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Why Uber And Lyft May Be Bad For The Poor (And The Earth)

Why Uber And Lyft May Be Bad For The Poor (And The Earth)

Reprinted with permission fromAlterNet.

A 15-minute Uber ride or a 30-minute transit ride? For affluent city dwellers who increasingly prefer comfort and convenience, this choice is a no-brainer. However, this choice is a privilege that remains out of reach for those who live in transit-dependent low-income communities, who face many barriers to accessing ride-hailing services.

Uber competing with taxis is old news, but many now worry that ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft compete with public transit for riders. Not only can ride-hailing service be incredibly convenient, nowadays it can be dirt cheap, increasing the appeal of simply opening the mobile app. This trend may come as no surprise to cities with limited and inefficient transit that are losing their poor, transit-dependent riders in droves to gentrification.

However, a 2017 study shows that even in New York City, Lyft and Uber ridership is increasing, as subway and bus ridership declines. When ride-hailing services threaten even the best public transit network in the country, you know we have a major problem. The graphs below show the changes in ridership by mode from the baseline of the previous year.

This drop in ridership and revenue indicates has made it harder for some cities to invest in public transit. Given this reality, cities may rely more heavily on shared mobility services such as bikesharing, carsharing, luxury commuter shuttles and ride-hailing services to replace public transit trips. Some public transit agencies are already testing this idea, and are providing subsidies to ride-hailing companies as a substitute to transit.

So who will be most harmed by less public transit service? Well, everyone who breathes dirtier air or sits in clogged traffic as transit use declines will be hurt, but transit-dependent low-income communities of color will suffer most. And city leaders can’t just ask these riders to replace their usual bus routes by downloading a ride-hailing app. Lyft and Uber don’t work for all demographics, especially those in rural areas, and those without access to banks or smartphones.

And while ridesharing fares have become cheaper over time, generally they are still much more expensive than public transit. While Lyft and Uber have vague “anti-discrimination” policies on their websites, there are no specific procedures to prevent discriminatory practices such as drivers going offline to avoid requests in lower-income areas.

A study showed that African-Americans faced 30 percent longer wait times and were twice as likely to have their ride cancelled as their white counterparts. Before cities open the floodgates to shared mobility services—Uber and Lyft in particular–they must take smart steps to reduce the harm to transit-dependent communities of color.

San Francisco recently began taking proactive steps to address potential harms of shared mobility services by approving a set of Guiding Principles for Management of Emergence Transportation Services to be used in all decisions and policies relating to these shared mobility options, including ride-hailing, microtransit, bike and carsharing, etc. The principles cover ten categories, including equitable access, sustainability, congestion, fair labor practices, and the need to complement as opposed to competing with transit. This marks a step in the right direction in reigning in the shared mobility industry and ensuring equity and sustainability are meaningful parts of their business models.

While the shared mobility industry can play an important role in our transportation system, it must not be allowed to completely replace biking, walking, and clean public transit. Lyfts and Ubers contribute to congestion and pollution, and failure to regulate them enables the automobile addiction of cities worldwide. A report from New York City shows ridesharing companies have caused a net increase of 600 million vehicle miles traveled, resulting in a 3 to 4 percent upsurge in traffic. Duke University released a report concluding that a single-occupancy vehicle emits 89 pounds of CO2 per 100 passenger miles, while a full bus emits only 14 pounds.

Meanwhile, the rapid growth of electric buses and other clean technologies will only further increase the efficiency of public transit—strengthening the argument that public transit is cleaner and more efficient than Lyfts and Ubers, and therefore should be a top priority in transportation planning. That’s one of the reasons the No Uber Oakland campaign has made working with—and not undermining—public transit one of its demands of the ride-hailing giant.

Greenlining’s Mobility Equity Framework seeks to ensure that the business objectives of shared mobility companies do not eclipse investments in clean forms of transportation such as walking, biking, and public transit. Low-income communities of color need greater access to clean, affordable transportation options that serve as connectors to economic opportunity. This framework will prioritize clean transportation options that align with equity and sustainability goals, before hastily rolling out the red carpet for the shared mobility industry.

