Washington, DC’s recently-passed transit tax on ride-hailing trips has faced criticism for taxing shared trips (like UberPOOL, Lyft Line, and Via) at the same rate as solo rides.
DC’s 6 percent tax on trips is a good first step in effective municipal management of app-based ride-hailing. But to make life easier for the traveling public, cities should incentivize transportation network companies (TNCs) to fill service gaps in outlying areas, rather than just encourage them to clog already-congested urban cores with more share taxis.
TNCs serve private interests, not the traveling public
Mobility Lab friend and contributor David Alpert, of Greater Greater Washington, cited shortcomings of the city’s existing transit system. He posits that given these present-day challenges, shared TNC vehicles are currently more likely than fixed-route transit to attract solo drivers and thus could be our best bet for reducing congestion and pollution.
Many cities in the developing world are forced to rely primarily on share taxis. The results aren’t pretty.
The issues with transit in DC that Alpert pointed out are comparable to the transportation challenges affecting many developing-world metropolises. In areas lacking funding for high-quality public transit, private entrepreneurs have stepped in, operating share taxis to make money off the government’s failure to provide for its people.
Though Alpert cites developing world-style share taxis as something American urban transportation systems could benefit from, that may not necessarily be the case. In places where they’re prominent, share taxis bring hellish chaos to streets, complete with extreme congestion, erratic driving, vehicle breakdowns, and lots of honking.
People with sufficient wealth to avoid the share taxi mess purchase their own vehicles and travel in solitude. As emerging economies develop, more and more residents of cities with share taxi-dominated transportation systems opt to buy cars – as can be seen in Tijuana, where car ownership numbers, already among Mexico’s highest, are increasing three times faster than the size of the population.
In hopes of avoiding a descent into auto-dependency, Tijuana has opened its first Sistema Integral de Transportes de Tijuana (SITT) Bus Rapid Transit route. But the powerful mafia de taxistas behind Tijuana’s legacy microtransit, deeply embedded in the city’s culture and politics, has hampered SITT. Their relentless opposition to the BRT project has contributed to extensive construction delays and operational challenges, and some even suspect them of deliberately attacking and sabotaging the new bus system to scare would-be riders away.
Similar to how share taxi interests have opposed transit improvements in Tijuana, TNCs’ shared services – subsidized largely by auto and oil industry venture capital – have become a central component of transit opponents’ efforts to take away the multimodal options we depend on. TNCs know that their pooled options, which bear strong operational resemblance to developing-world share taxis, have yet to meaningfully affect car buyers’ habits. Thus, they primarily market these services to transit riders in dense areas.
If allowed to succeed, these efforts will only lead to more transit service cuts like those WMATA enacted in June 2017. Shared or not, ride-hailing services already have substantial difficulty handling demand when transit options are restricted (think Metro disruptions and bar closing time) and will not be able to replace the lost capacity. As a result, more people will be forced to purchase and drive cars.
By filling first and last mile gaps, TNCs can enhance urban transit renewal rather than stifle it
Good multimodal transportation systems – even autonomous ones – require more than just car-based options. By fixing their transit infrastructure, cities can make their urban cores more accessible and create a safer, more comfortable on-street environment for everyone.
But they can’t do this for free. Given that data shows a majority of TNC customers are also frequent transit users, it makes sense that cities like DC are asking them to chip in. Unlike share taxis, robust transit is a proven solution to urban transportation challenges, so riders should not see transit-dedicated TNC fees as a “punishment.”
Using revenues from these fees, cities not only can improve fixed-route transit, but also can help make ride-hailing more than something that just clogs city centers and poses a hazard to other road users. Specifically, they can use a portion of the funds to financially incentivize a shift of ride-hailing capacity from congested urban cores to outlying neighborhoods currently lacking viable alternatives to driving.
Ideally, such a capacity shift would not only diversify mobility within these areas, but also would give their residents, workers, and visitors a way to access fast, reliable main transit routes for longer journeys. Such first-last mile solutions, which Alpert expressed support for, could be tailored to specific neighborhoods – fixed-route feeder shuttles and bikeshare systems are ideal for dense areas, while smaller shared vans, active transportation infrastructure improvements, and even solo rides may serve low-density areas more effectively.
Ideally, customers could pay for such integrated TNC-transit service using a single fare medium, and ride-hailing apps could use real-time transit data to optimize transfers. And importantly, eliminating the need for commuters to drive to and park at stations would give transit agencies the freedom to develop land around their hubs, helping them capture the economic value of their systems.
A half-century ago, we allowed automakers and their allies to dictate transportation policy. We can’t do that again.
As a result, tens of thousands of Americans perish in car crashes each year, traffic congestion snarls economic development and quality of life, and daily car commuting remains a stressful, negative experience.
Today, the rise of TNCs – and the upcoming transition to autonomy – has brought us to a similar junction in the tracks. We can either incentivize the transportation industry to use new technology to help people get where they need to go, or can allow private interests to once again control us and undo decades of progress. This time, let’s get it right.
Photo by Sam Kittner for Mobility Lab.