Taxi Mai Linh 
> 500,000 Vietnam Vietnam
Vinasun Taxi 
> 500,000 Vietnam Vietnam
EMDDI  > 50,000 Vietnam Vietnam
LOCA  > 10,000 Laos Laos
Source: Searched from Google Play Store by authors in December 2020.
Note:
Fleet of hailing services on these platforms are only traditional taxis/motorcycle taxis.

Number of downloads is not limited to the downloads in SEA.

the debate on how RHA should be regulated, not only in SEA
countries but also in other developing countries.
The paper is organized as follows: in the following sec-
tion, unique local contexts in the transportation market of
SEA countries are summarized. Next, Section 3 shows the
conceptual framework, the methodology of the literature
review, and the data obtained from the literature search. In
Section 4, the discussion of specific findings is presented,
followed by Section 5, which details policy implications of
the findings. Finally, we conclude the paper in Section 6
with a summary of the findings, limitations of the literature
review, and recommendations on future research.
2. Local context of urban transportation in SEA
2.1. Urban mobility in SEA: rapid motorization and
widespread informal transport
Like many other countries in the Global South, most SEA
countries have experienced high population growth, rising
income, and urbanization in the recent decades. Public invest-
ment in urban infrastructure in large urban areas, however,
could not keep pace with rapid urban expansion. As a result,
in most major SEA cities, transportation infrastructure
requires significant investment to accommodate growth
(Asian Development Bank, 2012). Growing pressure on the
public transportation system, along with the increasing wealth
of the population led to rapid motorization, as motorized
vehicles became increasingly attractive to the growing middle
class (Mo et al., 2014). In most countries in SEA, particularly
Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines, the share of motor-
cycles is significantly larger than that of other types of motor
vehicles, including private cars (ALMEC and Koei, 2016; Ilahi
et al., 2021). The high proportion of motorcycles can be found
even in countries with strong automotive industry bases, such
as Malaysia and Thailand, where the rates of car ownership
per capita are relatively high, compared with other SEA coun-
tries (ASEANStats Data Portal, 2018a; 2018b).
The other unique aspect of urban mobility in SEA is the
widespread reliance on informal transport services. Despite
government efforts in expanding mass transit in some megac-
ities in SEA, including Bangkok, Jakarta, and Ho Chi Minh
City, the levels of accessibility to these networks are still limited
300 S. CHALERMPONG ET AL.
Figure 1. Ride-hailing application and taxi market in SEA.
Source: RHA and taxi penetration and revenue were obtained from Statista (Statista, 2021)

Number of operating RHA was counted from the RHA companies with more than 100,000 downloads.
to certain geographical areas and demographic population in
those cities. Moreover, these formal public transportations have
not expanded fast enough to keep up with the cities’ growth.
For these reasons, a large part of the SEA population instead
relies on various forms of informal transport. Also known as
Locally Adapted, Modified, and Advanced Transport
(LAMAT), informal transport includes motorcycle taxis, auto-
rickshaws, passenger vans, and jeepneys1 (Chalermpong et al.,
2016; Phun et al., 2020). Together, these informal modes have
larger market shares than the formal public transportation in
several cities of SEA (ALMEC & Oriental Consultants, 2015).
2.2. RHA adoption is driven by favorable demography
and improved digital connectivity in SEA
Researchers have argued that SEA has a proclivity to e-commerce,
including online transportation services because most countries in
the region consist of large, young, and medium-income popula-
tions with a growing middle class (Hoppe et al., 2016; Lee, 2016).
About half of the SEA population are between 20 and 54 years old,
with an average GDP per capita of US$4,307.6 in 2017 (ASEAN
Secretariat, 2018). In addition, the region’s digital connectivity has
1
Jeepneys are specific to the Philippines.
improved dramatically in recent years, with 48.5 internet subscrip-
tions and 147.2 mobile phones per 100 persons (ASEAN
Secretariat, 2018). Table 2 shows recent statistics on the penetra-
tion of internet, mobile phone, and mobile internet in the region
(Chen, 2020). Due to dissatisfaction with transportation options
as a result of underinvestment in public transportation systems in
most SEA cities, it is not surprising that when the first RHA appli-
cation, MyTeksi, the precursor of Grab, was launched in Malaysia
in June 2012 it was enthusiastically adopted by the public.
Furthermore, consumers have generally supported RHA compa-
nies in their pushback against government regulations and con-
flicts with existing transportation operators (Ford & Honan,
2017). Notably, RHA platforms have also been embraced by many
informal transport operators since it allows them to access passen-
gers directly, bypassing the need to become members of drivers’
associations or cooperatives through a costly application process
(Frey, 2020; Jack, 2020; Ratanawaraha & Chalermpong, 2015).
3. Methodology and data
3.1. Conceptual framework
Keeping in mind the local contexts of SEA, a conceptual
framework based on the microeconomic model of market
demand and supply of RHA was constructed to guide the
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION 301

Table 2. Internet access in ASEAN.

Internet penetration Fixed-line subscriber Mobile subscriber Mobile connection (% of population)
(Users as % penetration (per 100 penetration (per 100
Country of population) inhabitants) inhabitants) 3G 4G
Brunei 94.9 9.6 126.6 92.7 90.0
Cambodia 34.0 0.8 126.3 83.9 57.5
Indonesia 32.3 2.3 173.8 93.8 90.4
Lao PDR 25.5 0.4 54.1 78.0 9.0
Malaysia 80.1 8.5 133.9 96.2 92.0
Myanmar 30.7 0.2 89.8 90.5 75.1
Philippines 60.1 3.2 110.4 93.0 80.0
Singapore 84.4 25.8 148.2 100.0 100.0
Thailand 52.9 11.9 176.0 98.0 98.0
Vietnam 49.6 10.8 125.6 95.0 95.0
China 54.3 28.0 104.6 98.0 98.0
India 34.5 1.3 87.3 88.0 88.0
Source: (Chen, 2020).

literature review process. Since the RHA market consists of
numerous stakeholders whose individual decisions under
different situations affect the overall market outcome, our
review framework was developed with reference to the con-
cept of the stakeholder approach, originally developed in the
field of strategic management, which aims to analyze the
behaviors of stakeholders and their interactions with one
another in a complex system. The stakeholder was defined
by Freeman formally as “any group or individual who can
affect or is affected by the achievement of an organization’s
objectives” (Freeman, 2010). Fassin (2009) refined the defin-
ition of stakeholder to include stakeholder, stakewatcher,
and stakekeeper, which corresponded broadly to constituen-
cies (firms and their customers), pressure groups, and regu-
lators, respectively. The framework enables us to search
more thoroughly for relevant topics in the literature, to
organize the literature in a logical and meaningful manner,
to synthesize knowledge from recent research to inform
public policy, and to identify knowledge gaps in the RHA
literature, with a particular focus on SEA.
The conceptual framework of our literature review can be
visualized in the diagram in Figure 2. Building on the notion
underlying the stakeholder model and a framework for ridesourc-
ing systems proposed by Wang and Yang (2019), three groups of
stakeholders pertaining to the RHA and transportation market
were identified, including the demand-side, supply-side, and pub-
lic-sector stakeholders. While the demand-side stakeholder is
comprised of RHA users, a group of individuals who decide to
hail transportation services through an RHA, the supply-side is
more complex, including RHA transportation service pro-
viders (RHA-Ts), who provide transportation services to users
and RHA companies (RHA-Cs), who provide communication
services that enable RHA-Ts and users to connect.
In addition, other related transportation operators include
conventional taxi operators, individual informal transporta-
tion operators, and transit agencies. Public-sector stakeholders
include transportation planning agencies, which oversee the
planning processes, coordinate investments, and manage the
transportation system, as well as regulatory agencies that regu-
late operations and activities in RHA markets. Regulations of
the RHA market include aspects traditionally under the pur-
view of transportation regulatory agencies, such as safety, ser-
vice quality, and pricing, as well as regulations traditionally
outside of the responsibility of transportation agencies, such
as IT security, consumer privacy, and anti-competitive behav-
iors. The last group of stakeholders includes other related
transportation operators, such as taxi companies and public
transit agencies, which also may play important roles in the
supply side of the RHA market as they may provide services
that often compete with or complement those of RHA. Some
of these operators, such as conventional taxi drivers, behave as
both RHA-Ts and conventional taxis as they may accept pas-
sengers’ requests both via RHA and street hailing.
The topics of our literature review are organized in sections
corresponding to the group of stakeholders, as illustrated in
Figure 2. In each section, the review of literature is organized
according to the stakeholder’s characteristics, behaviors, and
attitudes, as well as the factors underlying them. Additionally,
in each section, the literature review on the stakeholder’s rela-
tionship and interaction with other groups, as shown in the
diagram in Figure 2, was included according to the main role
the stakeholder plays in that relationship or interaction.
3.2. Literature search and scope
The literature search was conducted between July 15 and 31,
2020, between December 1  24, 2020, and between October
1, 2021 – November 3, 2021, using databases including
Google Scholar, SCOPUS, Web of Science, Science Direct,
JSTOR, and Emerald Insight. Article searches included peer-
reviewed journal articles and conference papers, as well as
unpublished literature, including working papers, graduate
theses, and government and agency reports. Note that while
the unpublished literature usually has not been peer-
reviewed, we carefully evaluated and commented on the reli-
ability of the studies that are included in our review.
