Abstract: A computer-implemented method for predicting a demand for vehicles for hire in one or more locations, the method comprising the steps of: obtaining, by a server, financial transaction data for a plurality of financial transactions from one or more merchants, the financial transaction data comprising location information for each financial transaction, the location information corresponding to the one or more locations; determining, by the server, a departure rate in the one or more locations based on a number of the financial transactions occurring over a predefined period; and estimating, by the server, the demand for vehicles for hire in the one or more locations based on the departure rate.