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Uber and Lyft admit they're making city traffic worse
Uber and Lyft may be competitors but as the two major ridesharing companies, they also have a lot in common -- including the challenges they face. To better understand their role in city traffic patterns, the companies jointly sponsored a study to determine their combined vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in six key cities. In a surprising twist, the results got Uber to admit that ridesharing companies, or transportation network companies (TNCs), do in fact contribute to congestion.
"The research shows that despite tremendous growth over the past decade, TNC use still pales in comparison to all other traffic, and although TNCs are likely contributing to an increase in congestion, its scale is dwarfed by that of private cars and commercial traffic," Chris Pangilinan, Uber's Head of Global Policy for Public Transportation, wrote in a blog post.
The study, conducted by Fehr & Peers, looked at Uber and Lyft trips in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington DC. In San Francisco County, Uber and Lyft were responsible for 13.4 percent of all VMT. In Boston, they accounted for eight percent, and in Washington, DC they represent 7.2 percent of vehicle-miles. Just over half of those miles (54 to 62 percent) were spent actually driving a passenger.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by ikanreed on Thursday August 08 2019, @05:28PM (1 child)
Right, but the thing is we're even afraid of saying "we must build a society where this is available, and the people who want it will go" because that means taxes. Even if total cost to society is lower, for the same services, we still balk at the very notion of collectively working towards a thing that needs to happen.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Friday August 09 2019, @03:05AM
More like we're afraid of the bullshit, not just taxes, that would result. The thing is we already have this society. You just have to pay your own money to get that sardine can you always wanted. Get enough like minded people together and you can make it happen.
The problem is not that we aren't forcing people to live in your paradise, but rather that people don't want to live that way up to and including spending a twelfth of their lives in the car.