The set keywords for our search included those used by
Tirachini (2020), such as “ride-hailing,” “ride-sourcing,”
“Transportation Network Companies,” and other relevant
terms, such as “mobile taxi booking,” “online taxi,” “Uber,”
and “Grab Taxi.” Keywords specific to the SEA regional
context were also used for the search. These included cities,
countries, local RHA app names, and names of informal
modes of transportation used in each SEA country, such as
“ojek” (Indonesia), “habal-habal” (Philippines), and “xe om”
(Vietnam). The snowball approach was also used by search-
ing for sources cited by the publications found through the
302 S. CHALERMPONG ET AL.
Figure 2. Conceptual framework of literature review pertaining RHA in SEA.
keyword search. The search was limited to articles published
in English, but not restricted to any period of publication.
Since the emphasis of this literature was on RHA in the
Global South, the search focused primarily on the five larg-
est middle-income SEA economies of Indonesia, Philippines,
Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia. However, the search did
not exclude relevant studies conducted in other smaller SEA
countries, such as Cambodia. It should be noted that
Singapore is not included in this review as it is a high-
income country with a well-developed and effectively regu-
lated transportation system. RHA in Singapore thus operates
in a similar context to that of the Global North and is dis-
tinctly different from RHA in other SEA countries.
3.3. Results of the literature search
The literature search yielded a total of 49 articles in six SEA
countries, as shown by the pie chart in Figure 3. A full list of
articles identified from the search is provided in the supplemen-
tal data. Most of the articles were published in academic journals
(31 articles, 63.27%), followed by conference proceedings (eight
articles, 16.33%). The remaining sources included three book
chapters, three reports, three news opinion pieces, and one
graduate thesis. Figure 3 shows the composition of the types of
articles and the country of origin. Figure 4 shows the annual
number of articles published over the past six years. It should be
noted that despite the small number of RHA studies in SEA, the
increasing trend in the number of studies is shown in Figure 4.
The RHA studies found from the literature search are sum-
marized according to the four main components of our con-
ceptual framework (RHA-Cs, RHA users, RHA-Ts, and
public-sectors) and their relationships. Among the 28 the
demand-side studies, twelve studies examined the characteris-
tics of RHA users, nine examined RHA trip characteristics,
and five analyzed the factors influencing the adoption of
RHA. Some of the articles specifically analyze behavioral
intentions of RHA use, customer satisfaction, and loyalty,
showing the relationship between RHA users and RHA-Cs.
Others addressed the question of whether RHA substitutes or
complements existing modes of transport as a result of rela-
tionships among RHA users, RHA-Ts, and other related
transport service operators. Relatively few studies were found
on RHA-Ts in SEA, especially on characteristics of RHA driv-
ers, safety, relationships between RHA-Ts and RHA-Cs (i.e.,
operational characteristics, policies), and conflicts between
RHA-Ts and conventional transportation operators. A limited
number of studies on public-sector stakeholders was found
from our search, with only eight articles on regulations and
none on transportation planning issues that involved RHA.
The research topics of articles found in each country may
reflect the research needs and problems relating to the advent of
RHA for each local context. Table 3 shows the number of articles
by research topic and country. The RHA literature on Indonesia
was more comprehensive than other countries, covering most
topics in our conceptual framework. Articles from the
Philippines and Malaysia were mostly on demand-side stake-
holders, including characteristics of RHA trips, behavioral inten-
tion to use RHA, and customers’ loyalty. Among studies of RHA
regulations, two were from Indonesia, one from the Philippines,
one from Malaysia, and four were based on multiple cities.
Articles from Thailand were focused on behavioral intentions of
RHA use. In Cambodia and Vietnam, articles on both the
demand and supply sides were found, but not on regulations.
Only the articles on Vietnam studied the safety aspect of RHA.
4. Findings
4.1. Demand-side stakeholders: RHA users
The literature on the demand-side stakeholders of the RHA
market in SEA was by far the most comprehensive among the
main components of our literature review. The largest number
of studies was found on topics directly relevant to RHA users,
the main stakeholder on the demand-side, including

Figure 3. Study locations and sources of the reviewed articles.
Figure 4. Growth of RHA literature in SEA.
socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of RHA users,
characteristics of trips made by RHA users, and behavioral
intentions of RHA users. Several studies were also found on
other related topics, including how RHA is used in relation to
other modes of transportation, i.e. as a complementary mode
or as a substitute to other modes of transportation, and how
users compared RHA and other modes in terms of service
characteristics, level of satisfaction, and other aspects.
4.1.1. Characteristics of RHA users
A summary of the findings related to characteristics of RHA
users from 12 studies in six SEA countries is provided in
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION 303
supplemental data (Table S1). In nine studies, the research
subjects were exclusively RHA users, one included both
RHA users and conventional taxi users, and two included
the general population. In general, user characteristics of car
RHA were studied in the literature from the Philippines,
Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand (Adam et al., 2020;
Laosinwattana et al., 2021; Nguyen-Phuoc et al., 2020; Nistal
& Regidor, 2016; Paronda et al., 2017; Su et al., 2021; UBER,
2016; Weng et al., 2017), user characteristics of motorcycle
RHA from Indonesia (Irawan et al., 2019a; Silalahi et al.,
2017; Suatmadi et al., 2019), and car, motorcycle, and motor
tricycle RHA in Cambodia (Phun et al., 2019a). The sample
sizes of users ranged from 60 in the Penang study in
304 S. CHALERMPONG ET AL.
Table 3. RHA articles by research topic and country.
Topics Number of Articles
Demand side
- Characteristics of RHA Users
- Characteristics of RHA Trips
- Behavioral Intention of RHA Use, Customers’
Satisfaction and Loyalty
- Substitution or complementary to public transit
- Comparisons between RHA and Other Modes
Supply side
RHA-Ts
- Drivers’ characteristics
- Operational characteristics
- Accidental risks
- Relationship between RHA-Ts and related
transportation operators
RHA-Cs
- Characteristics of RHA-Cs
- Relationship between RHA-Cs and RHA-Ts
Public-sector stakeholders: Regulation
- Regulation of RHA-Cs
- Driver, vehicle, and operational requirements
Malaysia to 1,450 in the Uber Manila 2016 report from the
Philippines. In several studies, the method of data collection
was an online survey questionnaire distributed through
social media groups. The data collection method and the
small sample size in some studies led to questionable repre-
sentativeness of the population of RHA users. One of the
rare exceptions was a report released by Uber in 2016,
which yielded a large sample size of users of their car-based
RHA service in Manila (UBER, 2016). The report, however,
was not peer-reviewed and the data were not open to the
public for verification, thus raising questions about the reli-
ability of the results.
Despite the methodological variations among the selected
studies, the review ascertains some patterns concerning the
Articles
28
12 Indonesia: Silalahi et al. (2017); Irawan et al. (2019a); Suatmadi et al. (2019)
The Philippines: Nistal and Regidor (2016); UBER (2016); Paronda et. al.
(2017)
Malaysia: Weng et al. (2017); Adam et al. (2020)
Cambodia: Phun et al. (2019a)
Vietnam: Su et al. (2021); Nguyen-Phuoc et al. (2020)
Thailand: Laosinwattana et al. (2021)
9 Indonesia: Silalahi et al. (2017); Irawan et al. (2019a); Suatmadi et al. (2019)
The Philippines: Nistal and Regidor (2016); UBER (2016); Paronda et. al.
(2017)
Malaysia: Adam et al. (2020)
Cambodia: Phun et al. (2019a)
Vietnam: Nguyen-Phuoc et al. (2020)
16 Indonesia: Silalahi et al. (2017); Kuswanto et al. (2019); Suhartanto et al.
(2020)
Thailand: Ruangkanjanases and Techapoolphol (2018); Tansitpong (2019);
Homniem and Pupat (2020); Thaithatkul et al. (2021)
Malaysia: Weng et al. (2017); Haba and Dastane (2018); Teo et al. (2018);
Adam et al. (2020)
Vietnam: Su et al. (2021); Nguyen-Phuoc et al. (2020); Nguyen-Phuoc
et al. (2021a); Nguyen-Phuoc et al. (2021b)
Multiple cities: Munandar and Munthe (2019)
7 Indonesia: Ilahi et al. (2021); Irawan et al. (2019a); Irawan et al. (2019b);
Suatmadi et al. (2019); Nugroho et al. (2020)
The Philippines: UBER (2016); Paronda et al. (2017)
5 The Philippines: Dela Pen ~a and Dizon (2016); Nistal and Regidor (2016);
Paronda et. al. (2017); Regidor and Napalang (2018); Nguyen-Phuoc
et al. (2021a)
16
11
5 Indonesia: Alifah Dina (2017)
Cambodia: Phun et al. (2018); Phun et al. (2020)
Vietnam: Nguyen-Phuoc et al. (2019); Truong and Nguyen (2019)
4 Indonesia: Ford and Honan (2017)
The Philippines: Limpin and Sison (2018)
Cambodia: Phun et al. (2020); Jack (2020)
2 Vietnam: Nguyen-Phuoc et al. (2019); Truong and Nguyen (2019)
6 Indonesia: Palevsky (2019); Ford and Honan (2017); Suatmadi et al. (2019)
Cambodia: Phun et al. (2018); Phun et al. (2020)
Vietnam: Nguyen-Phuoc et al. (2020)
8
3 Indonesia: Filicitas (2019)
Cambodia: Phun et al. (2018)
Multiple cities: Brail (2020)
5 Indonesia: Nastiti (2017); Ford and Honan (2017); Palevsky (2019); Ford and
Honan (2019); Frey (2020)
8
8 Indonesia: Ford and Honan (2017); Fajar et al. (2019)
The Philippines: Napalang and Regidor (2017)
Malaysia: Izahar bin Mohamad Izham (2018)
Multiple cities: Mutiarin et al. (2019); Lim (2019); Yuana et a. (2019);
Eloksari (2020)
2 Indonesia: Fajar et al. (2019)
Malaysia: Izahar bin Mohamad Izham (2018)
characteristics of RHA users in SEA countries. RHA users in
SEA tend to be younger (see Table 4); most studies reported
that a large majority of the users were 25 years old or
younger (Irawan et al., 2019a; Laosinwattana et al., 2021;
Nguyen-Phuoc et al., 2020; Su et al., 2021; Suatmadi et al.,
2019). Also, a high proportion of RHA users had higher
education levels, with 47% possessing a university degree in
Manila (Paronda et al., 2017), 59.4% in Kuala Lumpur
(Weng et al., 2017), 75.5% in Phnom Penh (Phun et al.,
2019a), 79% in Jakarta (Suatmadi et al., 2019), and 92.7% in
Bangkok (Laosinwattana et al., 2021). In six of ten studies,
female users were found to be the majority of users, ranging
from 54.6% in Kuala Lumpur (Weng et al., 2017) to 75% in
Jakarta (Silalahi et al., 2017). Note that user profiles of car
 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION 305

Table 4. Comparisons between findings from literature review of RHA in SEA and developed countries.
