Uber and Lyft have consistently rejected criticism of pollution and traffic congestion, partly because it was difficult to get an exact indicator of how much these services contributed to daily emissions. A new study released today seems to have a more precise answer to this question.
According to Union of Concerned Scientists, the trips of Uber and Lyft, the two giants of "on demand" road transport, cause on average 70% more climate pollution than the transport they replace.
The report suggests that Uber and Lyft could reduce these emissions with a more concerted effort to electrify their vehicle fleet or by incentivizing customers to do joint rides. Also because the situation has seriously deteriorated.
“However, these strategies alone will address neither increases in vehicle miles traveled nor growing congestion problems,” states the report. “For rides to help improve climate and congestion outcomes, it is desirable for a company like Lyft or Uber to transport people in bundled, electric rides.”
It's a hefty commitment, but both Uber and Lyft have shown a willingness to reduce their carbon footprint. Also because it is clear that the mechanism does not work, the costs for the environment are too high. So far, their bouquets include the introduction of bike and scooter sharing services, integrated public transport scheduling and ticketing in their respective apps, and incentive programs to convince drivers to switch to electric cars.
The efforts of Uber and Lyft
Lyft launched a multi-million dollar investment to become a completely carbon-free transport service through the purchase of carbon offsets, while Uber has started providing cash incentives to some drivers in the USA who use electric vehicles.
Not enough
Despite these efforts, however, the vast majority of journeys taking place on both the Uber and Lyft platforms are in internal combustion vehicles. Companies have tried to promote shared rides, but customers have shown reluctance to share their trips. Their efforts to better connect to mass transportation are slow. And their bicycle and scooter sharing services are subject to local regulations and market conditions and as such may be unreliable.
