Uber (and ride sharing in general) is the single best development for the environment in recent history. Thousands of folks who used to drive now ride using Uber and thousands of vehicles have been removed from the road, reducing air pollution and congestion and improving the quality of life for all of us. Uber is one of the few companies that is a pure good for our society and our environment.

report 1 like, 5 dislikes
Posted by De Blo on 04/28/2016 at 7:54 AM

Just looking at the cars on Polk St and Valencia St now make it clear that Uber/Lyft cars make up a majority of the cars on the street most times of the day. It's impossible to add 37,000 drivers to our streets and not have worse traffic as a result. But the reason Uber/Lyft are so popular, just like the tech buses is because our leaders have completely failed to provide usable mass transit options.

I started biking everywhere in the city because riding Muni is many cases is literally slower than walking. I applaud the SFMTA's efforts and trying to speed up their glacial bus service by making transit-only lanes, and trying to improve street and bicycle safety. The only way to solve the traffic problem is to make the alternatives to driving a car in this city more viable for everyone. That means planning more white zones in every commercial district so that Taxis, Ubers, and Lyft drivers can safely drop off passengers without shutting down a traffic or bicycle lane.

report 2 likes, 0 dislikes
Posted by boyziggy on 04/25/2016 at 8:24 AM

The simple solution is to require road users to pay per-vehicle congestion fees, whether they're ride-sharing or not.

report 1 like, 1 dislike
Posted by Michael Blume on 04/25/2016 at 12:14 AM

Join the Facebook group "Cars Out of Bike Lanes" and watch our videos on YouTube. Our next ride is coming up next week. We ride along Valencia Street firmly but politely asking drivers who are parked in the bike lane to move.

report 1 like, 1 dislike
Posted by Mo on 04/21/2016 at 6:20 PM

As a bicyclist I can't count the number of times I have to go around Uber and Lyft drivers parked in bike lanes, which are (surprise, surprise) travel lanes and not loading zones. The drivers are often staring at their app waiting for the next customer.

What's even more frustrating is that often I'll see a curbside spot not far from where they are, which they could have been sitting in instead of inconveniencing others.

report 7 likes, 0 dislikes
Posted by Chris J. on 04/21/2016 at 11:04 AM

Hi Chris,

It's great to see a local reporter actually look into this subject.

Uber & Lyft drivers spend much more time on the streets than a normal driver would and they use 5 to 10 more vehicles than are necessary to do the job. They obviously are major sources of both congestion and pollution.

But the SFMTA and the State Legislature have refused to do environmental impact studies. Worse – environmental groups like the Sierra Club continue to ignore the subject. The Natural Resource Defense Council argued against doing an environmental impact study when Uber and Lyft put their "Pool" services on the street.

http://phantomcabdriverphites.blogspot.com/search?q=Natural+Resource+Defense

What's going on here?

report 7 likes, 1 dislike
Posted by ED Healy on 04/21/2016 at 8:19 AM

"To cut down on traffic, the city encourages alternatives to owning a car, and new citizens seem to be responding — by taking Uber or Lyft."
Can someone explain how taking Uber or Lyft cuts down on traffic? By Uber's own figures at very best, only about 60% of total miles driven actually has the passenger in the car. The other 40% is cruising for passengers or going to or from the pickup or drop off points. That represents a 70% increase in personal car traffic congestion as opposed to passengers driving themselves.

Uber and Lyft may decrease the number of parked cars, or if people get rid of their cars, that's one thing but actual traffic will increase.

report 9 likes, 1 dislike
Posted by Philip Macafee on 04/20/2016 at 6:15 PM