Global Review (primarily in developed countries) by
Aspects SEA Literature Review Tirachini (2020)
Demand-side
Users Young, highly educated, all income brackets Young, highly educated, high income
(context-dependent)
Trip purpose Commuting, education Social, recreational
Frequency More frequent Occasional
Factors affecting demand Price, safety, relative convenience Trip cost, travel time, ease of payment, alcohol drinking,
& reasons for RHA use limited parking, poor public transport, comfort, safety,
and security
Supply-side
Vehicles Motorcycles, cars, informal modes Mainly cars
Drivers Full time, passenger and delivery services Part time, mainly passenger service
Effects of RHA on
Public transport use Mixed results: substitution to public transport in Mixed results but stronger substitutional effect but for
some cities; complementary to public transport only occasional trips
for longer trips
Private vehicle ownership; Not found in the literature Potential reduction, but inconclusive; Less rate of empty
VKT; vehicle occupancy haul than taxis; Evidence of increased occupancy from
the ride-sharing feature
Parking Not found in the literature Less need for parking supply
Mode substitution Taxis; transit for shorter trips Taxis, public transport, driving personal cars
Induced demand Not found in the literature Significant
Mobility of the handicapped Not found in the literature Potential improvement
population
Safety Some findings on factors affecting crash frequency Effects on total number of accidents are unknown.
among motorcycle taxi and RHA drivers Reduction in fatalities related to alcohol-
related crashes
Environment Inconclusive, some evidence of negative effect due Disputed
to greater empty haul

and motorcycle RHA were similar in terms of age and edu-
cation. However, in the majority of motorcycle RHA studies,
a significantly larger share (over 70%) of female users was
reported, while no such clear pattern was found in car RHA
studies (Silalahi et al., 2017; Suatmadi et al., 2019).
The review did not reveal patterns of other user charac-
teristics across countries. For example, while the Uber
Manila report showed that 71% of Uber users held a full-
time job, the studies from Vietnam and Indonesia both
reported that more than half of the users were students
(Nguyen-Phuoc et al., 2020; Silalahi et al., 2017). As for
vehicle ownership, in four studies from the Philippines,
Cambodia, and Indonesia, the proportion of RHA users
with access to private vehicles in their households exceeded
70% (Nistal & Regidor, 2016; Paronda et al., 2017; Phun
et al., 2019a; Suatmadi et al., 2019). These private vehicles,
however, included both motorcycles and cars. In studies that
specifically examined car ownership, the proportion of RHA
users whose households owned one or more cars ranged
from 22% in Vietnam (Nguyen-Phuoc et al., 2020) to 65%
in the Philippines (Nistal & Regidor, 2016).
4.1.2. Characteristics of RHA trips
The findings on the characteristics of RHA trips in SEA are
summarized in supplemental data (Table S2). Unlike the
findings on RHA user characteristics, few patterns emerged
from this aspect of the review. The lack of patterns might be
partly explained by the different types of ride-hailing
vehicles in the studies, five of which were focused on cars
(Adam et al., 2020; Nguyen-Phuoc et al., 2020; Nistal &
Regidor, 2016; Paronda et al., 2017; UBER, 2016), three on
motorcycles (Irawan et al., 2019a; Silalahi et al., 2017;
Suatmadi et al., 2019), and one primarily on tricycles (Phun
et al., 2019a). In some studies, particularly those from the
Philippines, the purpose of the majority of trips by car RHA
was commuting (Nistal & Regidor, 2016; Paronda et al.,
2017; UBER, 2016), while this was not the case for
Vietnamese and Cambodian studies which found work com-
muting in less than 10% of motorcycle and tricycle RHA
trips, respectively (Nguyen-Phuoc et al., 2020; Phun et al.,
2019a). In the Philippines’ studies, Nistal and Regidor
(2016) who focused on car RHA also reported social events
and attending special events as the other most common
RHA trip purposes, while Paronda et al. (2017) found that
recreational and social trips, grocery shopping, and personal
business were the most common trip purposes for which
travel by vehicles with carrying capacity was needed, be it
by personal car or car-based RHA. In Indonesian studies,
the home-based trip had the largest share of motorcycle
RHA trips, but the exact trip purposes were not specified
(Irawan et al., 2019a; Suatmadi et al., 2019). In the car RHA
studies from Vietnam, transferring to other modes of trans-
port was the trip purpose with the largest share at 40.6%
(Nguyen-Phuoc et al., 2020).
Other findings regarding trip characteristics were not dir-
ectly comparable across the countries of interest. This is due
to the differences and non-standardization in the reported
results. For example, the frequency of RHA usage was often
reported as the proportion of the sample with a given range
of usage frequency. Although in most studies, the unit of
observation was the number of trips per week (Irawan et al.,
2019a; Silalahi et al., 2017; Suatmadi et al., 2019; UBER,
2016), in some studies, the observations were made monthly
306 S. CHALERMPONG ET AL.
(Paronda et al., 2017), daily, or using other intervals (Adam
et al., 2020; Phun et al., 2019a).
Despite the irregularities, findings in some studies sug-
gested a moderate frequency of car and motorcycle RHA
use of up to three times per week among users (Irawan
et al., 2019a; Paronda et al., 2017; UBER, 2016), while others
reported a higher frequency of five times per week or more
for motorcycle RHA (Silalahi et al., 2017; Suatmadi et al.,
2019). A survey of the general population in Phnom Penh
by Phun et al. (2019a) found that 55% of the sample
reported no RHA use and 36% reported RHA use only once
a month. Furthermore, Phun et al. (2019a) specifically
examined factors affecting the utilization rate of RHA by
employing the Zero-Inflated Ordered Probit technique to
model the relationship on survey data in Phnom Penh.
Their results generally confirmed the findings from the lit-
erature in developed countries: that is, the frequency of
RHA utilization decreased with age and vehicle ownership
but increased with income, duration of smartphone adop-
tion, and daily travel expenditure (Tirachini, 2020).
Information about RHA trip travel time was available in
a handful of studies. Irawan et al. (2019a) reported that 42%
of RHA trips were under 20 minutes and 35% between 20-
40 minutes. Suatmadi et al. (2019) found that 37% of the
trips were under 30 minutes and 39% between 30-
60 minutes. Both studies were conducted in Jakarta
Metropolitan Area, including RHA trips by motorcycles
only. As for waiting time for RHA pick-ups, only Nistal and
Regidor (2016) reported that in Manila, 30% of car RHA
users experienced a waiting time of less than five minutes
and almost 60% between 5-10 minutes, compared to 8% and
50% of conventional taxi users who experienced a waiting
time of less than five minutes or between 5-10 minutes,
respectively. The results suggested that the vast majority of
RHA users experienced a waiting time of less than
10 minutes while a significant proportion of conventional
taxi users experienced a longer waiting time of more
than 10 minutes.
4.1.3. Behavioral intention of RHA use, users’ perception,
customers’ satisfaction, and loyalty
Our literature search produced 16 studies on customers’ atti-
tudes toward RHA, including behavioral intention to use
RHA, users’ perception about RHA service, customer satis-
faction, and customer loyalty. These studies were conducted
primarily by researchers in the field of business and market-
ing. They are summarized in supplemental data (Tables S3
and S4). Two theoretical frameworks or their extension were
adopted as research instruments in this strand of literature,
including SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al., 1988) and
Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Davis et al., 1989).
SERVQUAL was used to measure the service quality of
RHA multidimensionally as perceived by RHA users by
comparing pre-consumption expectations of the service with
actual users’ experience. The service quality dimensions as
perceived by users include reliability, assurance, tangibles,
empathy, and responsiveness. TAM was used to assess
whether consumers would accept and use RHA based on
their perceptions of its usefulness (PU) and ease of use
(PEOU). Hybrid models that combined elements from TAM
and SERVQUAL were also adopted by some researchers to
study behavioral intention to continue the use of RHA
(Weng et al., 2017).
Our literature review reveals that the two theoretical
frameworks were widely adopted by researchers in Malaysia,
Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam to examine customers’
attitudes and perceptions toward RHA service. Empirical
survey data of RHA users or potential users were analyzed
primarily with structural equation modeling. Data collection
methods of these studies relied mainly on online question-
naire surveys, and the sample sizes of most studies were 400
to 500 people. Although the results from these studies are
quite diverse and somewhat difficult to synthesize, a few
notable lessons can be drawn from them. Among the behav-
ioral intention studies, perception of usefulness was found
to be a significant factor of RHA adoption or continuance
of RHA use (Homniem & Pupat, 2020; Weng et al., 2017),
as are other related factors, such as relative advantages com-
pared to conventional taxis. To a lesser extent, perception of
ease of use was found by a few researchers to be significant
(Ruangkanjanases & Techapoolphol, 2018). Perceptions
about price, safety, and security were also found to be
important determinants of behavioral intentions to use both
car and motorcycle RHA (Homniem & Pupat, 2020;
Suhartanto et al., 2020; Teo et al., 2018).
