Same Old Song: Study Claims Uber and Lyft Increasing Congestion Problem in Seattle

by Matt Posky

August 21st, 2018 5:02 PM

same old song study claims uber and lyft increasing congestion problem in seattle

A new study from Schaller Consulting is claiming that ride-hailing services, like Uber and Lyft, contributed to 94 million additional miles being driven on Seattle-area roads in 2017. We’ve heard similar claims in the past. Data-backed allegations typically revolve around the notion that app-based services don’t encourage motorists to carpool so much as they pull pedestrians away from public transportation.

Considering how difficult most subway systems and bus lines are to enjoy, that’s not hard to believe.

According to the Seattle Department of Transportation, area residents took 20 million rides (most of them from Lyft and Uber) last year. Bruce Schaller, an independent transportation consultant, took that figure and combined it with previously existing data and survey results from other metropolitan areas to arrive at the 94 million mile estimate.

Summarized by The Seattle Times and available in full at the consultation firm’s website, the issue is probably less pronounced in Washington’s biggest city. That’s down to the elevated popularity of public transportation that’s currently taking place. However, Seattle is the exception and not the rule. The U.S. Census Bureau has reported that other major cities like New York, Washington D.C., and Chicago have all seen a major decline in mass transit over the last five years.

“Without public policy intervention, big American cities are likely to be overwhelmed with more automobility, more traffic and less transit,” Schaller said. “…and drained of the density and diversity which are indispensable to their economic and social well-being.”

None of this is new. In fact, we covered this issue extensively a few months ago. But it’s worth having another data set and analysis to draw from while these kinds of services continue to reshape our urban driving environments.

#CityDriving #Lyft #MassTransit #PublicTransportation #Ride-hailing #Studies #Uber

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Ryanwm80 on Aug 22, 2018

I was in Seattle for the World Naked Bike Ride on a Friday night and saw Lyft and Uber cars all over the streets. We left the science center around 10 pm, rode past all the bars in Belltown, up to Capitol Hill, through Volunteer Park, then the U-district, and over to Fremont - it was about 2 hours of riding around completely naked on bikes on a warm summer night, and the whole city was crawling with people out on the streets.- not sitting indoors watching TV - they were out and about, and so were all the Lyft and Uber drivers.

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28-Cars-Later on Aug 22, 2018

"“…and drained of the density and diversity which are indispensable to their economic and social well-being.”" Say what?

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- Arthur Dailey on Aug 22, 2018
  
  'Density': the greater the population per sq mile the more efficient public transit becomes. It also decreases the need for private autos as more services are within walking distance. 'Diversity': meaning a wider group economically and socially. Different 'classes' living adjacent to each other, rather than 'ghettos' be they of the poor or the very rich. Ghetto (def):' a) put in or restrict to an isolated or segregated area or group, b) a part of a city, ... occupied by a minority group or groups.' I think that we can agree that the very rich are a 'minority group'.
  
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- 28-Cars-Later on Aug 22, 2018
  
  @Arthur Dailey Thanks Arthur. So what I take from this is this dipsh!t wants to put us in dystopian overcrowded world of Soylent Green as opposed to letting me ride an Uber in Seattle. So, no solution to overcrowding issue already plaguing Seattle, just an acknowledgement. He doesn't even cite ManBearPig, he's saying you will live like sardines and you will like it oh but pity there are other transportation solutions. I'm truly taken aback at how brazen the insane have become.
  
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- MrIcky on Aug 22, 2018
  
  @28-Cars-Later I don't know how'd you'd solve the overcrowding of Seattle. By all I can see, it appears to be what people want, because they are moving there in droves and choosing to live "like sardines". Completely ignoring manbearpig type stuff, it's a city that's bordered by water on 2 sides so it can't spread well and if you want to live in the suburbs, I5 is a disaster. The diversity part is funny though, after watching how Belltown has changed over 20 years. If by different classes living together you mean doing pretty well and doing very well on the same block- ya I buy that. Gentrification and all...
  
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- Arthur Dailey on Aug 22, 2018
  
  @28: A percentage of humans have lived in crowded urban environments since at least the time of the Romans. Possibly even earlier. With the global population so high, the movement to urban centres will continue to increase. The only solutions to overcrowding on this planet, would be some form of mass extinction (plague, war, etc), or global ZPG policies. Otherwise, we need to find better ways to live in crowded urban environments. And good public transit is one way to improve that type of environment. A solution rather than a problem?
  
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- 28-Cars-Later on Aug 22, 2018
  
  @MrIcky If there was a solution to be found, I have confidence the people of Seattle have more than enough intelligence to discover it. Off the top of my head I suggest artificial islands, perhaps current pricing can support the cost? Its not like prices are every allowed to go down in this post Lehman world.
  
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- 28-Cars-Later on Aug 22, 2018
  
  @Arthur Dailey This depends on which problem you're trying to solve, transportation or excess humanity? In my view, the excess is the core problem. I think AI will be the disruptive technology to finally overturn the 18th century model of population increase effectively leading to "growth". Then what to do with the excess?
  
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- Dal20402 on Aug 22, 2018
  
  @28-Cars-Later People who think crowding and urban density are undesirable should probably choose to live in places other than the core of big cities. You can ride an Uber in Seattle all you want. No one is suggesting banning them. You just may have to wait a bit more in congestion, and may have lower priority than people using more space-efficient modes of transport.
  
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