On-Demand Ride-Matching in a Spatial Model with Abandonment and Cancellation

Balancing the Abandonment and Cancellation of a Ride-Matching Market. In “On-Demand Ride-Matching in a Spatial Model with Abandonment and Cancellation,” Wang, Zhang, and Zhang propose a spatial model to approximate pickup times based on the number of waiting passengers and idle drivers. They analyze the dynamics of passengers and drivers in a queueing model in which the platform can control the matching process by setting a threshold on the expected pickup time. Applying fluid approximations, we obtain accurate performance evaluations and an elegant optimality condition based on which they propose a policy that adapts to time-varying demand.