The congestion caused by ride-hailing

[00:00.42] Have you ever taken a taxi? In the past, doing so meant finding one, flagging it down and telling the driver where you wanted to go, paying, and possibly, adding a tip.

[00:15.03] And while this still happens, it’s less common than it used to be.

[00:20.88] These days, it’s much easier to open a ride-hailing app.

[00:26.45] All of the boring stuff gets taken care of.

[00:29.11] It’s a perfect solution!

[00:32.03] Except that it isn’t. A recent report from urban transport consultant Bruce Schaller, who spent the last four years studying traffic flow in New York, concluded that the use of these app-based journeys is causing traffic jams.

[00:49.56] The 81% increase in these city-based rides means that there are now five times more of them than the iconic yellow taxicab.

[01:00.72] “It’s the shift in patronage from public transport,” he told the BBC.

[01:06.83] For whatever reason, people decide that it’s just too much hassle. “That means moving people from larger vehicles into smaller ones, which means more vehicles to move the same people.

[01:19.84] Therefore, more traffic.” In addition, the sheer number of cars now looking for a commuter means that they spend 45% of their time empty, just cruising for a fare, and inadvertently clogging up the city’s infrastructure.

[01:40.03] “They are out there in force at the worst possible times,” said Prof Christo Wilson, a computer scientist at Northeastern University, who has also studied the services.

[01:53.58] He refers to Uber’s traffic data, which ‘perfectly matches the peaks for the rush hour.’

[02:00.48] He also adds that the low fares and convenience mean that people are ordering rides to go from A to B when they wouldn’t normally. Both help contribute to the gridlock.

[02:15.36] So what can be done to stop traffic from backing up or bottlenecking?

[02:20.14] One solution involves combining ride-hailing with sharing.

[02:24.65] Many ride-hailing companies, such as Uber, Didi Chuxing in China and Ola in India enable customers to carpool.

[02:33.95] This allows travellers who share similar destinations to share the journey.

[02:40.06] The app enables an en route pickup,which means more streamlined traffic, and less time spent with an empty vehicle.

[02:48.83] Could this decongest the world’s jam-packed roads? It is certainly one solution.

[02:55.73] But maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the more traditional public transport options.

[03:01.84] "Congestion is a really complicated issue," said Andrew Salzberg, head of Uber's transport policy.

[03:09.28] But, “There is no more efficient way to move people around than public transport," he added.

[03:16.72] So don’t do away with that bus pass just yet.