Uber/Lyft Find New Ways to Destroy Transit "Lyft has a growing service called Line that could make the long-unfulfilled dreams of carpool advocates come true. Users who request a ride through line are paired with drivers going to the same general destination — a true example of ride sharing instead of the ride hailing that describes most Uber/Lyft rides. Rides might take a little longer if the driver picks up other carpoolers, but the cost is only 40 percent of a regular Lyft ride. The service is available in 19 cities to date and has proven particularly successful in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Miami. Uber has announced that it plans to expand its app to offer a comprehensive transportation service. Users say where they want to go and the Uber app will give them options of Uber rides, bike sharing, rental cars, or even mass transit. All rides would be paid for through the Uber app, so Uber would get a share of revenues from any public transit agencies that participated." More below. I have been writing about this as one of the primary cost-saving devices for commuters and school children. Right now with the Lyft Line program an individual paying The Portland Trimet HOP pass fare of $2.50 to commute to work could take a Lyft ride costing up to about $6.30 (Lyft Line is 40% of the usual costs so $6.30 X .4 = $2.52). However, because the service is door to door and does not require the individual walking to a distant bus stop and waiting in the rain, people will value this service. I expect they will be willing to pay more due to the time savings, convenience, and comfort.
Wait till these we find out that these services can eliminate the need for expensive local school bus service. Districts could offer to pay for the shared ride service for low-income families of school children. Why in the world are taxpayers paying for the transportation costs of the kids of wealthy families? School bus service is expensive, requiring huge storage yards, maintenance facilities and skilled employees to maintain the buses, not to mention an army of drivers. How much better that the students should be picked up at home and dropped off at school then picked up at school and dropped at home? Yeah, door to door service would be infinitely better than the current service which picks up and drops off on major roads! The evidence is that with the self-drive large-capacity share-ride vehicle, it would be much cheaper, and safer. Currently, these services roll out slowly because we are not used to them. Just as Amazon had to recalibrate the American mind with Prime to buy things 2-3 days before they were needed so too will these services need to recalibrate the American mind to think differently about transit. However, once the mind is reset, all bets are off, and like Amazon, the change will be swift, sweeping away the outdated transit modes. As the self-drive shared ride vehicle makes its way onto the scene, the configuration of vehicles will change to accommodate the various needs. And the progressives will stand athwart every change screaming STOP!!!
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