The Congestion Impacts of Transportation Network Companies Are Still Unclear

Carl Bialik takes an in-depth, data-focused look at the congestion implications of transportation network companies like Uber—especially in light of the recent controversy in New York City when Mayor Bill de Blasio proposed a cap on the number of "for-hire" drivers in the city.

After noting that the "city will move ahead with a four-month study of the for-hire industry, examining how it has affected traffic, air quality, noise and public health," Bialik examines the spotty and unreliable data currently available about the impacts of Uber. So, for instance, fewer cars are entering Manhattan, but the cars that are there are traveling much slower.

Bialik notes that both the cities data and Uber's data are murky. The article cites traffic models by Charles Komanoff (who believes that Uber is contributing to worsening congestion in the city, but acknowledges a "very big 'if'"). On the other side is Mark Kleiman, professor of public policy at New York University’s Marron Institute of Urban Management, who thinks that "[e]verybody’s making up stories about how Uber might be bad… but apparently those stories don’t require any evidence whatsoever."