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Uber Just Reinvented the Bus … Again
Beyond the jokes about its new shuttle service are serious questions about what it will mean for struggling transit systems, air quality, and congestion.
CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was a bit more forthcoming when he told The Verge the whole thing is “to some extent inspired by the bus.” The goal, he said, “is just to reduce prices to the consumer and then help with congestion and the environment.” Five years ago, the Union of Concerned Scientists released a report that found rideshare services emit 69 percent more planet-warming carbon dioxide and other pollutants than the trips they displace—largely because as many as 40 percent of the miles traveled by Uber and Lyft drivers are driven without a passenger, something called “deadheading.” That climate disadvantage decreases with pooled services like UberX Share—but it’s still not much greener than owning and driving a vehicle, the report noted, unless the car is electric. Beyond the iffy climate benefit lie broader concerns about what this means for the transit systems in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston, and Baltimore—and the people who rely on them.
Or read this on Wired