In regards to customer satisfaction, the SERVQUAL
dimensions of reliability, tangibles, and responsiveness are
critical (Tansitpong, 2019), as are other factors including
driver professionalism and safety (Adam et al., 2020;
Nguyen-Phuoc et al., 2021a). Moreover, these offline service
quality aspects were found to have a stronger effect on cus-
tomer satisfaction than online service quality aspects, such
as platform responsiveness (Kuswanto et al., 2019;
Thaithatkul et al., 2021). Researchers found that brand loy-
alty depended not only on customer satisfaction, which was
in turn attributable to perceptions of other service quality
aspects but also on consumer trust in the brand (Kuswanto
et al., 2019). While perceived safety was found by many
researchers to directly influence customer loyalty, Su et al.
(2021) reported the indirect effect of perceived safety on
customer loyalty and satisfaction. In a recent study from
Vietnam, Nguyen-Phuoc et al. (2021b) investigated risks
associated with RHA applications, such as privacy and cyber
risks, and those associated with RHA vehicles and drivers,
such as traffic safety and crime. They found that perceived
app-related risks indirectly affected customer satisfaction
and loyalty through trust while perceived vehicle-and-driver-
related risks directly influenced satisfaction and loyalty.
4.1.4. Use of RHA as a substitute or complement to
other modes
Relatively few studies examined the impact of RHA on trav-
elers’ transportation mode substitution and complementarity
in SEA, using different approaches with varying levels of
theoretical sophistication. Some researchers simply asked
RHA users about alternative modes they would use in the

absence of RHA (Paronda et al., 2017; UBER, 2016), while
others asked non-RHA users who traveled by other trans-
portation modes whether and under which conditions they
would switch to RHA (Irawan et al., 2019b). In a handful of
studies, the mechanisms behind the behavioral decision to
use RHA were examined using more sophisticated techni-
ques, such as the choice modeling technique and the struc-
tural equation modeling (Ilahi et al., 2021; Irawan
et al., 2019b).
Two of the reviewed studies, both conducted on car-
based RHA users in the Manila Metropolitan Area (Paronda
et al., 2017; UBER, 2016), reported the results on alternative
modes of transportation by RHA users if RHA were not
available. UBER (2016), which operated car-based RHA,
reported that 40%, 34%, and 27% of their users would use
jeepneys, conventional taxis, and urban rail, respectively.
Paronda et al. (2017) found that 29%, 24%, and 19% of car-
based RHA users would travel by transit, conventional taxi,
and private car if RHA were not available. Both studies
found a significant proportion of RHA users who would
walk if RHA were not available, 26% by UBER (2016) and
15% by Paronda et al. (2017). While the results suggested
RHA is a substitution for public transport and walking, it
should be noted that they might reflect the fact that these
studies were conducted in Manila, where a large proportion
of the population relied on the overcrowded public transport
system. In any case, these initial results suggested that the
adoption of RHA might not improve the situation of CO2
emission by reducing car travel in overcrowded cities of
SEA and might even worsen the situation when walking
trips are substituted with motorized modes.
Irawan et al. (2019b) surveyed public bus users in
Yogyakarta about their decisions whether to switch to
motorcycle RHA. They examined the respondents’ attitudes
toward bus service compared to motorcycle RHA, including
conditions that forced them to use the bus. Perceptions of
bus service quality and safety, as well as other conditions
that were favorable to bus use, could outweigh the effects of
time and cost savings by using motorcycle RHA. However,
in the Jakarta study, Suatmadi et al. (2019) reported that a
large share of users of motorcycle-based RHA in Indonesia
had previously used a minibus (26%), private car (20%), pri-
vate motorcycle (17%), and bus rapid transit (BRT) (16%).
Only 6% and 4% had previously used conventional motor-
cycle taxis and car taxis, respectively. This result might be
partly explained by Jakarta’s limited and overcrowded public
transport systems, which, like in Manila, pushed commuters
to switch to RHA. The findings of the Jakarta study also
raised concerns on the overall impact of RHA on green-
house gas emission by using RHA to substitute more transit
trips rather than private vehicle trips.
Irawan et al. (2019a) addressed the widely asked question
of whether RHA complemented or substituted public trans-
port by using the structural equation modeling technique to
analyze interview data from 438 motorcycle RHA users in
the Jakarta Metropolitan Area. They found that motorcycle
RHA complemented conventional public transport, includ-
ing the TransJakarta BRT and commuter railways, but
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION 307
substituted for conventional, non-RHA motorcycle taxis. In
addition, they found that motorcycle RHA, like conventional
motorcycle taxis, served mainly short-distance trips and
access trips to the BRT — a finding that was consistent with
a previous study on BRT station access trips by motorcycle
taxis in Bangkok (Chalermpong & Ratanawaraha, 2015).
This study is the only one that employed a sophisticated
research method to examine the complementarity between
RHA and conventional public transport in SEA.
Ilahi et al. (2021) conducted stated-preference (SP) and
revealed preference (RP) surveys of a large sample of house-
holds in Greater Jakarta to estimate values of travel time,
demand elasticities, and willingness to pay of users of RHA
and other transportation modes by employing the mode
choice modeling technique. The results showed that RHA
users tended to have a higher value of travel time than the
users of other modes. In addition, the demand for RHA was
price elastic, suggesting that mode substitution was probably
more likely among groups of travelers with certain trip pur-
poses and socioeconomic characteristics, such as high-
income commuters and private vehicle owners. The implica-
tions of this study were supported by another recent study
that focused on private vehicle drivers and public transit
users in three cities in Indonesia (Nugroho et al., 2020).
Examining the propensity of these travelers to use RHA in
Semarang, Bogor, and Bandung by using the ordered logit
model, the study found that certain socioeconomic attributes
of individuals affected the propensity to use RHA, including
vehicle ownership and their perception of RHA and other
transport modes.
4.1.5. Comparisons between RHA and other modes: mode
characteristics and user’s attitude
A closely related topic to mode substitution is the compara-
tive assessment between RHA and other competing modes,
particularly conventional taxis. Several studies on this topic
from the Philippines were found from the literature search,
providing a comparison between car-based RHA services by
Uber and Grab and conventional taxis in Manila. Nistal and
Regidor (2016) conducted an online survey to understand
the differences in characteristics and attitudes between con-
ventional taxis and Uber users in the Philippines.
Approximately a quarter of the respondents had never used
Uber, 60% were regular Uber users, and 75% were regular
taxi users. Uber users reported shorter waiting times and a
higher level of satisfaction when asked to compare Uber
with public transport than did conventional taxi users. The
average level of satisfaction of Uber in various aspects was
also found to be higher than those of taxis, particularly with
respect to drivers’ behavior. The sample size of this study,
however, was relatively small (n ¼ 226) and the sampling
method by distribution through social network pages might
significantly affect the results, as evident in the lower age
range of respondents (24.5 years on average).
Another study by Dela Pe~ na and Dizon (2016), as cited
by Regidor and Napalang (2018), surveyed users of Grab
Taxi to understand the factors underlying their preferences
of RHA to conventional taxis. The reasons behind RHA
308 S. CHALERMPONG ET AL.
preference were categorized into three groups: convenience,
reliability, and safety. Paronda et al. (2017) conducted online
questionnaire surveys of 119 users of Uber and Grab Car.
Most users stated that the reasons for using RHA, as
opposed to other modes, were convenience, safety, and reli-
ability, and that public transit, conventional taxi, and per-
sonal car were the most common alternative modes to RHA.
Besides these studies from the Philippines, a recent study
from Vietnam by Nguyen-Phuoc et al. (2021a) also com-
pared conventional taxis and car-based RHA by examining
factors underlying customers’ satisfaction and loyalty to
these competing modes. They found that for conventional
taxis passengers the most important factor affecting loyalty
was passenger satisfaction, followed by perceived benefit of
the booking method. For RHA passengers, the perceived
safety was the most important factor affecting their level of
loyalty, followed by satisfaction. It should be noted while
several studies compared RHA and non-RHA modes, a
comparative analysis between different RHA modes, such as
cars and motorcycles, is largely lacking.
4.2. Supply side: RHA-Ts, RHA-Cs, and related
transportation operators
Three groups of closely related stakeholders on the supply
side of the RHA market include RHA-Cs, RHA-Ts, and
related transportation operators. The search of RHA litera-
ture in SEA produced relatively few results relevant to these
groups, compared to the literature on the RHA user group.
This could be attributed to the unclear legal status of RHA
drivers, making it difficult to gain access to research subjects
in most SEA countries, as well as limited access to data and
information held by the service providers. Among these, the
literature search results show that topics related to RHA-Ts,
including characteristics of RHA drivers, their operational
characteristics, and their accident risks, were most exten-
sively covered. The search also revealed that a few research
studies focused on characteristics of RHA-Cs and their rela-
tionships with RHA-Ts. While the problem of conflicts
between RHA drivers and those of other competing modes
of transport has been widely covered in the media, the rela-
tionship between RHA-Ts and related transportation opera-
tors was examined in only a handful of studies.
