Traffic likely to get worse when ride-hailing companies hit Lower Mainland roads

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — If other cities are any indication, ride-hailing will increase congestion on Lower Mainland roads.

With Uber and Lyft poised to shake up the status-quo in B.C., many look forward to having a competitive and convenient alternative for getting around.

But one expert says studies show ride-hailing has increased congestion in U.S. cities like New York and San Francisco by as much as 17 per cent.

“Over 10 per cent and you know you’ve got a statistically significant phenomenon,” according to Gordon Price, former director of The City Program at Simon Fraser University.

RELATED: Studies are increasingly clear: Uber, Lyft congest cities

The impact ride-hailing has on a particular city partly depends on the quality of public transit.

“You can certainly see how appealing Uber is to urban dwellers looking for an alternative to a not-very-good transit system,” he explains, adding ride-hailing is popular in areas and at times when transit is sparse.

But ride-hailing will never replace even the most inefficient transit system.

“Some things that transit does well–like moving a lot of people to one place, a downtown, a stadium–can’t be substituted by ride-hailing. The idea that you can get 50,000 people to BC Place by any other means than transit is absurd,” Price explains.

One way to mitigate congestion could be to make Uber and Lyft pay if they increase traffic.

Price says imposing “congestion charges” via taxes or tolls on individual drivers isn’t easy or effective, but charging companies is something that’s already being considered in cities like New York.