Ridehailing, uncertainty and sustainable transportation

This study investigates how stakeholders throughout the state of California view the potential impacts of ridehailing services such as Uber or Lyft, to transportation systems, and how to address such impacts. Ridehailing is one of several emerging shared use mobility alternatives, poised to impact transportation systems, for better or worse. For better if these new services catalyze the development and maturation of well-integrated multi-model transportation systems that serve all travelers and reduce vehicle miles travelled (VMT) and transportation emissions. For worse if these new services serve merely as a less expensive taxi, allowing more people to forego alternative modes of transportation like public transit and biking, thereby leading to increases in VMT and emissions and worsening congestion impacts. The high degree of uncertainty surrounding the impacts of these services presents challenges to stakeholders involved in transportation planning and policymaking. How transportation stakeholders view the potential positive and negative impacts of ridehailing and what to do about them is an open question, and one that warrants investigation as these services become more popular and their impacts begin to be understood. Through interviews, we investigate the viewpoints of 42 transportation stakeholders throughout the state of California. We find the diversity of interviewees is reflected in the sentiments they have about ridehailing, what issues are important and potential obstacles to achieving positive outcomes. Nonetheless, interviewees agree that regulations should balance local control with state level guidance.