Regarding an increase in pedestrian fatalities as ride hailing services have become available, a reader writes:
I think you need to provide some evidence that the number of vehicle trips has increased with ride hailing, and even better, that the increase matches the curve for increased accidents. My bet is that it does not, and that instead, we are actually seeing an increase in accidents per mile driven or per trip.
From the study summary:
Ride-hailing services also seem to have increased a number of driving-related costs, including vehicle miles traveled, gasoline consumption, and traffic congestion, as measured by annual hours on the road. These increases likely are derived in part from the number of ride-hailing vehicles on the road. Drivers are subsidized by their companies to remain on the road even during lulls in demand. An increase in ride hailing was also associated with a dip in the use of public transportation in large metro areas, suggesting that some riders substitute ride-hailing services for public transportation.
However, they provide neither numbers nor graph. It’s unsurprising that, whichever metric is best to use, it has increased: drivers and their companies want revenue, and you won’t get it sitting at home or in a bar.