4.2.1. RHA-Ts
4.2.1.1. Drivers’ characteristics. Nguyen-Phuoc et al. (2019)
conducted a survey on motorcycle taxi drivers and motor-
cycle-based RHA drivers in the three largest Vietnamese cit-
ies of Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City. The survey
results of 602 RHA drivers showed that they were
25.74 years old on average, predominantly male, single, and
migrant workers. Almost half of the drivers were students
and about 75% had a high school education. A large major-
ity of drivers worked part-time and considered income from
driving sufficient. Almost half of the drivers drove more
than 100 km per day and worked less than 40 hours
per week.
Phun et al. (2018) investigated the sociodemographic
characteristics of drivers of RHA services in Phnom Penh,
as well as their operational characteristics and attitudes
toward RHA and conventional non-RHA modes. They
found that the majority of drivers were under 40 years old,
married, and well-educated and that RHA increased the
number of trips, passengers, and revenue of drivers. Over
90% of respondents worked full-time as RHA drivers. Alifah
Dina (2017) conducted a survey of RHA and traditional
motorcycle taxi drivers in Indonesia and found that RHA
motorcycle drivers tended to be younger and better educated
than their non-RHA counterparts. A small proportion of
RHA drivers was female, yet there were no female drivers in
the case of non-RHA. A vast majority of both types of driv-
ers earned their main source of income from driving
motorcycles.
When looking at employment status of RHA drivers, the
findings from SEA are mixed. Some studies reported that a
majority of RHA drivers were full-time drivers (Alifah Dina,
2017; Phun et al., 2018) while others that a majority were
part-time drivers (Nguyen-Phuoc et al., 2019; Truong &
Nguyen, 2019), which were similar to the result from the
USA (Hall & Krueger, 2018). Furthermore, the findings on
age and education levels of both car and motorcycle RHA
drivers align with the results from the USA (Hall &
Krueger, 2018), but not from India (Ahmed et al., 2016). As
for attitudes toward RHA, RHA drivers generally had a
positive attitude toward RHA and were satisfied with the
productivity gained from using it (Alifah Dina, 2017; Phun
et al., 2020). In addition, the results on the attitudes of
Indonesian motorcycle RHA drivers suggested that they
tended to be more entrepreneurial and growth-oriented than
traditional motorcycle taxi drivers (Alifah Dina, 2017).
4.2.1.2. Operational characteristics. Examining operational
characteristics of informal transport drivers in Phnom Penh,
Cambodia, Phun et al. (2020) found that those working for
RHA worked much longer hours, carried far more passen-
gers, and earned more revenue than those without RHA.
However, RHA drivers also reported significantly higher
operating expenses and spent more time cruising for passen-
gers. Despite being at a disadvantage, non-RHA drivers
showed no intention to switch to RHA, believing that doing
so would reduce their income. Jack (2020) also studied
informal transport drivers in Phnom Penh but focused more
on the functions of parking associations, which dominated
their member operations. RHA allowed newcomers previ-
ously barred from providing services to operate without hav-
ing to join these associations, which threatened the incomes
of those in the associations. RHA also enabled drivers with
limited or no proficiency in English to serve for-
eign customers.
Ford and Honan (2017) surveyed traditional motorcycle
taxi drivers in Jakarta and found that a significant propor-
tion of them joined Gojek to access a greater pool of passen-
gers, to increase their income, and to gain welfare benefits,
such as insurance. They noted, however, that Gojek drivers
received less revenue on a per-ride basis than traditional

motorcycle taxi drivers, due to the commission fee deducted
by Gojek. Nonetheless, the total revenue of Gojek drivers
might be greater than traditional motorcycle drivers due to
more rides and incentive bonuses for meeting certain per-
formance targets. Many Gojek drivers were not satisfied
with their relationship with Gojek, which could unilaterally
change the fare or the commission rate, so they organized to
increase their collective bargaining power.
Limpin and Sison (2018) investigated RHA drivers’ vari-
ous tactics in Manila in an attempt to achieve their compen-
sation goals. They found that several tactics, such as surge
chasing, request skipping, and dual driving, were used by
RHA drivers in the Philippines. These same practices were
reported in previous studies from other countries. However,
some tactics were specific to the Philippines, particularly
those involving direct arrangements between drivers and
passengers without going through the mobile application.
4.2.1.3. Accident risks. While safety was one of the major
dimensions of RHA services that affected users’ decision
whether to use RHA, few researchers empirically investi-
gated the safety of RHA services, possibly due to the lack of
availability of official company data. Our literature survey
revealed that researchers in Vietnam were among the most
active in the region in the investigation of motorcycle safety
because of the widespread use of this type of vehicle, and
recently some researchers have broadened their research
effort to include the safety of motorcycle RHA. Truong and
Nguyen (2019) examined the factors affecting rates of acci-
dents among motorcycle taxi drivers in Hanoi, Vietnam.
While the scope of the study was not limited to RHA driv-
ers as it included non-RHA drivers, the study provided use-
ful comparative information regarding the characteristics of
drivers. RHA drivers tended to be younger, better educated,
and less experienced in providing taxi services than non-
RHA drivers. They found over 95% prevalence of mobile
phone use while driving among RHA drivers, as opposed to
64% among non-RHA drivers, and that 10% of all motor-
cycle taxi drivers experienced mobile-phone related acci-
dents. Using the negative binomial regression technique, the
authors analyzed self-reported crash data, concluding that
RHA drivers were more likely to be involved in mobile-
phone related accidents than were non-RHA drivers, and
that motorcycle drivers providing delivery services were
more likely to experience mobile-phone related crashes than
those providing passenger services.
In another study from Vietnam, Nguyen-Phuoc et al.
(2019) specifically examined self-reported accidents among
motorcycle-based RHA drivers in the three largest
Vietnamese cities of Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh
City. The results from face-to-face interviews and online
surveys revealed that 30% of RHA drivers were involved in
at least one traffic accident annually. However, unlike
Truong and Nguyen’s results, Nguyen-Phuoc et al. found
that the prevalence of mobile phone use while driving
among RHA drivers was 52%. A striking 62% of those who
experienced crashes stated that they used a mobile phone
while driving, compared to 48% among those who had no
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION 309
accidents. While the results of RHA traffic safety studies
remain inconclusive, they suggest a significant level of risk
associated with motorcycle-based RHA and the prevalence
of mobile phone use while driving among RHA drivers.
4.2.1.4. Relationships between RHA-Ts and related transpor-
tation operators. The relationship between RHA-Ts and
related transport operators is complex and may depend on
the local context. While there was some evidence of comple-
mentarity between services provided by RHA-Ts and related
transportation operators (Nguyen-Phuoc et al., 2020;
Suatmadi et al., 2019), the focus of the literature was on ten-
sions between RHA-Ts and conventional transportation
operators. In some places, conventional transportation oper-
ators adopted both hailing practices — by RHA as well as
on-street hailing (Phun et al., 2018; 2020) — whereas in
other places territorial claims prevent such practices,
prompting conflicts and physical violence between RHA
drivers and conventional operators (Palevsky, 2019).
While conflicts between car-based RHA and conventional
taxi drivers occur occasionally, the physical conflicts were
particularly apt in the case of informal transport modes,
such as motorcycle taxis and tuk-tuks. These informal oper-
ators were organized as parking associations and were
extremely territorial in many countries, including Thailand
(Phun et al., 2019b; Ratanawaraha & Chalermpong, 2015),
Indonesia (Palevsky, 2019), and Cambodia (Jack, 2020).
Ford and Honan (2017) chronicled the conflicts between
car- and motorcycle-RHA drivers and conventional opera-
tors in Indonesia, which included drivers of taxis, traditional
motorcycle taxis, and minibuses. A series of protests and
strikes by drivers, as well as physical confrontations between
RHA drivers and conventional operators, occurred in
Jakarta and other major Indonesian cities, including
Bandung, Medan, and Surabaya.
4.2.2. RHA-Cs
4.2.2.1. Characteristics of RHA-Cs. Few studies were found
from our literature search that examined the characteristics
of RHA-Cs in SEA despite the large number of local RHA-
Cs that provide services in each SEA country. Phun et al.
(2018) tracked the growth of RHA operators in SEA coun-
tries since 2010 on Google’s Play Store and found that the
cumulative number of apps in 2017 were: two in Laos, four
in Thailand, five in the Philippines and Myanmar, seven in
Vietnam, 17 in Indonesia, and 20 in Cambodia. Gojek was
the first RHA operator to launch its service in the region in
2010, debuting in Indonesia, followed by Grab in Thailand
and Philippines in 2013, and by ComfortDelGrow in
Vietnam in 2013. Within the large pool of RHA-Cs in the
region, Grab and Gojek dominated the industry’s landscape.
Grab claimed a 62% market share region-wide, while Gojek
accounted for 80% of the Indonesian market (Filicitas,
2019), by far the largest in the region (Statista, 2019). It is
important to note that the list compiled by Phun et al.
(2018) did not include Malaysia and Singapore
RHA operators.
310 S. CHALERMPONG ET AL.
A study of firm location decisions of RHA-Cs was con-
ducted by Brail (2020), who investigated the locations of
headquarters as well as regional and national offices of the
so-called “unicorns” RHA-Cs globally. Two of these are
headquarted in SEA: Singapore-based Grab and Jakarta-
based Gojek. As previously discussed, a unicorn company is
a private company with a valuation of over US$1 billion.
Brail argued that the locations of RHA unicorns in superstar
cities reflected the pattern of concentration and agglomer-
ation economies, which were also evident in other emerging
industries. Another important finding of this study was the
fact that most RHA-Cs, despite their unicorn status, includ-
ing Grab but not Gojek, had financial relationships with
larger and global RHA-Cs, such as Uber and Didi Chuxing,
which had large stakes in all but a handful of smaller
RHA unicorns.
