[sustran] Turns out, Uber is clogging the streets

[Vinay Baindur]

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/turns-uber-clogging-streets-article-1.2981765

Turns out, Uber is clogging the street



[image: Clogged arteries]Clogged arteries (THEODORE PARISIENNE/FOR NEW YORK
DAILY NEWS)
BYBRUCE SCHALLER <http://www.nydailynews.com/authors?author=Bruce-Schaller>
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, February 27, 2017, 5:00 AM

As Uber and Lyft burst onto our streets and smartphones, they promised
benefits to all. Passengers would get a quick, convenient alternative to
the hide-bound taxi industry. Shared rides would replace solo drivers. Uber
promised to take “1 million cars off the road in New York City.”

Today in New York, we finally have the data to see how these promises are
working out. It’s not a pretty picture. On-demand companies are fueling a
cycle of increasing congestion and declining transit use, and it demands
immediate attention by Mayor de Blasio and Gov. Cuomo.

Initially, on-demand companies grew mostly by attracting yellow cab
passengers. A January 2016 report from Mayor de Blasio, which I helped
prepare, concluded that growing Uber and trips were not the primary cause
of worsening congestion.

But growth didn’t stop with the mayor’s study. Since June 2015, on-demand
companies’ passenger volumes have tripled, to 500,000 per day. That has far
outpaced the drop in yellow cab rides. And most trips are still exclusive
rides, not the long-envisioned shared trips with passengers traveling on
overlapping routes.

Uber to launch $10 carpool deal to help ease congestion
<http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/uber-launch-10-carpool-deal-ease-congestion-article-1.2287458>

I’ve analyzed Taxi & Limousine Commission trip and vehicle odometer records
to see how this translates to the streets of New York. The results:
On-demand ride companies drove 600 million miles on New York City streets
in 2016 — more than the same year’s total yellow cab mileage in Manhatta n.
Most of the added driving is in Manhattan and congested parts of Brooklyn
and Queens near the East River, piling more cars onto already crowded
streets.

On-demand trips that aggravate already-slow traffic speeds undercut the
essential role of mass transit in absorbing growth in residents, workers
and visitors. In 2016, subway ridership fell for the first time in years.
Bus ridership dropped for the third consecutive year. Uber, Lyft and the
other companies are making up the difference. They — together with bikes —
are now serving the new travel demands generated by our growing city.

That’s not a sustainable way to grow the city.

But we shouldn’t blame the companies or their customers for adding to
traffic woes. Riders are voting with their feet for what they value most:
prompt, responsive, reliable and comfortable transportation.

Cuomo gets highest approval rating of second term
<http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/cuomo-highest-approval-rating-term-article-1.2983387>

Mayor de Blasio has recognized the need for the city to act, promising an
anti-congestion plan in his State of the City speech. His plan will need to
more efficiently use scarce street space by tackling transit delays, slow
speeds, and crowding so that buses and subways are a viable choice when up
against deep-pocketed, nimble and aggressively customer-focused private
sector companies.

He should aim to speed up bus service by rapidly expanding the number of
bus lanes and vigorously enforcing bus lane and double-parking rules. And
time traffic signals on avenues with high-ridership bus service so that
buses get from stop to stop without wasting time at red lights.

Cuomo must act, too. He should direct the Metropolitan Transportation
Authority to expand off-the-bus fare collection, enabling people to board
through all doors on high-ridership routes where long delays for getting on
and off buses are an everyday, every-stop fact of life.

He should also insist that the MTA implement all-door boarding on all
high-ridership routes when the MetroCard fare payment system is replaced in
a few years.

Dozens of Uber employees describe sexist, hostile work culture
<http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/dozens-uber-employees-describe-sexist-hostile-work-culture-article-1.2979909>

Finally, the MTA and state Legislature should revamp contracting procedures
so that system-wide improvements like new subway signal systems can be
built more quickly and cheaply. New signals can make possible higher
frequency and more reliable subway service.

These initiatives are far more critical than splashy but low-ridership
distractions like the LaGuardia AirTrain and BQX streetcar. Without
system-wide improvements, the on-demand companies will keep attracting
transit riders at an ever-increasing pace.

That will mean slower travel for everyone, from motorists to bus passengers
to truck drivers, and higher costs for goods and services. It’s not the
future we were promised. Nor is it one we can live with. Fortunately, it’s
one that city and state officials can avoid, but only by acting now.

*Schaller is the former deputy commissioner of traffic and planning at the
New York City Department of Transportation and author of “Unsustainable?
The Growth of App-Based Ride Services and Traffic, Travel and the Future of
New York City.”*