Rideshare in Massachusetts

In 2019, rideshare companies – also called transportation network companies (TNCs) – provided 91.1 million rides in Massachusetts, approximately 12.0% more than in 2018 and 40.6% more than in 2017. This increase happened across the state, in towns and cities of all sizes and types.

Massachusetts law requires rideshare companies to share data with the Commonwealth. The TNCs also pay an assessment of 20 cents per ride that is distributed among cities and towns, Massachusetts’s general transportation fund, and MassDevelopment to assist small businesses operating in the taxicab, livery, or hackney industries. More than $12 million was collected in 2017, more than $16 million was collected in 2018, and more than $18.2 million was collected in 2019. You can see how your municipality allocated the funds it received for rides taken in 2017 and in 2018.

This report includes an interactive summary of the 2019 rideshare data. You can explore how people in your city or town use rideshare services, such as how many rides began where you live and where those rides ended. You’ll also learn how population density and other factors affect ridesharing. You can also download data behind this summary, and view the 2017 report and the 2018 report.


Data Source: Department of Public Utilities (DPU)

2019 Growth in Ridesharing Across Massachusetts

In 2019, there were about 91.1 million TNC ridessee footnote[1] in Massachusetts – 12.0% more than the 81.3 million rides in 2018, and 40.6% more than the 64.8 million rides in 2017. This increase happened across the entire state. The largest increases in numbers of rides from 2018 to 2019 happened in cities like Boston (approximately 3 million more), Worcester (approximately 314,000 more), and Springfield (approximately 233,000 more). That said, many cities and towns with smaller numbers of rides saw a significant percentage increase in rides when compared to 2018 ridership. For example, in Wareham, ridesharing companies reported 25,652 rides in 2019, 116.9% more rides than in 2018. The data also shows high percentage growth in southeastern Massachusetts, for example in Fall River (237,276 rides in 2019, representing 76.9% more rides than in 2018) and in New Bedford (281,498 rides in 2019, representing 70.7% more rides than in 2018).

TNC rides increased considerably across the Cape and Islands in 2019 when compared to 2018, including in Nantucket (63,119 more), Barnstable (52,803 more), Falmouth (24,732 more), Oak Bluffs (15,657 more), and Provincetown (13,392 more). Ten cents from every ride originating in these municipalities is returned to them through the per-ride assessment. These assessments on the rideshare companies have been allocated towards mitigating the impacts of TNCs on the region. Funds collected from the 2018 rides, for example, funded cobblestone repairs on streets in Nantucket and traffic safety devices in Provincetown.

Year over year, the increase in the number of rides is dramatic in other parts of the state too. Rides starting in Beverly increased from 121,950 in 2017 to 165,270 in 2018 and then to 220,311 in 2019. Similarly, rides starting in Marlborough have grown dramatically from 84,122 in 2017 to 132,263 in 2018 and then to 184,387 in 2019. Funds collected from the per ride assessment over the years have enabled traffic safety improvements in Marlborough and the reconstruction of a bridge in Beverly.

2019 Total Rides Started by Municipality


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Total Rides and Rides Per Person in 2019

Although 91.1 million TNC rides make up a small percentage of the estimated 7.1 billion passenger vehicle trips in 2019see footnote[2], many of the rideshare trends that emerged in 2018 continued to develop in 2019, further demonstrating that that TNC use is an important thread in the fabric of Massachusetts transportation, especially when it comes to getting around cities and getting to the airport. For further context, there were approximately 382.4 million public transit rides in the Commonwealth in 2019.see footnote[3] For example:

  • 78.2% of all TNC rides in Massachusetts began in Suffolk and Middlesex counties.
  • 45.3 million rides began in Boston – the most of any city or town. Cambridge is second with 7.9 million rides.
  • TNC rides to and from Boston Logan International Airport totaled approximately 8.4 million, and are included in the total number of rides in Boston. There were approximately 4.85 million TNC rides to the Airport, and approximately 3.54 million TNC rides leaving the Airport.see footnote[4]
  • More people used ridesharing to leave large population centers like Cambridge, Somerville, Brookline, Springfield, and Worcester than to enter them. (This is true for Boston, too, when we remove the airport.)

2019 Total Rides Started by Municipality

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You can also view this map with overlays for public transportation and major highways, as well as labels for colleges and universities.

Table of Total Rides Started and Rides Started Per Person by Municipality

Use this table to explore the TNC rideshare data. You can sort by column headings, or use the search bar to look for a city or town you’re interested in.

Speed and Length of Rides

The average ride in Massachusetts lasted 15.6 minutes and traveled 4.6 miles at 17.7 miles per hour.see footnote[6]
Rides in Central and Western Massachusetts tended to move faster than in Eastern Massachusetts. Municipalities that averaged speeds of more than 40 miles per hour were mainly located in Central and Western Massachusetts.
The slowest travel speeds were in densely populated cities and towns. Watertown, Cambridge, Somerville, and Brookline all had average ride speeds of less than 18 miles per hour.

Footnotes

  1. Data pertains only to TNC rides that took place transporting individuals. Other TNC behaviors, such as travel without a passenger or food delivery are not included in this report.
  2. Estimate based on MassDOT’s 2011 Household Travel Survey and the UMass Donahue Institute’s 2018 Long-Term Population Projections for Massachusetts Regions and Municipalities.
  3. Data provided by Massachusetts Department of Transportation (see https://massdottracker.com for more infomration).
  4. Data provided by Boston Logan International Airport.
  5. Population data to determine per person rates are from the 2010 American Community Survey (ACS) published by the U.S. Census Bureau.
  6. Revised on August 23, 2024.  Note: The 2019 data has been updated to reflect the precise weighted averages for Trip Distance, Trip Duration, Trip Speed. Please use the updated file "2019_TNC_Rideshare_Data_Revision_1.xlsx" when viewing the underlying data.