4.2.2.2. Relationship between RHA-Cs and RHA-Ts. The lit-
erature survey yielded a few studies that examined the rela-
tionships and tensions between RHA-Cs and RHA-Ts. Of
particular research interest were the policies of RHA-Cs
toward drivers, which are important in ensuring safe and
law-abiding operations, effective protection of customer
rights, fair compensation and welfare to drivers, acceptable
working conditions, and appropriate procedures for settling
disputes. RHA drivers’ discontent with companies’ policies
often led to collective actions to increase their bargaining
power with companies (Nastiti, 2017), which could lead to
changes in government regulations (Ford & Honan, 2017).
For this reason, the effects of the companies’ policies toward
drivers in various aspects, including labor rights and union-
ization, were examined by some researchers to inform poli-
cies in this area.
RHA drivers in some countries self-organized to increase
bargaining power with RHA operators with regards to com-
pensation and work rules (Palevsky, 2019). Ford and Honan
(2019) examined the self-organization of RHA drivers in
Indonesia and found that while the arrangement could pro-
vide mutual support among members within small geo-
graphical communities of drivers, its effectiveness in
fostering collective bargaining power of RHA drivers to
advance workers’ rights remains unclear.
Ford and Honan (2017) reported that in Indonesia,
Gojek set the maximum age of motorcycle drivers at
50 years old. The drivers must own their motorcycles and
receive basic training from Gojek. The company also pro-
vided two helmets, a jacket, and a smartphone, which must
be paid off in installments by drivers. Group insurance was
provided by Gojek to drivers and passengers that covered
both medical expenses and property losses. Citing RHA-Cs’
ability to unilaterally set compensation rates and power to
discipline drivers by various means, Ford and Honan con-
tended that while RHA-Cs are not a de jure employer in
Indonesia, they are a de facto employer.
Frey (2020) argued that RHA’s impact on the labor mar-
ket in Bandung, Indonesia was to increase the formalization
of employment. This impact was significant in SEA coun-
tries where employment in informal sectors dominated the
economy. In particular, negative side-effects of widespread
adoption of RHA on the labor market were felt by non-
RHA drivers who saw reduced incomes. Most drivers of
traditional motorcycle taxis voluntarily joined Gojek unless
they were unable to qualify, such as those who lacked
proper documents or financial resources to do so. Palevsky
(2019) argued that the income disparity between drivers
who switched to RHA and those drivers who were unable to
do so could lead to widening inequality between these two
groups of drivers.
4.3. Public-sector stakeholders
Our literature search resulted in a limited number of articles
related to public-sector stakeholders in the RHA market in
SEA. Research focused primarily on RHA regulations, yet
notably no articles discussed the involvement of transporta-
tion planning agencies in the RHA market. The results of
the literature search related to regulations, including per-
spectives from business, economics, and legal scholars are
summarized in supplemental data (Table S5). The small
number of studies on RHA regulations in SEA can be
explained by two main reasons. First, only four countries in
SEA, including the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and
Singapore have passed laws that formally regulate RHA,
while Vietnam has a five-year provisional regulation that
will end in 2021 (Izahar bin Mohamad Izham, 2018).
Second, RHA regulations in these countries have been
mostly in flux, with numerous amendments, revocations,
and re-regulations, brought on by a myriad of passenger
complaints, labor disputes, and anti-competition lawsuits
(Mutiarin et al., 2019). Thus, the findings from the review
of literature on RHA regulation in SEA generally reflected
these specific issues.
4.3.1. Regulation of RHA-Cs
The literature search revealed that governments in the
Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia have been most active
in regulating the supply side of RHA markets. These include
permitting or licensing of RHA-Cs, as well as financial and
insurance requirements. The Philippines was among the first
countries to legislate specific regulations on RHA in SEA.
Napalang and Regidor (2017) reported the regulations of
RHA by the Land Transport Franchising and Regulatory
Board (LTFRB). The Philippine transport regulator estab-
lished specific rules for RHA app operators (referred to as
Transportation Network Companies or TNCs) and drivers/
partners (referred to as Transportation Network Vehicle
Service or TNVS) that were separate from those governing
conventional taxis or other public transport modes. The
rules require TNCs to provide insurance coverage for pas-
sengers in addition to third-party liability, a list of TNVS
drivers/partners, and vehicles used for service. However, the
rules governing RHA were set on an ad hoc basis with no
clear procedures for regulatory review. The lack of a system-
atic approach to regulations of RHA in the Philippines was
confirmed by Mutiarin et al. (2019), who argued that the

government’s responses to the advent of RHA were incre-
mental and on a trial-and-error basis. Between 2015 and
2018, the LTRFB issued no fewer than 18 memo circulars
on RHA regulations. As a result, suspension of operating
permits of RHA service or issuance of new permits was
common, with negotiations between TNCs and the authority
being mediated in court.
The government of Indonesia has also been active con-
cerning the regulations of RHA-Cs. Ford and Honan (2017)
chronicled early developments leading up to the first specific
regulation of RHA in Indonesia in 2016, highlighting how
the support of the public for RHA operators pressured the
government into allowing RHA to operate. Initially, the
business conduct of RHA-Cs, but not operations or services,
were regulated by Law No. 11 of 2008 on Information and
Electronic Transactions (Mutiarin et al., 2019), which pro-
vided the legal basis for online transactions and ensured the
protection of privacy rights of consumers. Later, successive
regulations were issued by the Minister of Transportation to
regulate RHA operations, including the Minister’s
Regulation No. 26 of 2017 and the Minister’s Regulation
No. 108 of 2017. Both laws, however, were struck down by
the Supreme Court, which maintained that the regulations
restricted RHA operations, which could otherwise support
small and medium business owners, enabling them to com-
pete with conventional transportation operators. After these
legal developments, the Ministry of Transportation again
issued a new regulation of RHA to ensure the safety and
affordability of RHA, as well as fair competition between
RHA and conventional taxis (Fajar et al., 2019).
Ford and Honan (2017) argued that in Indonesia car-
based RHA-Cs faced stronger opposition from conventional
taxi operators than Gojek, the motorcycle-based RHA-Cs. If
unregulated, car-based RHA-Cs would be deemed an unfair
competitor since they failed to conform to legal require-
ments for conventional taxis established by the transport
law. Furthermore, the fact that foreign RHA-Cs without
local offices did not pay income taxes further undermined
their position from the perspective of conventional operators
and government authorities. Thus, the regulations for car-
based online taxis were passed specifically to tackle
these problems.
Izahar bin Mohamad Izham (2018) reviewed the regula-
tions of RHA in Malaysia, comparing them to those in other
SEA countries. He argued that regulations of RHA in SEA
countries shared certain common structures, including the
registration of RHA-Cs, drivers and vehicle requirements,
and limited fare control. In Malaysia, RHA-Cs must apply
for an intermediation business license from SPAD, the
country’s land transport regulator. While the licensing
allows the regulator to impose certain conditions, such as
ownership rules and financial requirements, as an intermedi-
ation business, an RHA-C is not considered a transport
operator and not regulated by traditional transport regula-
tions, such as those governing conventional taxis.
The review of literature on the public sector shows that
most reviewed articles tended to be narrative, discussing the
basis of the regulations and chronicling their evolution over
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION 311
time, such as Napalang and Regidor (2017) and Mutiarin
et al. (2019). The regulations that promote fair competition
between RHA and conventional transportation operators, as
well as those aiming to control anti-competition business
practices by RHA, received attention from some researchers
(Fajar et al., 2019). This issue recently received considerable
attention with the proposed merger between Grab and
Gojek (Eloksari, 2020). Our literature review shows that little
research has been conducted on the effectiveness of RHA
regulations on improving safety, consumer protection, or
the efficiency of transport systems in general. Policies on
RHAs in Indonesia and the Philippines are mostly deter-
mined by commercial and legal concerns, instead of sustain-
ability (Yuana et al., 2019).
4.3.2. Driver, vehicle, and operational requirements
The literature review showed that various driver, vehicle,
and operational requirements are imposed on RHA-Ts by
the public regulators in several SEA countries. In the
Philippines, the LTRFB requires RHA drivers to clear crim-
inal background checks and bans certain types of vehicles
from being used by RHA-Ts on safety grounds, including
motorcycles. The transport regulator also oversees other
operational aspects of RHA services, including reliability and
pricing practices, and can penalize non-complying parties by
permit suspension or revocation.
In Indonesia, sets of regulations concerning driver,
vehicle, and operational requirements are imposed on car-
based RHA, also known as online taxis, and the motorcycle
taxi industry as a whole — both RHA and non-RHA (Fajar
et al., 2019). The motorcycle taxi regulations focused on
safety issues, but also specified the cost structure of RHA
motorcycle taxi operation, requiring the Minister of
Transportation to conduct a consultation with stakeholders
in provincial jurisdictions to specify the formula for fare
calculations.
In Malaysia, vehicles used by RHA-Ts are classified by
SPAD as Public Service Vehicles (PSV), similarly to taxis
and public buses, and must conform to regulations imposed
on such vehicles, including age limit, periodic inspections,
and liability insurance. RHA drivers, like those of other
PSVs, must possess a PSV driving license, pass criminal and
medical background checks, and receive mandatory six-hour
training. As for fare control, the commission rate that RHA
companies can charge the drivers is regulated to not exceed
20% of the fare for general drivers and 10% for taxi drivers.
Izahar bin Mohamad Izham (2018) noted that this was
unlike the case of conventional taxis where commission rates
were prescribed rather than made dependent on the fares.
