The emergence of ride-hailing in the United States has brought forth new issues for its cities, particularly a large influx of traffic congestion. Today, several cities have introduced distinct ideas to solve congestion issues while debating their implications for equity. This paper examines the equity implications of traffic congestion in America'•s cities by comparing a flat tax rate on ride-hailing to various road pricing mechanisms using specific evaluative criteria, including transportation access and vertical equity. This paper begins with an overview of ride-hailing in the United States and the congestion problem it poses for cities, then reviews the literature around congestion and equity, describes and assesses the equity of a flat tax rate and road pricing, and ends with broad implications resourced from the literature for future policy.
Welfare gains from the adoption of proportional taxation in a general-equilibrium model with a grey economy: the case of Bulgaria’s 2008 flat tax reform