Submitted via IRC for Fnord666_
New Research Confirms That Ride-Hailing Companies Are Causing a Ton of Traffic Congestion
A study published today in Science Advances comparing pre- and post-rideshare boom traffic in San Fransisco found that the presence of Uber, Lyft, and similar companies has been an overall detriment for people who like getting where they're going quickly.
That businesses which pay people to have their vehicles on the road would, well, increase the number of cars blocking up the transit grid might appear to be a forgone, perhaps even obvious conclusion. But the body of writings on Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) as they're sometimes called is, surprisingly, mixed. Some studies found that Ubers and Lyfts were choking the streets of New York, Boston, and Chicago; a few claimed, conversely, that rideshares were alleviating traffic. Thus the team behind today's paper—composed of two University of Kentucky staffers and members of San Francisco's County Transportation Authority—had their work cut out for them.
(Score: 0, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 12 2019, @06:11AM (1 child)
If a person already owned a vehicle it means that they had already weighted the inconvenience of public transportation and taxis against the inconveniences of owning a vehicle and decided to own. Uber/Lyft is not different enough to change that equation. People who originally weighted public transportation vs taxis may have re-assessed their decisions after Uber/Lyft got popular because the price can be cheaper, adding a new variable. I imagine that people who were not clogging the roads because they used bus/subway are more likely to begin taking an Uber/Lyft than people who already drove are likely to begin using a Uber/Lyft. Resulting in an increase in traffic.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 12 2019, @05:14PM
Precisely.
There is also another component which might not be considered. If people take ride share instead of driving, the parking situation improves, which in turn makes people more likely to take their car somewhere.