5. Discussion
5.1. Synthesis of literature review results
The literature review on RHA in Southeast Asia presented
above follows individual components of the conceptual
framework shown in Figure 2. The majority of the reviewed
studies focused on an individual element of RHA, and few
312 S. CHALERMPONG ET AL.
examined the relationships among multiple RHA issues.
Nonetheless, it is possible to infer how results from each
component relate to one another according to the concep-
tual framework in order to synthesize policy implications
and identify future research problems.
Findings from studies of the demand-side of RHA were
most extensive, illuminating several implications related to
other RHA components. First, pertaining to public-sector
stakeholders, demand characteristics of RHA carried critical
implications for the role of public regulators. For example,
referring to sections 4.1.1 and 4.1.2, the widespread use of
motorcycles, their high frequency of use, and perceptions
about RHA safety risks (section 4.1.3) may require a govern-
ment to issue safety regulations. This is equally applicable to
studies on the supply-side of RHA, which revealed signifi-
cant risks in motorcycle RHA operations (section 4.2.1.3)
and highlighted the need for intervention by the public
authority to address such risks.
Second, several demand-side studies revealed the import-
ant role of RHA in the urban transportation systems in sev-
eral SEA cities. Referring to section 4.1.2, RHAs are used
regularly by a broad spectrum of the population in SEA for
commuting and educational purposes. The literature also
provided evidence of both competition with other conven-
tional for-hire transport operators and their complementary
relationship with mass transit systems. Ignoring these roles
of RHA could lead to suboptimal investment in transport
infrastructure and services, especially critical to developing
economies in SEA. Therefore, the transport planning
authority should smartly integrate RHA into its conventional
urban transport planning, as well as implement policies gov-
erning conventional and informal for-hire trans-
port operators.
Finally, the demand-side literature from the business and
management disciplines offered several insights into how
RHA users and RHA supply-side components interacted.
The literature showed that price, reliability, safety, and
driver professionalism were key factors affecting customer
satisfaction of RHA users. As discussed in section 4.1.3, cus-
tomer satisfaction, along with other service quality dimen-
sions, particularly perceived safety, significantly affected
RHA users’ loyalty. These results lay the foundation for
understanding the factors underlying RHA user behaviors,
which can be used by RHA supply stakeholders, including
RHA-Cs and RHA-Ts in designing and improving
their services.
As for the supply-side studies, some researchers examined
the relationships between supply components of the RHA
market, such as those between RHA-Cs and RHA-Ts (sec-
tion 4.2.2.2) or between RHA-Ts and other transport opera-
tors (section 4.2.1.4). The literature review uncovered a
complex relationship between RHA-T drivers and RHA-Cs
as explained in section 4.2.2.2. On the one hand, RHA-Cs
provided drivers valuable access to passengers and partially
formalized the otherwise informal employment that lacked a
social safety net.
On the other hand, many RHA-T drivers viewed RHA-
Cs negatively due to poor working conditions and unfair
remuneration rates as discussed in section 4.2.1.2. Since in
most SEA countries, RHA-T drivers have no legal employ-
ment status and are not protected by labor laws (section
4.3), legal sanctions of the RHA business by the public sec-
tor could be a critical first step in addressing the difficult
relationship between RHA-Cs and RHA-T drivers. However,
such a step could be opposed by other transport operators
who consider RHA as an illicit business that violates trans-
port regulations. The findings from the literature review
highlighted the critical role of the public sector to bring
together various groups of RHA stakeholders with diverse
objectives and aspirations to the negotiating table in order
to achieve a common social goal (Kato et al., 2014). This
role of public regulator has been characterized as supporting
the process of social change by De Haan and
Rotmans (2018).
The literature on the livelihoods of RHA-T drivers in sec-
tion 4.2.1.2, their working conditions, and safety perform-
ance relied mostly on driver survey data. Despite the great
potential of RHA-Cs as the source of data, no academic
studies in SEA made use of such data, as there was no regu-
lation by any SEA authorities for RHA-Cs to disclose them
(section 4.3). Since operational data from RHA-Cs can be
valuable for the public sector in formulating labor and safety
regulations and aiding in transport planning — both for
RHA and the transport system as a whole — the public sec-
tor’s intervention to gain access to the data might be neces-
sary. Since such data generally carry high proprietary values,
negotiations between the government and RHA-Cs would
be needed regarding fair terms and conditions of data usage
before RHA-Cs would agree to disclose the data.
5.2. Comparisons between SEA and other regions
The review of literature on RHA in SEA revealed several
findings that are in line with those from other countries, as
previously reviewed by Tirachini (2020). Some findings,
however, are distinct partly because of the local contexts of
SEA countries. Table 4 provides a summary of comparisons
between the review of literature from SEA and those from
Tirachini’s review.
One of the key characteristics of RHAs in SEA countries
that distinguishes them from their counterparts in more
developed countries is the widespread use of motorcycles,
which are popular because of the maneuverability that
allows them to navigate the congested streets of SEA cities
at relatively high speeds. Due to the wide availability of
cheap motorcycles and low wages in the labor market in
some cities, such as Bangkok and Jakarta, motorcycle taxis
have been well-established long before the advent of RHA.
However, their supply was restricted by self-regulation or
government-imposed quotas. RHA allowed new drivers to
access the motorcycle taxi market, as well as the markets of
food and parcel delivery services, which experienced sharp
growth during the period of Covid-19 lockdowns (Google
et al., 2020).
Intense competition, economies of scale, and economies
of scope in motorcycle services, all of which were enabled

by RHA, imply that motorcycle taxi and delivery services
have become more affordable to a wider pool of customers.
It should be noted that even though motorcycle taxis were
also widely used and researched in Africa, studies of motor-
cycle-based RHA in Africa were quite limited (Divall et al.,
2021). Ehebrecht et al. (2018) noted that the advent of RHA
could transform the way motorcycle taxi businesses were
conducted, particularly on how fares were settled via online
platforms. The review results in this paper could provide a
useful basis for comparison for future studies of motorcycle
RHA in Africa.
Since a large number of studies in SEA covered in this
paper were based on motorcycle RHA users, their findings
often differed from the studies of car-based RHA reviewed
in other countries. On the demand side, for example, unlike
the results from Tirachini (2020), the main trip purpose of
RHA in SEA was not necessarily for social activities or
recreation, but rather commuting to work and school, and
the frequency of RHA trips in SEA was relatively high,
rather than just occasional. This is likely because most RHA
users in SEA made trips by motorcycles, which offer fast
and inexpensive services that are suitable and accessible
for commuters.
Interestingly, the findings reported here were consistent
with some African studies, which found that a large propor-
tion of RHA trips were for commuting or made on a fre-
quent basis (Acheampong et al., 2020; Giddy, 2019; Smith,
2021). Indeed, factors that influence RHA use in SEA —
safety, cost, and relative convenience compared to public
transit — are similar to those found in Tirachini’s review
and in the African study by Acheampong et al. (2020). Yet
differences emerged concerning the use of RHA to avoid
driving after alcohol consumption or because of limited
parking at destinations. These factors were found to be
important reasons for using RHA in Tirachini’s review and
Smith (2021), but not in our review of SEA. This may be
because of poor regulations on driving under the influence
(Kitamura et al., 2018) or illegal parking at destinations in
SEA countries (Chalermpong & Ratanawaraha, 2019).
On the supply side, the literature on RHA supply in SEA
was scarce. These limited studies focused on narrow aspects,
such as RHA driver characteristics, and few analyzed RHA-
Cs. One important finding from the review is that while in
developed countries many drivers are car-owners working
part-time for an RHA for supplementary income, in SEA
RHA drivers tended to earn their main income from provid-
ing passenger and delivery services via RHA. The tensions
between RHA-Cs and RHA drivers in SEA, especially driv-
ers’ discontent regarding operational, compensation, and
penalty rules, were examined in some studies, and the dis-
ruption due to conflicts between them could affect RHA
users, highlighting the role of the regulators in overseeing
the supply side of the RHA market in areas beyond the trad-
itional role of transportation regulatory agencies.
The unique characteristics of demand and supply of RHA
in SEA countries suggest that their impacts on the transpor-
tation systems would be different from those in developed
countries, as would the needs for regulations of RHA. Our
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION 313
literature review showed that the research on RHA regula-
tions in SEA countries was scarce, and most of the past
studies tended to be narrative, highlighting the tensions
between RHA-Cs and RHA drivers and how government
efforts to address this problem through regulation was still a
work in progress. Some researchers studied self-organization
by RHA drivers to increase collective bargaining power with
RHA-Cs regarding drivers’ rights and welfare, but there was
no research on legislation by SEA governments on labor
protections in the RHA industry. Likewise, empirical
research that could inform policy prescriptions on consumer
protection and anti-competitive behavior in the RHA indus-
try in SEA countries was extremely limited, partly due to
the lack of access to operational data that were controlled by
RHA-Cs.
While some useful safety research was conducted on
motorcycle-based RHA, the research was too limited both in
terms of geographical scope and vehicle types to inform
wider policy decisions on how RHA vehicles should be regu-
lated. Despite regulations by some SEA governments to
require a criminal background check of RHA drivers,
research on security issues of RHA was not found in our lit-
erature review. The question of whether such rules or any
other alternatives are effective in protecting RHA passengers
and drivers from crime remains to be investigated. Similar
questions can be asked regarding the effectiveness and
impact of regulations of RHA on other issues that have been
experimented with by SEA governments.
