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Spontaneous symmetry breaking in ride-sharing adoption dynamics
Henrik Wolf1, David-Maximilian Storch1, Marc Timme1
1Chair for Network Dynamics, Institute for Theoretical Physics and Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden (cfaed), Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany.
Physical Review. E
|May 20, 2022
Summary
Symmetry breaking in ride-sharing adoption leads to distinct adoption patterns. Collective user behavior can create bistability, potentially limiting widespread ride-sharing use.
Area of Science:
- Complex Systems Science
- Transportation Science
- Behavioral Economics
Background:
- Symmetry breaking is a common phenomenon in various complex systems, including physics and social dynamics.
- Understanding adoption dynamics is crucial for the success of new services like ride-sharing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate spontaneous symmetry breaking in a model of ride-sharing adoption.
- To analyze how user interactions influence adoption patterns and potential limitations.
Main Methods:
- Developed a simple model of ride-sharing adoption.
- Analyzed collective interactions among users to avoid detours in shared rides.
- Investigated the resulting pattern formation and adoption dynamics.
Main Results:
- Identified spontaneous symmetry breaking in ride-sharing adoption dynamics.
- Observed pattern formation leading to bistability between high homogeneous and partial heterogeneous adoption states.
- These dynamics may limit population-wide ride-sharing adoption.
Conclusions:
- Collective user behavior, driven by detour avoidance, can lead to symmetry breaking in ride-sharing adoption.
- The identified bistability presents a challenge for achieving full adoption.
- Results offer a framework for understanding and improving ride-sharing services for sustainable mobility.
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