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A new study says services like Uber and Lyft are causing urban traffic woes

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Re: A new study says services like Uber and Lyft are causing urban traffic woes

#111

Post by [deleted] »

foldr wrote: post #103
dionidium wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People from remote tribes who've never seen an automobile are practically scared to death when they first set foot in a city. Not being scared by cars isn't in any way the default attitude for a human to have -- quite the opposite We shouldn't conflate the experience of seeing a big, loud automobile for the first time with the experience of driving or riding in one, which is designed to be so comfortable as to elim…

It’s not a conflation of ideas. I’m simply pointing out that we’re not scared of cars, or of being in cars, because we’re accustomed to the relevant experiences. (Evolution has very little to do with it, so far as I can see.) Similarly, once you’ve seen dancers on the subway a few times, you won’t be scared of them — if you ever were in the first place. There is nothing inherently scary about dancers as compared to c…

[deleted]

Re: A new study says services like Uber and Lyft are causing urban traffic woes

#112

Post by modzu »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #27
cbhl wrote: post #7

There's a simple solution to this -- buses! We don't even need public tax dollars to pay for them. There were plenty of startups that wanted to run "Uber, but with a bus instead of a Car" and they all died because of regulation from the cities. Hell, Google (and other tech companies) will happily pay for its own buses to reduce VMT, but taking away street parking to add bus stops is political suicide in San Francisco…

One of the major benefits in some cities of Uber/Lyft over public transportation is not risking interaction with thementally ill, inebriated, panhandlers, or otherwise dangerous people (like the dancers on the NYC subway).

can you imagine, riding transit with the filthy peasantry?

Re: A new study says services like Uber and Lyft are causing urban traffic woes

#113

Post by saudioger »

I'd be interested in reading more studies about this, but anecdotally I feel like this has to be true. I live next door to a large house with 8 college students, and two have them claimed to have ~never~ taken public transit in the city since living here, not ever (they've been here over a year now). When they have a party you can easily count a dozen Ubers rolling up, no one's walking to the train station anymore.

We're one of the most expensive cities in the country, and our public transit system is pretty decent. I commuted using it exclusively for over 10 years.

5 years ago it would be insane to hear a college student say they've never taken a train here. Maybe it's the combination of low Uber prices and high housing expenses? I feel like the local student population has been becoming wealthier (because they have to come from richer families to afford housing)... and Uber pool pricing is generally within $1-2 of a non-discounted trip on a train.

Re: A new study says services like Uber and Lyft are causing urban traffic woes

#114

Post by umeshunni »

fipple wrote: post #79
nradov wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Several people (mainly women) have told me that they're afraid to take public transit in the SF Bay Area due to the other riders. I'm not sure how we fix that problem without restricting civil rights in ways that would be unconstitutional and politically unacceptable. It's a real dilemma.

You set rules for society and harshly punish people who break them. Look at Singapore.

>> set rules for society and harshly punish people who break them

That's the opposite direction of where the SF Bay Area is going. The San Francisco District Attorney, for e.g., has been at loggerheads withe police department because the former has been eager to let even violent criminals go scott free.

Of course, you add the rampant social justice warriors in the area and you get accused of racism for arresting 11-time felons (e.g https://stopcrimesf.com/blog/2018/8/10/second-chances-how-ab... vs https://48hills.org/2018/08/judge-soft-on-crime/)

Re: A new study says services like Uber and Lyft are causing urban traffic woes

#115

Post by opportune »

reaperducer wrote: post #70
scythe wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The buses are fine. What's missing are the little screens that tell people when the bus is going to arrive. If buses arrive every fifteen minutes, and people would be willing to wait for a bus instead of Uber if the bus will arrive in less than five minutes, then simply adding screens means 33% of people no longer hail a ride. Yes, there is NextBus, but anyone who's used NextBus knows that it often takes longer to fi…

What's missing are the little screens that tell people when the bus is going to arrive. Chicago has these. And it's available as an app, too. I assume other cities have this, as well. It just needs to be more widespread. And somehow you have to let people who don't take the bus know that it exists.

I believe Paris also has it

Re: A new study says services like Uber and Lyft are causing urban traffic woes

#116

Post by komali2 »

leovander wrote: post #13
cbhl wrote: post #7

There's a simple solution to this -- buses! We don't even need public tax dollars to pay for them. There were plenty of startups that wanted to run "Uber, but with a bus instead of a Car" and they all died because of regulation from the cities. Hell, Google (and other tech companies) will happily pay for its own buses to reduce VMT, but taking away street parking to add bus stops is political suicide in San Francisco…

Yeah, look at places like London, dedicated bus lanes make sure that buses are almost always on their set schedule. At least in Southern California we have the extra lanes that could be dedicated that.

That's being set up right now in SF - Van Ness is getting dedicated bus lanes. It's just taking... a while...

Re: A new study says services like Uber and Lyft are causing urban traffic woes

#117

Post by artursapek »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #27
cbhl wrote: post #7

There's a simple solution to this -- buses! We don't even need public tax dollars to pay for them. There were plenty of startups that wanted to run "Uber, but with a bus instead of a Car" and they all died because of regulation from the cities. Hell, Google (and other tech companies) will happily pay for its own buses to reduce VMT, but taking away street parking to add bus stops is political suicide in San Francisco…

One of the major benefits in some cities of Uber/Lyft over public transportation is not risking interaction with thementally ill, inebriated, panhandlers, or otherwise dangerous people (like the dancers on the NYC subway).

IIIIIIT'S SHOWTIME

Re: A new study says services like Uber and Lyft are causing urban traffic woes

#118

Post by almost_usual »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #27
cbhl wrote: post #7

There's a simple solution to this -- buses! We don't even need public tax dollars to pay for them. There were plenty of startups that wanted to run "Uber, but with a bus instead of a Car" and they all died because of regulation from the cities. Hell, Google (and other tech companies) will happily pay for its own buses to reduce VMT, but taking away street parking to add bus stops is political suicide in San Francisco…

One of the major benefits in some cities of Uber/Lyft over public transportation is not risking interaction with thementally ill, inebriated, panhandlers, or otherwise dangerous people (like the dancers on the NYC subway).

This is why people used to move to the suburbs.

Re: A new study says services like Uber and Lyft are causing urban traffic woes

#119

Post by francisofascii »

kazinator wrote: post #84
vkou wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So do I, but my income doesn't come with direct traffic congestion and road wear externalities.

And of course none of your income is spent on any groceries or other goods that arrive by truck. Motor vehicles could disappear overnight without a single inconvenience to you.

I don't see anyone here arguing for banning motor vehicles. But they should pay more to use the road than the pennies they pay now. Groceries could get cheaper, since the trucks would not be stuck in traffic as much.

Re: A new study says services like Uber and Lyft are causing urban traffic woes

#120

Post by mandelbrotwurst »

almost_usual wrote: post #107
mandelbrotwurst wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it possible that the benefit of people being more easily able to travel around town outweighs the cost of the extra traffic?

Yeah, I don't know. I'm only stating that I can see how Lyft and Uber could generate more traffic due to convenience.

Me neither =)

Your hypothesis is a good one imo.

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