Title: Case Study: The Demand and Supply of Uber in Bristol

Question: You are required to write an essay up to 1,500 words to answer the following three part question:

a) Discuss the economic factors that determine the demand and supply of Uber’s hail-riding services in Bristol. (55 marks)

b) Do Uber drivers work more on inclement days than taxi drivers in Bristol? (30 marks)

c) Suppose Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire Council halt new vehicle licenses for hail-riding services to cap the number of Uber vehicles for a year. How might this cap affect Bristolian Uber-riders? (15 marks)

Essays are intended to provide students with the opportunity to practise writing. Essays require that students assimilate information and knowledge acquired from lecture/lectorial/tutorial presentations and discussions as well as the recommended texts and any additional information identified by students themselves.

Essays should answer the question set, be well structured and conform to the word limit. Essays should not simply be reproductions of text material and should not be products of joint work by students. All direct quotations should be indicated clearly in the text and fully attributed to the source as included in a full list of references at the end (ordered alphabetically). References should be limited to those only used by the students.

This assessment is in alignment with the following learning outcomes:

· Possession of an extensive economics vocabulary and ability to discuss threshold concepts in economics using real-world examples.

· Ability to apply simple economics concepts and tools to analyse contemporary business issues from the perspectives of consumers, producers, marketers and regulators.

· Awareness of debates within economics and understanding of the variation in impact for individuals, firms, institutions, governments and other economic and business entities.

· Ability to interpret, manipulate and analyse both graphical and tabular business and economic data.

· Ability to discuss contemporary questions and connect these to relevant debates, frameworks and tools.

Part (a) of the question is about the determination of price by demand and supply. Students should discuss the determinant factors of demand, price elasticity of demand, supply and price elasticity of supply and demonstrate their understanding of concepts. Students should also relate the question back to Uber’s hail-riding services in Bristol, make use of their local knowledge and conduct research to apply concepts in practice.

Part (b) of the question is about the impact of weather on the quantity of rides completed by traditional taxi drivers and that of Uber drivers in Bristol. Students should make their position very clear and present arguments to support it by applying the theory of demand and supply and giving relevant empirical evidence such as examples and data. Students should present two demand and supply graphs; one for the market of traditional taxi rides and the other for the market of Uber rides, and illustrate how demand or supply could change in inclement days using the graphs and how the change would affect the quantity of rides completed.

Part (c) of the question is about the implications of a hypothetical policy change for the customers of Uber in Bristol. Students should consider how the policy could affect the supply of Uber’s rides and explain its implications for the price and quantity of hail-riding services received by Bristolian riders. Students should present a graph showing how the policy could change the supply of Uber’s rides in Bristol.

All work should be word processed in 12-point font Times New Roman or Arial and double-spaced.

· Please use the Word file format.

· Please ensure that you provide the following details on the first page of your coursework:

· Student Number

· Module Name and Code

· Word Count

· Coursework title

The word limit for this coursework is 1,500.

· Word count includes everything in the main body of the text (including headings, tables, citations, quotes, lists, etc.).

· The references, bibliography and footnotes (provided footnotes only include references) are NOT included in the word count.

· There is no direct penalty for exceeding the word count but the marker WILL stop reading once the word limit has been reached and nothing further will be taken into account in the allocation of marks.

You can view the UWE word count policy here: http://www1.uwe.ac.uk/aboutus/policies

Please adhere to the principles of good academic practice and ensure you reference all sources used when developing your assessment, using the UWE Harvard system. Failure to properly reference your work to original source material can be grounds for the assessment offence of plagiarism and may result in failure of the assessment or have more serious implications.

For further guidance on correct referencing go to:

http://www1.uwe.ac.uk/students/studysupport/studyskills/referencing.aspx

Details of what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it can be found here:

http://www1.uwe.ac.uk/students/studysupport/studyskills/readingandwriting/plagiarism.aspx

For general guidance on how to avoid assessment offences see:

http://www1.uwe.ac.uk/students/academicadvice/assessments/assessmentoffences.aspx

You must submit your assignment before the stated deadline by electronic submission through Blackboard. Notification that the electronic submission portal is open for your assignment is displayed (usually two weeks before the submission date) in the Coursework tab in myUWE, the Coursework tab in Blackboard and via an announcement in the Blackboard course.

Please allow sufficient time to upload your assignment, noting that the system becomes busier and slower as the deadline approaches. Only your final upload will be counted. Ensure all your information is submitted at one attempt to avoid overwriting your intended submission. Always check and retain your receipts.

Late submission in the 24 hours following the deadline will be accepted but the assignment mark will be capped at 40%. Submissions after 24 hours will not be accepted. For full guidance on online submission through Blackboard, see:

http://info.uwe.ac.uk/online/Blackboard/students/guides/assignments/default.asp

Submissions of coursework by any other method (including a paper copy, on disk or by email) are NOT permissible for this module unless specifically agreed in advance of the submission date.

Before submitting your work, please ensure that:

· You have proof read you work thoroughly to ensure your work is presented appropriately

· You have addressed all the required elements of the assessment

· You have referenced in accordance with the guidance provided

· You have addressed each of the marking criterion

· The submission is in the correct format

Students will normally receive marks and feedback on their submission within 20 working days of the submission deadline (not including any public holidays or university closure days). Any delay in returning students’ work will be communicated by the module leader via Blackboard.

Feedback on this module is not limited to the written comments you will receive on individual written assessment submissions.

Feedback and marks for this module will be available by Thursday 30th May 2019.

For further guidance on feedback, please refer to the module handbook

General guidance on study skills: is available at: http://www1.uwe.ac.uk/students/studysupport/studyskills.aspx

Specific study skills pages relating to this module include:

Writing skills:

https://www1.uwe.ac.uk/students/studysupport/studyskills/readingandwriting/writing.aspx

Support from the FBL Academic Success Centre:

http://www1.uwe.ac.uk/bl/bbs/aboutus/studentexperience/academicsupportcentre.aspx

Guidance on UWE assessment regulations and terminology: http://www1.uwe.ac.uk/students/academicadvice/assessments/assessmentsguide.aspx

Guidance on using the library: http://www1.uwe.ac.uk/library/usingthelibrary.aspx

If you are experiencing difficulties in completing a piece of assessment on time due to unexpected circumstances (for example illness, accident, bereavement), you should seek advice from a Student Support Adviser at the earliest opportunity.

Please note the module leader cannot grant personal circumstances or extensions.

Appointments with a student adviser can be made via an Information Point or online at:

http://www1.uwe.ac.uk/students/academicadvice/studentadvisers.aspx

The Student Support Adviser will advise as to whether you should submit an application for ‘Personal Circumstances (PCs)’, how to do so and what evidence is required to support the application.

Further details on PCs can be found here:

http://www1.uwe.ac.uk/students/academicadvice/assessments/personalcircumstances.aspx