Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Uber Hasn't Had an Effect on Drunken-Driving Deaths, Study Finds

npr.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 80 posts

Re: Uber Hasn't Had an Effect on Drunken-Driving Deaths, Study Finds

#11

Post by chipperyman573 »

seibelj wrote: post #7

I live in Boston. Until uber, the minimum taxi fair was $6, they always had broken credit card machines, and there was never enough cabs when you needed them. I remember s New Year's Eve where we had to promise the dispatcher we would pay a $100 tip to get anyone to pick us up. The "reducing drunk driving" theory was a happy side effect but ultimately not important. Über destroyed a a BS industry full of idiots and m…

Out of curiosity, did you end up tipping $100? I feel like a taxi driver's job is to pick up people at a set rate and they forced you into promising the $100 because you knew otherwise they wouldn't do that job. Curious on your view.

Re: Uber Hasn't Had an Effect on Drunken-Driving Deaths, Study Finds

#12

Post by sandworm101 »

From talking to Brits, I'm starting to think that the greater availability of alternatives to driving one's self home seems to increase drinking. The need to get home, to get one's car home, is a good reason not to drink. During university I rode a motorcycle to school/work and can say it kept me away from many an afternoon at a beer garden. London's nightlife, the serious drinking, can only exist because nobody has to drive themselves home.

So dropping Uber into a city, giving them another option for getting home, might increase the overall level of drinking. This would muddy the drink-driving numbers. For every drunk driven safely home by Uber there may be some other person out there pressured into having a drink that otherwise wouldn't. And some of them might drive.

Re: Uber Hasn't Had an Effect on Drunken-Driving Deaths, Study Finds

#13

Post by p4wnc6 »

seibelj wrote: post #7

I live in Boston. Until uber, the minimum taxi fair was $6, they always had broken credit card machines, and there was never enough cabs when you needed them. I remember s New Year's Eve where we had to promise the dispatcher we would pay a $100 tip to get anyone to pick us up. The "reducing drunk driving" theory was a happy side effect but ultimately not important. Über destroyed a a BS industry full of idiots and m…

I lived in Cambridge for eight years (moved last summer) and never experienced anything remotely like this. I lived on Prospect Street right near Central Sq, and frequently took taxis around the area.

I called ahead to have taxis pick me up for early morning rides to the airport, and they were always early and helped me with my bags. I took taxis over to the Boston College area when I was taking music lessons at a studio there. I took taxis home from sports events and concerts near Fenway. Even when coming out of a crowded show at House of Blues, it was a short wait for taxis.

I never once experienced a broken credit card machine. I once did ask a driver if they accepted credit cards, he said no, and I waited about 30 seconds for the next taxi to come by -- on a side street on the Somerville side of Porter Sq, so not even close to usual taxi spots.

Getting taxis in Boston is cheap, safe, and reliable, with pretty short wait times, easy to deal with dispatchers, drivers who show up on time, cars that are clean and 99.999% of the time have functioning credit card machines.

I honestly don't know what on earth you're talking about.

None of this is an argument against Uber anyway, because people use Uber for features that even good taxis don't have, including price reduction, better real-time tracking, an app interface, and other things. And Uber drivers certainly can do things worse than taxis -- such as simply fail to show up, treat you rudely during the ride, or try to make you exit the car in an inconvenient/unsafe spot of the street at your destination. Uber is not intrinsically better about this kind of thing than taxis.

But some things you absolutely cannot say, at least about taxis in the Boston area, are that they are anything but clean, safe, reliable, punctual, and able to take your credit card.

Re: Uber Hasn't Had an Effect on Drunken-Driving Deaths, Study Finds

#14

Post by officemonkey »

mc32 wrote: post #9

So responsible people are trading Yellow taxis for Über and irresponsible people are still driving while intoxicated. Or, alternatively, the amount of drunk drivers is so huge that whatever number taxis and Uber take off the streets is negligible in relative numbers. But ride services want to promulgate the idea to cities they bring safety in order to counterbalance the annoyed voices of the yellow cabs decrying the…

Or perhaps, drunk driving happens in areas where Taxis, Mass Transit, and Uber are not available or economical.

Re: Uber Hasn't Had an Effect on Drunken-Driving Deaths, Study Finds

#16

Post by officemonkey »

gojomo wrote: post #10

I'm suspicious. It seems the study may only be regressing on 'availability' of Uber – the single bit flag of whether it has launched in a city. If adoption is gradual, as the habits of drinkers/drivers change over months (or years), beneficial effects might not be seen by such a study, or remain hidden by all the other controls applied. The best analysis would likely need to use ride volume data; there's no hint in t…

Uber doesn't launch in areas where there isn't a market. If there is no need for extensive taxi and mass transit services, Uber won't be there either.

In places where Uber has launched, they're probably just picking up riders that would normally take a cab or a train if Uber wasn't there.

Re: Uber Hasn't Had an Effect on Drunken-Driving Deaths, Study Finds

#17

Post by laurencerowe »

sandworm101 wrote: post #12

From talking to Brits, I'm starting to think that the greater availability of alternatives to driving one's self home seems to increase drinking. The need to get home, to get one's car home, is a good reason not to drink. During university I rode a motorcycle to school/work and can say it kept me away from many an afternoon at a beer garden. London's nightlife, the serious drinking, can only exist because nobody has…

Drinking is definitely more socially acceptable in Britain than the US, but that has more to do with differing history (no prohibition) than options for getting home.

Drink driving became socially unacceptable in Britain only in the last 20-30 years but alcohol consumption hasn't really changed. The anti drink driving ads on TV every Christmas were really quite hard hitting. I've seen nothing similar in the US.

Re: Uber Hasn't Had an Effect on Drunken-Driving Deaths, Study Finds

#18

Post by [deleted] »

sandworm101 wrote: post #12

From talking to Brits, I'm starting to think that the greater availability of alternatives to driving one's self home seems to increase drinking. The need to get home, to get one's car home, is a good reason not to drink. During university I rode a motorcycle to school/work and can say it kept me away from many an afternoon at a beer garden. London's nightlife, the serious drinking, can only exist because nobody has…

[deleted]

Re: Uber Hasn't Had an Effect on Drunken-Driving Deaths, Study Finds

#19

Post by mc32 »

officemonkey wrote: post #14
mc32 wrote: post #9

So responsible people are trading Yellow taxis for Über and irresponsible people are still driving while intoxicated. Or, alternatively, the amount of drunk drivers is so huge that whatever number taxis and Uber take off the streets is negligible in relative numbers. But ride services want to promulgate the idea to cities they bring safety in order to counterbalance the annoyed voices of the yellow cabs decrying the…

Or perhaps, drunk driving happens in areas where Taxis, Mass Transit, and Uber are not available or economical.

"Researchers... looked at the 100 most populated metropolitan areas, analyzing data from before and after the introduction of Uber and its competitors"

Fair inquiry, but no. They studied the top 100 metro areas, not the Podunks. Now, it does not say whether the rate has remained steady despite, perhaps, an increase in people who now feel comfortable getting drunk cuz they can get a cab fairly easily with the intro of ride services. However, they have not decreased the totals, as they have claimed, according to the findings.

Post reply on HN