How Much Ridehail Travel Is Deadheading? Estimating Its Share and Evolution in Toronto

Ridehailing activities in Toronto have grown substantially since 2012, prompting concern about the scale of deadheading. Using newly released data from the City of Toronto, we estimate the portion of ridehailing activity attributable to deadheading and examine how it has changed over time, both in vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) and time spent on the platforms. Our analysis shows that daily ridehailing VKT surpassed 3 million kilometers in 2025, with deadheading accounting for roughly one third of this distance. We also find that the proportion of time drivers spend deadheading has risen since 2022, reaching approximately 48% of total in app time by 2025.