On Tuesday, I took my first ride in an Uber taxi to my night class on Science Hill. Within a minute of requesting my ride through Uber’s iPhone app, Jose Perez pulled up to the intersection of Grove and Prospect in his black Toyota Camry.
“Hi, Rachel?” He said through the window. “Do you want to sit up here?” he said, gesturing to the passenger seat. “You can shift the chair back if you like.”
The black leather interior of Perez’s car was clean except for two plastic water bottles in the front seat cup holders. Perez wore a checkered button-down, faded jeans, and a Bluetooth tucked over his ear.
While driving up Prospect Street, Perez told me that he had been working for another cab company (which he preferred not to name) when he heard about Uber and decided to apply for the job. He’s been driving for the company for about three months.
“I’ve never been this happy in my life,” he said.
Uber and a similar ridesharing company called Lyft hit the streets of New Haven this past April. These two companies are among a small handful of web-based services that allow passengers to find drivers with a smartphone app that tracks where the nearest rides are located. Uber and Lyft drivers have the option of using their own personal cars to transport passengers.
These alternative taxi services may be quick, easy, and user-friendly, but many have reservations surrounding the safety of their services. Laurence Grotheer, director of communications for the mayor’s office, said that mayor Toni Harp has “serious concerns” about the arrival of this new generation of taxi services in New Haven. Uber and Lyft aren’t licensed in the same way as traditional cab companies like Metro Taxi, calling into question passenger safety, driver safety, and even insurance requirements for the vehicles used by those drivers.
Uber and Lyft drivers aren’t obligated to serve all areas of the city, either. “Frankly, there’s the potential for discrimination,” Grotheer said.
Transportation deficiencies in New Haven are under scrutiny after DataHaven, a public information non-profit, administered a Well Being survey in 2012 that found that two percent of New Haven households have “no reliable vehicle” available. Consequently, those residents are denied access to about half the jobs in the greater New Haven area. Uber and Lyft may expand the options available and improve quality of cab services, but increasing and improving taxi services may not address transit problems plaguing New Haven residents.
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Uber and Lyft are revolutionizing the way taxi services operate, Perez said. With his old company, riders could identify their driver only by their car number, but Uber allows passengers to see a photo of their driver, their driver’s name, the make and model of the car, and their driver’s location even before the car arrives.
“With my other company, you would wait and wait and wait,” Perez said. “Ten, 20, 30 minutes later—maybe that car never shows up. But with Uber, you can see your driver and even contact them through a private number.”
Perez said that Uber might actually relieve the pressure placed on cab drivers, thus encouraging safer driving practices. “With my old company, you were so stressed about paying a high lease to the company so they could make their payment,” he said. “With Uber, we pay them a percentage out of whatever we make, so we’re not in that stressed mode. We’re not hurrying to pick up either because we can just call that person if we’ll be late.”
Because Uber and Lyft provide a streamlined system for both drivers and passengers, traditional cab companies fear that web-based ride providers will force them out of business. In an article in the New Haven Register, Bill Scalzi, founder and president of Metro Taxi called those services “the biggest threat [his] industry has ever seen.” Some say that this competition is for the better. James Walker, metro editor for the New Haven Register, turned to Uber for his Saturday night commute after being twice deserted by Metro Taxi. In an op-ed in the Register, he wrote, “Uber and Lyft didn’t form because everyone is happy and satisfied that the transportation in place works for everyone.”
But even Uber and Lyft fall short in bridging New Haven’s transportation gap.
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According to Mark Abraham, PC ‘04, Datahaven’s Executive Director, growth in suburban areas surrounding New Haven since the 1970s and 80s has exacerbated problems caused by transportation deficiencies. “There are still many jobs located in the city, but there are even more in the suburbs—especially the type of low-wage or entry-level jobs that tend to be more accessible to younger New Haven residents or those with fewer educational credentials,” he said in an interview with the Herald.
Transportation difficulties impact different populations in different ways. Limited access might hinder a New Haven resident looking for a job, Abraham said, but something as simple as “poor pedestrian infrastructure” might also challenge a family with a small child or elderly person simply trying to cross a busy street.
“It depends a lot on your perspective,” Abraham said.
Services such as Uber and Lyft might cater to a population that isn’t as impacted by transportation shortages on a day-to-day basis. In an interview with the Herald, Deanna Song, ES ’16, a Dwight Hall Urban Fellow said, “I’ve seen a lot of students trying [Uber] out, but I’m not sure if it targets the right population since most commuters need constant access to their mode of transportation.”
Uber and Lyft aren’t much cheaper than regular taxi services either, Song said, so it’s unlikely that these companies will reduce costs for low-income residents.
Abraham said census data suggest that only a small fraction of the population uses taxi and rental services on a daily basis, so Uber, Lyft, and Zipcar probably won’t impact commuting to and from work. Because transportation needs are so great, however, they might play a role in “the larger equation,” perhaps providing better access to short trips and occasional errands.
By comparison, improvements in the bus system would have more universal impact, Song said.
“I’m not sure a subway system would be feasible,” she said. “Expanding the areas buses cover and improving the frequency at which they run would be a really great way to start addressing people’s transportation needs.” The time that buses run is especially crucial, she said, since many bus routes already reach far outside New Haven but aren’t active often enough to be of use to many commuters. The most efficient solutions to the transportation gap might be to maximize the reach of existing systems.
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The city already has several initiatives underway to reevaluate existing infrastructure. Officials are studying traffic patterns to investigate if one-way streets are the most effective use of street space. Curb extensions are being implemented to help narrow roads, calm traffic, and encourage slower speeds. “Smart” parking meters, which can be reloaded remotely through a smartphone app, will encourage meter compliance.
Mayor Harp and city legislators are also currently working on making existing transportation options safer through a “vulnerable users law” meant to protect commuters such as bicyclists and pedestrians as they travel around the city. “The hope is not only to better defend such commuters, but also to encourage environmentally-friendly modes of transport,” Grotheer said.
Officials are also exploring the possibility of expanding mass transit.
“The mayor wants the Board of Alders to consider joining her in applying for a grant to study the feasibility of a light rail system in New Haven.” Grotheer said. In the meantime, however, there are ongoing talks of creating a metro center from which all buses will depart and altering bus routes to run around the periphery of the city rather than passing through downtown.
Uber, Lyft, and other web-based cab alternatives will have to work with local legislation to determine how to appropriately comply with existing transportation policies. But while these new services don’t necessarily meet the needs of New Haven residents struggling with day-to-day commutes, they do represent burgeoning innovations to enlarge and improve the city’s access to the Greater New Haven area. Though the arrival of Uber and Lyft may be anticlimactic in that they serve only a small slice of the city’s population, they prompt a conversation about the need for transportation reform that may indeed lead to solutions that serve the diverse needs of the New Haven community at large.