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This op-ed by the BC Green Party’s Andrew Weaver outlines Green thinking about ride-sharing (Uber, Lyft) in BC.
[Update]: Mr. Weaver has released THIS on his web site, which includes THIS LINK to his draft legislation. He’s looking for comments and other input on it. Cue the spirited defence of the taxi industry and detailed comparisons of regulations.
Hint: he likes the idea. And he’s going to push his priority, in a first test of just how much it means to hold the balance of power.
We are in an unprecedented era of technological innovation. Just a decade after the launch of the iPhone, three quarters of Canadians now have a smartphone in their pockets. Last year, new installations of emissions-free power surpassed fossil fuel for the first time. We are only three years away from millions of self-driving cars hitting our streets.
While it can be tempting to view such dramatic technological shifts as either thrilling or terrifying, the truth is the effects of new technology are complex. To take self-driving cars as an example, we can expect to see positive impacts such as a reduction in emissions, less congestion and fewer accidents, but we will also see a significant loss of jobs as taxis and trucks become automated.Uber goes driverless
Government cannot stick its head in the sand and hope the effects of these technological shifts sort themselves out. What is needed is a proactive, responsive approach that considers the wide ranging impacts of these changes, and a government that crafts innovative policies that will ensure British Columbia stays on the cutting edge of technological adoption.
That’s why, this October, I will re-introduce ride-sharing enabling legislation, a bill I first introduced in 2016.
He always seemed like a smart guy, but if he really thinks encouraging more people to get around by car will reduce congestion then maybe he isn’t so smart.
But it’s ride-sharing. It reduces car-dependence by making it more convenient to get by without owning a car. And it’s much more green than traditional taxi services because it picks up/drops off multiple people on the way (like how jitneys used to work) and because they don’t spend lots of time driving around unoccupied looking for passengers.
That’s not how Uber currently works. If multiple people are picked up along the way then you enter a social situation that could go either way. You could meet you future lover, or have a chatterbox sitting next to you who applies a litre of perfume and who voted for Trump. What if you get in the car to discover fresh vomit?
I’d rather live in a walkable neighbourhood and take the train.
Newman and Kenworthy’s research indicates that the best way to reduce emissions (and per capita energy consumption with a number of other things) is to build more transit, specifically rail, and develop compact urban form.
Ride sharing presumes car dependency will continue, if at a slightly reduced level. If the Metro’s 1.5 million cars were nuked in favour of ride sharing AVs, you would still probably have a million cars rolling along, and the vast road network will remain largely as it is.
The discussion on AVs seem to Segway into AEVs often, like they are the glory and the truth. However, some recent research indicates that converting the world’s fleet of ICE vehicles to EVs, autonomous or not, will result in the quick depletion of lithium, cobalt and copper. Even a partial conversion will be problematic from a resource depletion perspective
It always comes back to walking, biking and taking transit, and the numbers prove it.
This is a long read, but sobering:
https://damnthematrix.wordpress.com/2017/08/07/lithiums-limits-to-growth/
You would still notice a 1/3 reduction in the number of cars. One thing you would notice would be a drop in the demand for parking, which allows parking lots to be used for other things (housing, commercial space, greenspace). It would allow cities to reduce or eliminate minimum parking requirements for both residential and commercial buildings.
I agree that we will still have to have a robust transit system, we still need to invest aggressively in rapid transit in Metro Vancouver. Uber is not going to be the silver bullet to transportation problems but it will be one piece of the puzzle.
Was referring to this line from linked op ed, ” To take self-driving cars as an example, we can expect to see positive impacts such as a reduction in emissions, less congestion and fewer accidents”
I support this…
When was the last time you tried getting a cab in downtown Vancouver on a weekend?
And the skytrain is a joke, it closes before the bars.