5.3. Key policy issues related to RHA in SEA
The impacts of RHA on travel behavior and their implications
on sustainable transportation policies have been recently
reviewed and discussed in Tirachini (2020). The review cov-
ered mainly the literature from countries of Europe and
North America, China, and relatively few studies from else-
where. As the contexts under which RHAs operate in SEA are
significantly different, it is important that policy issues related
to RHA in SEA countries be informed by research conducted
with attention to local contexts, such as mobility conditions
and characteristics, labor markets, the environment, and polit-
ical and legal frameworks.
In terms of mobility, travelers in cities of economically
advanced countries with well-developed transportation sys-
tems tend to have a greater range of travel options, includ-
ing formal public transportation modes and conventional
taxis. In these countries, RHA might direct passengers away
from an already-underutilized public transport service, thus
further reducing the efficiency of urban transportation sys-
tems. On the other hand, RHA in countries in the Global
South, where available, often provide an alternative to over-
crowded public transportation. In addition, motorcycle RHA
can also provide a more reliable transport service than con-
ventional motorcycle taxis, which are generally poorly regu-
lated. Conventional motorcycle taxis have problems of
unfair pricing, inaccessibility in certain locations, and poor
security and safety measures. RHA provides a platform for
passengers and motorcycle taxi drivers to connect more
314 S. CHALERMPONG ET AL.
efficiently, while improving price transparency, addressing
security concerns, and enhancing users’ overall mobility.
While public safety is a key rationale for regulating public
transportation, it is unclear how the safety regulation of
RHA should be addressed. RHA enables large-scale use of
motorcycles or other types of locally adapted motorcycles
for passenger service (Phun et al., 2020), aggravating the
concerns of high rates of motorcycle accident-related inju-
ries and fatalities in ASEAN countries (Kumphong et al.,
2018). Still, this might be attributed to weak transportation
law enforcement around vehicle standards and safety rules
(Mo et al., 2014). In addition, RHA drivers often use mobile
phones while driving, increasing the risk of road accidents
(Phuksuksakul et al., 2021).
Professionalization and training of drivers may address
some of these safety issues. Before the introduction of RHA,
drivers of informal modes of transportation operated with
little safety oversight in most SEA countries. In contracting
with RHA companies, drivers must now conform to certain
rules regarding vehicle standards, training, and operational
safety. It still remains unproven whether these improve-
ments are sufficient in protecting public safety. Empirical
data on RHA safety records are thus needed.
From an employment perspective, RHA drivers are con-
sidered informal workers who are not recognized and pro-
tected by labor laws. As in many countries with unclear
employment status for RHA drivers, issues regarding labor
protection and benefits remain unresolved in most SEA
countries. For this reason, self-organization by drivers is the
only mechanism for them to increase their bargaining power
against RHA companies, but government intervention might
still be needed to address this legally gray area.
Despite the lack of labor protections, it can be argued that
RHA platforms provide access to jobs for drivers who do not
have connections to informal transport associations, which
have long-controlled who is allowed to provide services in
lucrative areas (Jack, 2020). RHA platforms also enable
motorcycle drivers to provide delivery services, particularly
food delivery, using the same vehicles. This arrangement cre-
ates additional revenue sources for drivers during the day and
late evening when passenger demand is lower, and particularly
during the periods of COVID-19 lockdowns.
Finally, the impacts of RHA on the environment in SEA
remain poorly understood. Evidence from empirical research
in North America suggests RHA compliments public trans-
portation in larger metropolitan areas with large populations
and limited public transit service (Hall et al., 2018). While
complementarity with public transportation should reduce
environmental impacts by reducing Vehicle-Kilometer Travel
(VKT), the net impacts are unknown, since RHA could substi-
tute other non-motorized modes, like bicycling or walking, to
access public transportation. There is also an issue of empty
hauls that might increase the VKT by RHA use. Where RHA-
based motorcycles are used for food and parcel delivery, a
sharp increase in packaging plastic waste was observed during
the periods of COVID-19 lockdown (Simachaya, 2020). This
aspect of environmental impact from app-based transporta-
tion service has recently received attention from researchers,
but empirical evidence is still insufficient to provide a useful
basis for policy recommendations.
In short, the adoption of RHAs has many potential benefits
in SEA, such as improving mobility by adding extra capacity
to underdeveloped public transportation systems (Suatmadi
et al., 2019), improving the enforcement of transportation and
labor laws, and providing useful data that can support trans-
portation planning and regulations (Pulse Lab Jakarta, 2020).
Yet the critical issues related to RHA discussed above under-
score the need for more research regarding the impacts of
RHA to inform policy prescriptions that can both address
their negative effects and support innovation to make the
most out of RHA’s potential benefits (Lim, 2019). To that end,
the literature review in this paper should enable researchers
and policymakers to grasp the current state of knowledge con-
cerning the RHA market in the region and to identify know-
ledge gaps for future research.
6. Conclusion
Conducive economic and demographic conditions and lim-
ited transportation systems in SEA have led consumers
across the region to embrace RHA as an alternative mobility
solution. While consumers benefit from this enhanced
mobility option, various problems arise, caused directly or
indirectly by RHA use. To address these problems, it is
necessary to understand the wider impacts of RHA in the
local context. In this paper, we surveyed recent literature on
RHA that was conducted in SEA, following the conceptual
framework with three groups of stakeholders in the RHA
market; demand-side, supply-side, and public-sector stake-
holders, whose individual and collective actions and interac-
tions produce market outcomes. Our literature search
yielded a sizable body of literature on RHA in SEA, particu-
larly on the demand side of the market, but the literature
was relatively limited on the supply-side and public-sector
stakeholders.
The findings from our literature review of RHA in SEA
are summarized as follows. RHA users in SEA tended to be
young and educated, but results on income levels, employ-
ment, and car ownership status are mixed. There is no clear
pattern of RHA trip purposes, but commuting is a main
RHA trip purpose. Determinants of behavioral intention to
use RHA, customer satisfaction, and loyalty include percep-
tions of price, ease of use, reliability, and safety. RHA users
hold favorable views of RHA when compared to public
transportation or conventional for-hire services, reflecting
negative attitudes of the general SEA population toward
overcrowded public transportation. Regarding the impacts of
RHA on travel behavior, RHA users in SEA tend to substi-
tute RHA for public transportation, taxis, and other infor-
mal modes. There is limited evidence that RHA substitutes
driving or that RHA is complementary to public transporta-
tion. The distinctive results regarding RHA user characteris-
tics and behaviors might be attributed to the paramount
role of motorcycles in the RHA market in SEA.
The literature review of the supply side of RHA includes
the literature on RHA-Ts, RHA-Cs, and related

transportation operators. Our literature survey shows that
motorcycle RHA is the research subject in most of these
studies. RHA motorcycle drivers are younger and better
educated than non-RHA drivers. Both groups are also pre-
dominantly male and full-time drivers. RHA drivers gener-
ally view RHA favorably, believing it to increase ridership
and revenue, but many drivers are dissatisfied with oper-
ational and fare rules and self-organized to increase bargain-
ing power with RHA-Cs. RHA motorcycle drivers
experience fewer serious crashes than non-RHA drivers, but
RHA drivers’ accidents are significantly associated with
mobile phone use.
Conflicts between RHA-Ts and related transportation
operators are common, but our survey shows no research
focusing specifically on this issue. On the public-sector side,
the regulatory efforts of RHA in SEA are still at an early
stage and evolving. Varied regulatory approaches are used in
different countries, but these are often in response to calls
from conventional transportation operators to create a regu-
latory environment that is more equitable to them. In some
countries, traditional transportation regulations have been
expanded to include RHA, particularly in terms of driver
and vehicle requirements. Some countries in SEA passed
new regulations specifically designed for RHA. Our litera-
ture review did not find any studies on the public sector’s
efforts to incorporate RHA into the overall transportation
plan to improve sustainability.
In addition to the research gaps identified throughout the
paper, there are a few key topics to be explored for future
research on RHA in SEA. Particularly urgent issues concern
regulatory frameworks. Some normative questions include
(Deighton-Smith, 2018): How should RHA be regulated, on
what grounds, and on which aspects? Should the regulatory
framework take the approach of one framework for both
RHA and conventional taxis, or two separate frameworks? If
two separate frameworks are warranted, how would they
avoid distorting competition between RHA and conventional
taxis? Labor and consumer protection issues in RHA will
continue to be another key policy and research domain that
requires close and continued examination in SEA. While
governments in developed countries have put more effort
into these issues in recent years, most governments in SEA
have paid relatively low attention to them.
Conflicts between RHA and existing transport operators
are well-documented. But in several SEA cities, there are
clear and strong conflicts between RHA operators and exist-
ing mass transit operators, a situation not seen in more
developed economies. Private operators of public transport
in SEA often have mono- or oligopolistic control over their
service territories, which has been lessened by RHA. This
led to conflicts between RHA and existing operators. This
calls for an active role by governments to find solutions that
mitigate such conflicts. There is also a lack of studies on
RHA that provide a comprehensive system perspective.
Accordingly, a key question to be explored is how RHA
services interact with and influence different parts of urban
transport systems. As Pike and Pilatwosky Gruner (2020)
suggested, an understanding of the impact of RHA on travel
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION 315
behaviors on the environment is indispensable for policy-
makers to formulate RHA regulations. More research should
also be done to formulate recommendations for how gov-
ernments could update and modify urban transport infra-
structure in response to the increasing popularity of RHA.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful for the Kajima Foundation for their research funding.
We thank Chulalongkorn University and the Transportation Institute
for providing support for organizing the international research sympo-
sium on ride-hailing applications in Southeast Asia in Bangkok, where
this research collaboration project was conceived. We thank Jamison
Liang for help with English language editing.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Funding
This study was financially supported by the Kajima Foundation’s
International Joint Research Grant.
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