Why Millennials Don’t Drive So Much

Why Millennials Don’t Drive So Much

Young Americans are just not into driving the way their elders are or did at their age. They are less likely to own cars or use cars. The drives they do are shorter. Meanwhile, the bus is looking good to them.

A new report confirms this trend and offers reasons that millennials — we’re talking 14- to 31-year-olds — seem less drawn to the automobile thing. They’re sure not singing car songs as the Baby Boomers did. No “Little Deuce Coupe,” no “G.T.O.,” no “Hot Rod Lincoln.”

But the report, by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group and the Frontier Group, misses what I see as the biggest factor. Driving is no longer a coast down the great American open road. It’s become a pain and a drag — drag as in “a boring or tiresome thing.”

From 2001 to 2009, the average number of miles driven by 16- to 34-year-olds fell by an astounding 23 percent. There are economic reasons, for sure. The Great Recession whacked millennials especially hard in the job area. They are therefore shorter of cash — and less likely to get married, have kids and pursue other activities conducive to car ownership than previous generations at their age.

They’ve also shown a greater passion for living in urban or otherwise walkable communities. These are neighborhoods where automobiles are not the only way to get around and at least remnants of a public transportation system survive.

Our gadgets make it all easier. Millennials lead in using apps to car share (Zipcar) or summon a ride (Uber, Lyft, Sidecar) with minimum hassle. Other apps quickly display public transit options, connections and schedules. And time not spent behind the wheel of a car is time freed for texting, emailing, tweeting and whatever.

What really killed the American love affair with the car? The hell of American driving.

Oh, there still exist some heavenly road experiences in this country: drives at dawn through West Coast wine country, two-lane dreamscapes in rural regions sprawl has yet to wreck.

But the typical car experience takes place in the exhaust of suburban congestion. What younger adults recall as children is being strapped in the back seat as Mom lurched the vehicle through a soulless crudscape of drab chain retailing. They’ve done the six lanes of stop-and-go — bored out of their skulls and worried about Mom’s frazzled nerves.

They don’t want to do this anymore. And if it means sharing a 700-square-foot apartment downtown, so be it. The more young people — or any people — establish their nests downtown the faster America’s long-suffering town centers will mend.

So yay millennials.

Something in the report did evoke a smile. We’re in think-tank land, which means the most elemental activities take on tech-speak labels. In this case, it’s the reference to walking as another “mode” of transportation.

Since the caveman, walking’s been the default — with every other way of getting around being the instead-of.

But perhaps the authors are right. Perhaps locomotory momentum has become just another option on the multiple choice: “Do I put on shoes today or strap on the jet pack?”

At least they didn’t refer to sidewalks as the “pedestrian interface.”

The mission going forward is to build up the public transportation system to serve Americans’ changing needs. Conservatives of yore framed public transit as a devious plot to force Americans from their five-bedroom spreads to apartment houses along bus lines.

But a bus-and-rail boom was not the big thing accelerating multifamily home construction during the Great Recession and beyond. It was market forces, guys. And the Americans leading that market are the millennials, yearning to hang up the car keys.

Follow Froma Harrop on Twitter @FromaHarrop. She can be reached at fharrop@gmail.com. To find out more about Froma Harrop and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Web page at www.creators.com.

Photo: drpavloff via Flickr

NJ Transit Will Be Grilled On Inefficient Transporting Of Super Bowl Fans

NJ Transit Will Be Grilled On Inefficient Transporting Of Super Bowl Fans

By Karen Rouse, The Record (Hackensack, N.J.)

HACKENSACK, N.J. — Citing a “lackadaisical approach to planning,” the chairman of the New Jersey Senate’s Legislative Oversight Committee said Wednesday that hearings scheduled to look at why NJ Transit left trains in low-lying rail yards during Superstorm Sandy will be expanded to explore other high-profile problems with the state’s beleaguered mass transit agency.

