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Studies are increasingly clear: Uber, Lyft congest cities

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Re: Studies are increasingly clear: Uber, Lyft congest cities

#11
post #2

Solution: Toll roads.

Ideally it should be dynamic congestion pricing so that the cost of driving on a particular road at any time is based on how busy the road is. Right now major roads are a classic "tragedy of the commons" situation.

Re: Studies are increasingly clear: Uber, Lyft congest cities

#12

This makes total sense. Uber & Lyft lowered the barrier to entry for private transportation. Instead of paying $20,000 for a car, I only need $10 and I can ride in comfort from lower Manhattan to Brooklyn.

Another point is, private car owners now has been incentivized to cover their gas tank so they can stay on the roads even more.

Re: Studies are increasingly clear: Uber, Lyft congest cities

#14
post #2

Solution: Toll roads.

or just ban Uber and Lyft

I live in a city that banned U/L for about a year. Nothing was improved. A bunch of companies popped up to replace them but they were absolute jokes and so much worse. DWIs went way up. People stopped going out. I don't think there were any net positives from it.

Re: Studies are increasingly clear: Uber, Lyft congest cities

#15
post #11
post #2

Solution: Toll roads.

Ideally it should be dynamic congestion pricing so that the cost of driving on a particular road at any time is based on how busy the road is. Right now major roads are a classic "tragedy of the commons" situation.

taxing a particular road will only divert traffic onto other nearby roads that are probably less able to handle high traffic volumes. I wouldn't want hundreds of cars driving down my residential street just because the nearby arterial street has switched over to congestion-pricing mode.

congestion taxes need to be regional, not per-road.

Re: Studies are increasingly clear: Uber, Lyft congest cities

#16
Cars congest cities. Articles like this encourage policy makers to target users of ride sharing, while ignoring the obvious broader problem.

If cities build appropriate multi modal transportation networks and restrict the amount of space allowed for vehicle traffic, people will walk, bike or take the train rather than drive. All three are preferable to being stuck in traffic.

Re: Studies are increasingly clear: Uber, Lyft congest cities

#17
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ideally it should be dynamic congestion pricing so that the cost of driving on a particular road at any time is based on how busy the road is. Right now major roads are a classic "tragedy of the commons" situation.

taxing a particular road will only divert traffic onto other nearby roads that are probably less able to handle high traffic volumes. I wouldn't want hundreds of cars driving down my residential street just because the nearby arterial street has switched over to congestion-pricing mode. congestion taxes need to be regional, not per-road.

The best approach is to have congestion pricing applied to all roads, but with each road (or road segment) having its own price. After all, 'hundreds of cars driving down a residential street' is a case of demand exceeding supply, so we can fix it by increasing the cost and therefore decreasing the demand.

Re: Studies are increasingly clear: Uber, Lyft congest cities

#18

Cars congest cities. Articles like this encourage policy makers to target users of ride sharing, while ignoring the obvious broader problem. If cities build appropriate multi modal transportation networks and restrict the amount of space allowed for vehicle traffic, people will walk, bike or take the train rather than drive. All three are preferable to being stuck in traffic.

Even Seattle is seeing per capita transit ridership drops, odd considering expansion of rail lines.

In an urban environment the car is what turns transportation into a game of the prisoner's dilemma. From this point of view ride shares are just the latest way that America has managed to extend the game.

My desire is that we develop ways to make cities hospitable to carless families. That goal seems more remote now than it did in 2010.

Re: Studies are increasingly clear: Uber, Lyft congest cities

#19
post #5

Perhaps carpooling hasn't been incentivized enough: the current in-app economics for 'pooling' appears to be an increased time to destination but decreased fare (+/- social interactions with driver and passenger(s)). If congestion is a function of cars on road, car size, number of passengers, and path to destination, then perhaps shorter rides with more passengers in smaller cars should be incentivized more. This see…

>Demand for "personalized" transport is here to stay.

For those that can afford it.

Re: Studies are increasingly clear: Uber, Lyft congest cities

#20

Cars congest cities. Articles like this encourage policy makers to target users of ride sharing, while ignoring the obvious broader problem. If cities build appropriate multi modal transportation networks and restrict the amount of space allowed for vehicle traffic, people will walk, bike or take the train rather than drive. All three are preferable to being stuck in traffic.

You’d have to defeat the automotive lobby and voters in the suburbs who have issues with certain types of people being able to visit. I’m hoping those of us who really want it get the public transit everyone deserves, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
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