This story was originally Appearing on Grist is part of the climate desk collaboration.
Every few years, a Silicon Valley show economy company announces a “destructive” innovation that looks a lot like a bus. More than a decade ago, Uber launched the Smart route, and shortly after its biggest competitor, the Lyft shuttle. Even Elon Musk tried the “urban circulation system” in 2018, which never came true on the Las Vegas Strip. Does anyone still remember the chariot?
Now it’s Uber’s turn. The ride-hailing company recently announced a route share that will take dozens of fixed routes, stationary parking, pick up and drop off passengers and revoke them at a fixed time. In the inevitable joke about Silicon Valley, it is discovered that the buses are serious issues for what this is meant for a troubled transit system, air quality and congestion.
Uber promises that the program will launch in seven cities at the end of May and it will bring “more affordable and more predictable” transportation during peak commuting hours.
“Many of our users usually live in the same area, usually work in the same area, and work at the same time,” Uber chief product officer Sachin Kansal said in the company’s May 14 announcement. “The concept of route sharing is nothing new,” he admitted, although he never used the term “bus.” Instead, photos of horse-drawn off-road vehicles, rickshaws and tricycles appeared on the screen.
CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told Verge that the whole thing was “inspired by the buses to some extent”, he was even more temporary. The goal is to lower consumer prices and then help with congestion and the environment, he said. ”
But Kevin Shen, who studies this kind of thing at a consortium of scientists, questioned whether Uber’s “next generation bus” has a big role for commuters or climate. “Everyone will say, ‘Silicon Valley has reinvented the bus again,'” Shen said. “But it’s more like they’re reshaping a worse bus.”
Five years ago, a joint report by scientists of concern released a report that found that the ride-hailing service emitted planetary carbon dioxide and other pollutants 69% higher than their displacement trips, largely because Uber and Lyft drivers drove up to 40% of mileage without passengers, which was “shocking.” The report notes that with the quality of consolidated services such as Uberx share, such as Uberx Share, it remains greener than owning and driving a vehicle unless the car is electric.
Apart from climate interests, there are broader concerns about what this transit system means for New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston and Baltimore — and the people who rely on them.
“Transportation is a public service, so the goal of the transport agency is to serve all of its customers (whether they are rich or poor) regardless of the biggest money-making route,” Shen said. Entities that complete all of this are accompanied by accountability mechanisms (boards, public meetings, vocalists) to ensure they are in the manner they deserve. “For Uber, there is almost nothing.” He said it is a hub for a public transport model without public responsibility.
