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New Research on How Ride-Hailing Impacts Travel Behavior

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Re: New Research on How Ride-Hailing Impacts Travel Behavior

#191

Post by Spooky23 »

jdavis703 wrote: post #165
Spooky23 wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The statistics don’t really tell that story. Getting mugged in a station doesn’t typically kill you, and you’re not travelling, so those stats won’t be counted. If there was an “incidents per mile travelled”, metric for my trip during daylight hours that would be one thing. But there isn’t any such statistic. It’s almost certainly cheaper, safer, more time efficient and dramatically more convenient to take a car. In…

> The statistics don’t really tell that story. > In my personal, typical case They may not tell that story in this particular case, but unless something is wrong with the way with the statistics are gathered, it does present a better top-level picture than personal anecdotes. (While personal anecdotes can also be useful in understanding how to design around edge cases, but are not useful when figuring out the best wa…

Highway safety statistics have significant limitations with respect to fine grain detail and data collection capability. Any datasource that uses police data must account for jurisdictional differences in data collection as well.

Nothing is wrong with the statistics, it's how you use them. It's just difficult to meaningfully say that it's safer to take the bus from point A to point B using statistics that are generalized over time and geography.

For example, 30% of motor vehicle fatalities are alcohol related, and the vast majority of those fatalities take place after most people are done commuting for the day. Uber probably has a significant impact on preserving human life, after dark.

The purpose of the anecdote is to illustrate how those stats relate to decision making and risk/reward management by the travelling public. Am I at more risk driving three exits down the highway vs. crossing a busy avenue, sitting at a bus stop, riding a bus, crossing three other busy streets? I don't know -- and those statistics that you are citing don't answer that question. My guess is that I'm safer in my late-model car in a typical automobile accident than in any traffic or crime incident in the bus case.

Re: New Research on How Ride-Hailing Impacts Travel Behavior

#193

Post by acdha »

criddell wrote: post #117
untog wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At a certain point the comparison breaks down. Yes, public transit is subsidised. But it isn't subsidised in such a way that it is expected to eventually become self sustaining - tax-payer funding is expected to continue in perpetuity. That's not the case with Uber and Lyft. VCs are subsiding their rides on the expectation that eventually the company will dominate the market enough to not require subsidy any more.

> That's not the case with Uber and Lyft. I mentioned this elsewhere, but I wonder if maybe cities should run light rail and buses along the most used routes then subsidize private companies (like Lyft and Uber) to service people outside of those routes. I used to ride #43 Taylor's Ferry in Portland twice a day and I was sometimes on the bus by myself or with three or four other people. I bet it would have been far c…

I think that deserves consideration, along with the related category of access-impaired riders. In a major city it might easily be cheaper to pay for years of door to door service than make an ADA retrofit for a subway station in an old building.

Re: New Research on How Ride-Hailing Impacts Travel Behavior

#194

Post by mkl »

bartread wrote: post #40
yardie wrote: post #18

I’m a big proponent of mass transit and when it’s available I use it if I can. But I can get Lyft door to door for just $1-2 more than a bus or train. If mass transit wants to keep with rideshare and livery they need to: expand routes, increase availability, update their equipment. When I was a kid I knew how to read a bus schedule and train map to plan my trip. Now, there is an entire generation of kids in school an…

You make a good point here, and mass transit has done the square root of bugger all to improve accessibility for a new generation. For example: I live in the countryside and want to get a bus into town. Fair enough but sometimes the buses run late, and sometimes they run really late - like half an hour plus. I often don't have that kind of time to waste, especially not if it means standing or sitting around in the ra…

Surely that same information about the time until the next bus is also on a website? The bus company has the data, so why wouldn't they put it online?

This info is online for (at least) Christchurch and Auckland buses in NZ.

Re: New Research on How Ride-Hailing Impacts Travel Behavior

#195

Post by k_sh »

ibejoeb wrote: post #162
ctoth wrote: post #150

I cannot drive. I take Uber to and from work every day using a Uber pass. If my alternative were public transit, a bus to a train to another bus or train depending, it would take me 1.5 hours per trip, for a total of 3 hours a day. I would not work in the corporate world if this were the case. Does this study capture these positive externalities? For blind people, these often-derided services are the difference betwe…

Do you regularly get offered the Uber Pass? I've gotten it once, and I used the hell out of it, so now I'm pretty convinced that I'll never be offered again.

