Evidence that Uber, Lyft reduce car ownership

ANN ARBOR-In areas where Uber, Lyft and other on-demand ride services operate, consumers may buy fewer cars and even take fewer trips, according to a new study. The findings are among the first to quantify how the uptick in transportation networking companies might be affecting consumer behavior. Researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, Texas A&M Transportation Institute and Columbia University surveyed more than 1,200 people in Austin, Texas, to examine how their habits changed after Uber and Lyft pulled drivers out of the city due to a local law change. In May 2016, Austin voters blocked a ballot measure that would have allowed the companies to keep using their own background-check systems. "On-demand, ride-sourcing services have grown tremendously in the last decade and they promise a host of potential public benefits-reduced energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, easing of road congestion, as well as affordability, and accessibility," said Robert Hampshire, a professor at UMTRI and lead author of the new study. "However, we've yet to see empirical evidence of these benefits in the research literature. The suspension of services in Austin provided for a natural experiment to measure its impact on travel behavior." The researchers looked for changes in the choice of transportation mode, trip frequency and vehicle ownership.