Sen. Bob Gordon said the hearings will be broadened to include how the agency failed to efficiently move fans out of MetLife Stadium after the Super Bowl, why NJ Transit allowed the trademarks of seven of its logos to lapse and recent problems with the agency’s website.

Agency officials took down NJTransit.com for maintenance in the middle of a blizzard last month as travelers were desperately trying to access train schedules and get home. And the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office canceled the registrations of several NJ Transit logos when the agency missed renewal deadlines.

Those incidents, as well as the problems at the Super Bowl, have been chronicled in The Record.

“In light of the events at the Super Bowl, the scope is expanding beyond the failures of Sandy to really encompass what I consider poor incident planning, whether the incidents are a man-made event like a Super Bowl or a natural disaster like Sandy. There seems to be a pattern of poor preparation and planning,” Gordon, D-Fair Lawn, said Wednesday.

Complaints about NJ Transit’s handling of fans during what had been dubbed the first “Mass Transit Super Bowl” began well before kickoff on Sunday. Thousands of game-goers from the region and beyond formed a human logjam when three trains unloaded passengers at Secaucus Junction at the same time.

People reported being unable to move for 40 minutes to an hour, an experience that left many feeling faint and frightened. Before the night was over, thousands more found themselves stranded at MetLife for hours after the game because there were not enough trains. One man told The Record he and his son managed to get out of the stadium and paid $150 for a cab ride back to New York.

NJ Transit had projected 10,000 to 12,000 would use its Meadowlands train service from Secaucus Junction to get to the stadium. Instead, 33,000 did, overwhelming the system.

Buses were eventually brought in to relieve some of the crowding, but Transportation Commissioner Jim Simpson said it was impossible to get buses in earlier in the evening because there was no room around the stadium.

NJ Transit spent well over $15,000 last year to send four employees to the Super Bowl in New Orleans — an expense the agency said was justified because it would provide valuable insight into how to handle transportation during the Super Bowl in East Rutherford.

Sent to tour the city were Rich Andreski, chief of staff of rail operations; Joseph Meade III, superintendent of the Hoboken rail operations; NJ Transit Police Officer Patrick Clark; and police official Robert Gatchell — who was one of the key officials charged with the agency’s preparations during Sandy. Penny Bassett Hackett, the high-ranking assistant executive director for communications and customer service, also attended official meetings in New Orleans, but she said at the time she paid her own way because she loves football.

Executive Director Jim Weinstein said at the time that the agency would prepare a report detailing what they learned from the visit. That report never materialized.

Gordon, who said he is looking at the early half of March for hearings, said his office is preparing to file a public records request with NJ Transit for a variety of documents, including:

—A list of rail equipment that was damaged or destroyed during Sandy and records describing how NJ Transit planned for that natural disaster.

—Information on any personnel that were disciplined. Gov. Chris Christie told The Record’s editorial board last year that a low-level worker was responsible for moving the rail cars to the low-lying, flood-prone rail yards in Hoboken and Kearny. He claimed the worker was a civil servant who could not be fired. However, NJ Transit has never been a civil service agency, and no one at NJ Transit has backed the governor’s claim about a low-level worker.

Gordon also questioned whether NJ Transit will produce an after-action report.

Gordon’s announcement comes two days after Assemblyman John Wisniewski, who is leading the investigation of the George Washington Bridge scandal that has engulfed the Christie administration, called for NJ Transit, Super Bowl and other officials to examine the handling of transportation to and from the game.

And on Tuesday, state Sen. Paul Sarlo, chairman of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, demanded that NJ Transit officials “explain themselves” now or face questions from him at committee budget hearings in March.

Gordon said NJ Transit raised expectations by announcing it was ready for fans to use its rail line to get to the game. Then, he said, “you find they don’t even have a backup plan they could have implemented.”

Photo: Psychohh via Flickr