I have a friend who has one, she uses it quite heavily - routinely cutting around $250 out of her Uber costs. She gets a new one every week.

Re: New Research on How Ride-Hailing Impacts Travel Behavior

#196

Post by c3534l »

abalone wrote: post #107

tl;dr People use ridesharing mostly to go out to eat and drink (62% of trips). Riders are actually more likely to own cars. They don't want to drive when they're going out because they don't want to deal with parking or drive drunk. They don't ride the bus because it's too slow, unreliable or unavailable. If ridesharing didn't exist, two fifths of the time they'd walk, bike or use public transit instead, and a fifth…

The one fifth of trips that wouldn't exist seems like a positive to society in that it is providing a service that is actively making a difference the choices people are making, providing them with value and choice. Additionally, restaurants are happy because they're getting more customers and selling more drinks.

The reduction in drunk driving is also good. I'm not sure that justifies the rest of the traffic increases. I would bet that overall it is a net benefit to society, but I am certainly less enthusiastic about ride-sharing now.

Re: New Research on How Ride-Hailing Impacts Travel Behavior

#197

Post by snowmaker »

banned1 wrote: post #151
pmichaud wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I stopped using the BART recently because it's dangerous. Several people I know personally have been held up at gunpoint on the BART, or in the station. That's not counting the various news reports, like one [1]. I'll go back when it's safe, but not before then. [1]: http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/BART-takeover-robbery-50...

Unfortunately many of these crimes will go unsolved because BART refuses to release videos. Apparently, releasing the videos “could lead to stereotypes” https://www.google.com/amp/sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/07...

BART doesn't release the videos to the public. They do release them to the police. There are legitimate reasons not to release them to the public, including the fact that the media will sensationalize them to make BART look far more dangerous than the statistics actually reflect.

Re: New Research on How Ride-Hailing Impacts Travel Behavior

#198

Post by davidf18 »

> "Uber and Lyft have reduced mass transit use and added traffic in major cities"

Could also be: "Private automobiles have reduced mass transit use and added traffic in major cities"

I live in NYC and Uber/Lyft are a godsend. The mass transit is generally good, but not always, and the taxis way, way overcharge.

NYC has spoken about using congestion pricing, but the real problem is the private automobiles and limousines, not Uber/Lyft.

Re: New Research on How Ride-Hailing Impacts Travel Behavior

#199

Post by isostatic »

bluedino wrote: post #167
abalone wrote: post #107

tl;dr People use ridesharing mostly to go out to eat and drink (62% of trips). Riders are actually more likely to own cars. They don't want to drive when they're going out because they don't want to deal with parking or drive drunk. They don't ride the bus because it's too slow, unreliable or unavailable. If ridesharing didn't exist, two fifths of the time they'd walk, bike or use public transit instead, and a fifth…

>> because they don't want to deal with parking or drive drunk. That's what my friends use it for. It's a shame, because in the smaller midwestern towns, we don't really have Uber yet so it can't be used. Drunk driving here isn't even given a second thought.

In the UK drunk driving is a big social no-no, however this has led to country pubs really struggling and many going out of business. If uber or some similar easy to use taxi was available where I lived I'd be quite happy to pay to go to them

Instead it means more and more people drink at home, rather than out, actually leading to increased alcohol consumption!

Automated taxis will make such a change to the fabric of life in the country, I can't wait.

Re: New Research on How Ride-Hailing Impacts Travel Behavior

#200

Post by benbristow »

ibejoeb wrote: post #155
abalone wrote: post #107

tl;dr People use ridesharing mostly to go out to eat and drink (62% of trips). Riders are actually more likely to own cars. They don't want to drive when they're going out because they don't want to deal with parking or drive drunk. They don't ride the bus because it's too slow, unreliable or unavailable. If ridesharing didn't exist, two fifths of the time they'd walk, bike or use public transit instead, and a fifth…

That all seems like a net positive to me, especially in major urban areas that a very car dependent like Los Angles, Atlanta, Houston... In LA, driving drunk was just the way of life, and it was a real problem. Now, I don't know anyone who prefers driving over ridesharing given the option. Uber Pool makes getting from the east side to the west side faster that public transit for about $10-15, which is less than 1 dri…

$10-15 for a drink? Of liquid gold?
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