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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: 2) by DannyB on Thursday August 08 2019, @06:11PM (1 child)
I was going to say: No. That's not the problem.
But Yes, it actually is the problem.
Lyft / Uber have apps. They come to where you are and go directly to where you are going. Now if there were a small number of stops along the way; and only a small number of additional passengers; and those extra stops were along the route; I wouldn't have a problem with that. It's still quite a different experience than a city bus.
I would suspect that Uber / Lyft being able to do this kind of scheduling to make transportation more efficient would be a superior experience over a city bus. Yet not create as much extra traffic, per person, as everyone using an individual Lyft / Uber. In the same way that carpools are more efficient.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 0, Flamebait) by Ethanol-fueled on Friday August 09 2019, @12:46AM
In city busses and trolleys, you have to deal with loud stinky minorities on drugs. While this is a big plus going home from rock concerts drunk and high on saturday nights, it's a big drag having to deal with coming from and going to work every weekday.