It has long been a centerpiece of Uber and Lyft’s self-promotion that the proliferation of such ridesharing services was a boon to the country’s most congested cities. The idea was that by giving people an alternative to firing up their own cars for every trip, no matter how long or how short, the net amount of city traffic would be reduced.
Result: fewer cars on the road, faster trip times, less frustration, less pollution.
For a Los Angeles resident like myself, it’s a compelling vision. But along with other platitudes of the so-called gig economy, this one isn’t standing up to the test of reality-checking.
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According to the Associated Press, “Ride-hailing companies are pulling riders off buses, subways, bicycles and their own feet and putting them in cars instead.” And those cars are Uber or Lyft vehicles that weren’t on the road before.
Result: more congestion, slower trip times, more frustration, more pollution.
The AP article cites several recent studies to support its conclusions. One study found that rideshare drivers make 170,000 trips in central San Francisco on a typical weekday. That’s 12 times the average number of taxi trips.
Another study cited found that respondents would not have made between 49 and 61 percent of rideshare trips at all if the option didn’t exist, or they would have walked, biked, or used public transit.
The AP did find one study that seemed to support the Uber version of history. That study found that between 2012 and 2015, the number of passenger vehicles in London, including Uber cars, remained approximately the same. There was a detectable uptick in congestion, but it was attributed to road construction and trucks delivering purchases made online.
The evidence linking ridesharing and congestion falls a bit short of conclusive at this point. Check back for updates next year.
Reader Reality Check
Is Uber going to save us, or strangle us?
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After 20 years working in the travel industry, and 15 years writing about it, Tim Winship knows a thing or two about travel. Follow him on Twitter @twinship.
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Today’s announcement that Southwest has a new marketing relationship with a rideshare company was no surprise. As rideshare services have become an ever-larger part of the travel landscape, such tie-ups have proliferated. It won’t be long before every airline and hotel loyalty program has a rideshare company on its roster of points-earning partners.
While its success is based principally on attractive pricing and ease of use, Uber’s business model critically depends on a ready supply of available and motivated workers. While there’s no sign that the supply of potential drivers is drying up, yet, the enthusiasm of Uber drivers seems to be eroding.
WOW Air, the Iceland-based no-frills carrier that raised eyebrows with its $99 fares from Boston and Baltimore to Iceland a year ago, now has something in common with Spirit Airlines, the U.S. carrier notorious for its nickel-and-diming and generally customer-unfriendly ways.
In a big win for Uber, the ride-sharing service today announced a new partnership with American, the world’s largest airline. “The companies will work together to provide customers faster service, better airport navigation, rider promotions and mileage promotions.”
For travelers to, from, or through Los Angeles International Airport, it may seem as though the airport, the world’s seventh busiest, is in a semi-permanent state of modernization and remodeling, with all the construction, traffic, and delays that entails. A pretty picture it ain’t.
Enter the Conde Nast “Readers’ Choice Awards” sweepstakes by June 1, 2016, for a chance to win the grand prize: a 15-day Viking River Cruises trip for two from Amsterdam to Budapest, including air and transfers.
In April, when the FAA removed restrictions on additional flights at Newark Liberty International Airport, the hope was that other airlines would increase their share of the airport’s flights, in the process eroding United’s dominance and near-monopoly pricing in that important market.
With fuel prices at historic lows and profits at historic highs, the airlines have come under increasing pressure from the public, regulators, and the media to lower their airfares. Albeit belatedly, it appears they’ve begun doing just that.
Update from IHG, including effect date for new prices: “All reservations booked beginning Jan. 16, 2018, will use the new Reward Nights point prices. This is part of an annual review into the number of points needed for a Reward Night, and we’ll communicate to members through our regular channels, including email and our website.”