Research | Zhang Haozhao: A Ridesharing Platform with an Oversupply of Drivers: Different Assigning Rates or Commission Rates for Drivers?

Release time：05 December 2025

In recent years, the ride-hailing industry has expanded rapidly, but the oversupply of drivers has become increasingly prominent. Beyond peak hours, drivers outnumber passengers, resulting in a large number of idle drivers and challenging the operational efficiency of platforms. In this highly competitive market, how should platforms choose a reasonable and optimal compensation mechanism to achieve a win-win situation while ensuring overall service quality?

A Ridesharing Platform with an Oversupply of Drivers: Different Assigning Rates or Commission Rates for Drivers?, co-authored by Professor Zhang Haozhao from the School of Management and Economics (SME), The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK-Shenzhen); Professor Wang Peng from Northwestern Polytechnical University; and Professor Zhang Zhe (James) from the University of Texas at Dallas, explores the service quality-based compensation schemes that ride-hailing platforms should employ in the market facing an oversupply of drivers. In particular, it focuses on exploring two differentiated compensation strategies, namely, differentiated order allocation and differentiated commission. The research expands on contract design and incentive mechanisms in the sharing economy, provides practical guidance for platform operators to develop differentiated compensation strategies under different market conditions, and offers important insights for policymakers in promoting the coordination of interests among platforms, drivers, and society. The research paper was published in Production and Operations Management, a renowned journal in international operations management.