Page 32 - ARUBA TODAY

A32 FEATURE
Monday 26 February 2018
Studies are increasingly clear: Uber, Lyft congest cities

By STEVE LeBLANC links riders who want to
Associated Press travel to similar destina-
BOSTON (AP) — One prom- tions. Riders walk a short dis-
ise of ride-hailing compa- tance to be picked up at a
nies like Uber and Lyft was common location and are
fewer cars clogging city dropped off near their final
streets. But studies suggest destinations — essentially,
the opposite: that ride-hail- how a bus or subway line
ing companies are pulling functions.
riders off buses, subways, The service was tested in
bicycles and their own feet November in San Francisco
and putting them in cars in- and Boston and has found
stead. enough ridership to support
And in what could be a it 24 hours a day. Round-
new wrinkle, a service by the-clock service was also
Uber called Express Pool rolled out last week in Los
now is seen as directly com- In this Jan. 11, 2018 file photo, traffic makes it’s way across 42nd Street in New York City. Angeles, Philadelphia,
peting with mass transit. Associated Press Washington, Miami, San Di-
Uber and Lyft argue that in slow traffic in Manhattan’s trips would have not been A spokesman for Lyft ego and Denver, with more
Boston, for instance, they central business district. It made at all — or instead stressed that ride-hailing cities to follow.
complement public tran- recommended policies to by walking, biking or public could reduce the number “This could be good for
sit by connecting riders prevent further increases transit — if the option didn’t of personally owned cars congestion if it causes vehi-
to hubs like Logan Airport in “the number of vacant exist. on the roads. cle occupancy rates to go
and South Station. But they vehicles occupied only by The Boston study found that “Lyft is focused on making up, but on the other hand,
have not released their drivers waiting for their next the main reason people personal car ownership op- the Uber Pool rides and I
own specific data about trip request.” opted for ride-hailing was tional by getting more peo- guess these Express rides
rides, leaving studies up to In San Francisco, a study speed. Even those with a ple to share a ride, helping are really, really cheap,
outside researchers. released in June found that public transit pass would to reduce car ownership, just a couple of dollars, so
And the impact of all those on a typical weekday, ride- drop it for ride-hailing de- and partnering with pub- they’re almost certainly go-
cars is becoming clear, hailing drivers make more spite the higher cost. lic transportation,” spokes- ing to be pulling people
said Christo Wilson, a pro- than 170,000 vehicle trips, Sarah Wu, a graduate stu- man Adrian Durbin said in a away from public transport
fessor of computer science about 12 times the number dent at Boston University, statement. options,” Wilson said. “Why
at Boston’s Northeastern of taxi trips, and that the uses Uber less than once a Uber is hoping to wean driv- get on a bus with 50 peo-
University, who has looked trips are concentrated in week but more often if she ers from their cars in part by ple when you can get into
at Uber’s practice of surge the densest and most con- has guests. She lives near a encouraging its carpooling a car and maybe if you’re
pricing during heavy vol- gested parts of the city. subway line but will opt for services, spokeswoman Alix lucky, you’ll be the only
ume. And a survey released in Uber if it looks like public Anfang said. person in it?”
“The emerging consensus October of more than 4,000 transit will be a hassle. “Uber’s long-term goal is In a study released in Oc-
is that ride-sharing (is) in- adults in Boston, Chicago, “I would prefer to have the to end the reliance on per- tober by the Massachusetts
creasing congestion,” Wil- Los Angeles, New York, the Uber take me there directly sonal vehicles and allow a Bay Transportation Author-
son said. San Francisco Bay Area, Se- rather than having to trans- mix of public transportation ity, as many as two-thirds of
One study included surveys attle and Washington, D.C., fer several times and wait and services like Uber,” An- transit users reported also
of 944 ride-hailing users over also concluded that 49 to at a bus stop,” said Wu, fang said. using ride-hailing compa-
four weeks in late 2017 in 61 percent of ride-hailing who doesn’t own a car. Uber’s new Express Pool nies.
the Boston area. Nearly six A report released this month
in 10 said they would have by San Francisco’s Bay
used public transportation, Area Rapid Transit system
walked, biked or skipped found ridership down dis-
the trip if the ride-hailing proportionately on week-
apps weren’t available. ends and off-peak hours, in
The report also found many part citing ride-hailing trips.
riders aren’t using hailed The MBTA is focusing on
rides to connect to a sub- what it can control: pump-
way or bus line, but instead ing money into new trains,
as a separate mode of buses and infrastructure
transit, said Alison Felix, one improvements, spokesman
of the report’s authors. Joe Pesaturo said.
“Ride sharing is pulling from At least one study did not
and not complementing pin increased congestion
public transportation,” she on hailing services. Seattle-
said. based firm Inrix scoured
That’s not quite what Uber data from 2012 to 2015
founder Travis Kalanick sug- in London and found the
gested in 2015 when he number of passenger ve-
said, “We envision a world hicles, including Uber cars,
where there’s no more traf- remained the same or even
fic in Boston in five years.” dipped slightly.
A study released in De- Reasons for increased con-
cember found that large gestion included a surge
increases in the number of in road construction and
taxis and ride-sharing ve- In this Jan. 12, 2017 file photo, early morning rush hour traffic crawls along the Hollywood Freeway delivery trucks dropping off
hicles are contributing to toward downtown Los Angeles. online purchases.q
Associated Press