Why don't cities/provinces/states make their own?
Adoption wouldn't be an issue, following government code wouldn't be an issue, would probably bring in quite a bit of revenue.
Are any cities doing this already?
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Why don't cities/provinces/states make their own?
Adoption wouldn't be an issue, following government code wouldn't be an issue, would probably bring in quite a bit of revenue.
Are any cities doing this already?
From their point of view, why should they try to find novel solutions to evident problems while they can much more easily just "regulate away" the potential for such solutions (for now, that is) and claim the problem doesn't exist in the first place? Public administration is notoriously bad at both embracing change and long-term planning because its stakeholders' outlook is measured in legislative periods.
I agree with @BjoernKW also.
Building stuff is more permanent and facilitates other building--like apartment building or office building near stations.
With IT dispatch systems they aren't building anything physical and aren't affecting the built environment and all their training is about affecting the built environment.
Of course, if ridesharing proves itself to reduce traffic, I wouldn't be surprised to find cities experimenting with public-private partnerships to implement them locally. We have something very successful in DC called Capital Bikeshare that is focused largely on reducing traffic.
But, unlike bikesharing, if Uber and kin prove out ridesharing as valuable to DC, I cannot see what the local government would add with their own system, something that I know the DC government does consider. Capital Bikeshare is so successful precisely because the government is involved. They can convert a couple street parking spaces or a traffic intersection median into a bikeshare without asking anyone, and have done so with no real complaint.
[1] http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/is-uber-making-nyc-rush-...
[0] http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,1607,7-151-9615_11228_11234--...
It's not entirely clear yet what long-term effect ridesharing will have on city traffic [1] and cities are very invested in keeping that low. Buses and trains and such keep that traffic lower, at least according to current data. Of course, if ridesharing proves itself to reduce traffic, I wouldn't be surprised to find cities experimenting with public-private partnerships to implement them locally. We have something v…