Uber and Lyft are clogging big city streets a little more than they thought

Ride share giants Uber and Lyft are responsible for more traffic congestion than they originally thought — but they're still well outpaced by private cars, according to a study that the two companies themselves commissioned.

The study, which you can read in full here, was conducted by firm Fehr & Peers at the request of the two leading ride-share companies. It focused on the combined "Vehicle Miles Traveled" in September 2018 in six major U.S. cities: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.

The contribution from these companies' cars to overall congestion in larger metropolitan areas is relatively small, accounting for between 1.5 and 3 percent of those total vehicle miles.

• Boston: 1.9 percent

• Chicago: 2.1 percent

• Los Angeles: 1.5 percent

• San Francisco: 2.7 percent

• Seattle: 1.1 percent

• Washington, D.C.: 1.9 percent

But that average percentage goes up a when you focus on the core counties of each metro area, particularly for Boston (Suffolk Co.) at 7.7 percent, and San Francisco (San Francisco Co.) at a whopping 12.8 percent.

It's worth noting that the bump in San Francisco still seems relatively low when compared with another recent study, which showed that congestion increased in the city by 60 percent between 2010 and 2016, with more than half of that caused by Uber and Lyft cars.

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Even more telling, as CityLab notes, is how much of the time these ride-share cars are on the road without passengers. In four of the six metro areas studied, roughly 45 percent of miles on the road for ride-share vehicles are spent either waiting to be hailed (P1) or driving to pick up a passenger (P2). The exceptions are Seattle, where riderless miles account for around 70 percent, and Los Angeles, where more than 75 percent of miles are spent with passengers in the car.

A lot of ride-share miles are spent without passengers in the car. Credit: Fehr & Peers

Chris Pangilinan, Uber's Head of Global Policy for Public Transportation, addressed the study in a blog post, conceding that "TNCs are likely contributing to an increase in congestion" but taking care to point out that "its scale is dwarfed by that of private cars and commercial traffic."

In a joint statement put out by both companies, Peter Day, Lyft's Head of Policy Research Analytics, said:

"Since day one, Lyft has been focused on increasing vehicle occupancy and reducing the dependence on car ownership. As we continue to pursue that goal, it's critical that we have a realistic understanding of the impact our industry has on our cities and urban mobility. Rideshare has improved lives for riders and drivers around the country. With this insight, we're better informed of ways we can partner with cities on proven policies to reduce VMT and improve mobility for all" 

Like Pangilinan's blog, there was a sideways acknowledgement of congestion issues in the joint statement, which acknowledged "rideshare's higher prevalence in urban cores."

SEE ALSO: Here’s why you don’t get paired with that Uber car you see on the map

That Pangilinan drills home the point that ride-share traffic from Uber and Lyft accounts for such a small share of miles on these cities' streets makes sense: congestion from their cars has led to a cap on the number of ride-share cars allowed on roads in New York City as well as new rules regarding congestion charges in London.

Still, despite calls for ride-share caps or new congestion fees in some of the above cities, there's no indication that any of them will follow New York City's lead in the near future. So prepare to see more and more ride-share cars on those city streets.

UPDATE: Aug. 6, 2019, 1:37 p.m. EDT Updated to include joint statement and quote from Lyft.

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