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Could Driverless Cars Cause More Congestion in Urban Cores?
The world of transportation is constantly evolving. The newest transformation being autonomous vehicles. So, how are traffic conditions and transit options affected by the dawn of the driverless car era?
A new study suggests these vehicles might create more traffic congestion in downtown areas, as more people are choosing ride-hailing services in lieu of public transit. The Boston-based World Economic Forum and Boston Consulting Group’s study aimed to show that “as the cost of using services such as Uber and Lyft comes down because the companies no longer need to pay drivers, people who take mass transit will opt for door-to-door service rather than the bus or subway.”
With a less time and resource consuming service, consumers today are more inclined to choose the more convenient transportation option, giving rise to ride-hailing services’ popularity. These companies are providing people with time and efficiency.
“There, the trade-off is instead of sitting in traffic for a 10-mile trip, and dealing with it myself and paying $30 for parking in the city every day, I could invest those $30 in the ride service and use the time productively,” said Augustin Wegscheider, one of the report’s authors. And, in today’s day and age, productivity is key to success.
For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Zoe Stutman
