New York City Cab Tipping by Passenger Count
Type of Proposal
Oral Presentation
Faculty
Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Faculty Sponsor
Kenneth Cramer
Proposal
Tipping is an economic wonder which affects a vast amount of people therefore research in this field is necessary. Past studies on social loafing have shown that group effort decreases as the number of people present increases. The purpose of this research is to further investigate this social loafing trend. More specifically, the goal is to determine if the tip amount decreases as the number of passengers increases. Analysis of 6.7M NYC cab fares from July 2016 to June 2017 initially uncovered no association between number of passengers and tip size; yet assumed a linear relation. An ANOVA with passenger number by tip amount showed an inverted-U relation, wherein the smallest tips were received from both the lowest (1) and highest (6) number of passengers, and the highest from those in the middle (2-5). This relation further varied by time of year in a predictable sine-wave cycle; that is, tips were highest in the months of July and August, falling in September through to March, before rising again. Finally, the two factors of time of year and number of passenger interacted to further predict tip amount. In conclusion, the tip amount is lowest when the number of passengers is below two and exceeds five. Further research has been discussed to determine possible reasons for the spike in tip amount from July to August as well as the dip from September to March.
Start Date
22-3-2018 10:55 AM
End Date
22-3-2018 12:15 PM
Location
Alumni Auditorium C
New York City Cab Tipping by Passenger Count
Alumni Auditorium C
Tipping is an economic wonder which affects a vast amount of people therefore research in this field is necessary. Past studies on social loafing have shown that group effort decreases as the number of people present increases. The purpose of this research is to further investigate this social loafing trend. More specifically, the goal is to determine if the tip amount decreases as the number of passengers increases. Analysis of 6.7M NYC cab fares from July 2016 to June 2017 initially uncovered no association between number of passengers and tip size; yet assumed a linear relation. An ANOVA with passenger number by tip amount showed an inverted-U relation, wherein the smallest tips were received from both the lowest (1) and highest (6) number of passengers, and the highest from those in the middle (2-5). This relation further varied by time of year in a predictable sine-wave cycle; that is, tips were highest in the months of July and August, falling in September through to March, before rising again. Finally, the two factors of time of year and number of passenger interacted to further predict tip amount. In conclusion, the tip amount is lowest when the number of passengers is below two and exceeds five. Further research has been discussed to determine possible reasons for the spike in tip amount from July to August as well as the dip from September to March.