How Carpooling Can Optimize Urban Environments in the United States

‍Uber’s One Less Car Trial

Car ownership costs are at an all-time high, impacting finances, health, and city life. To encourage a “car-light lifestyle”, Uber has launched the One Less Car trial: a 5-week challenge for 175 participants in the U.S. and Canada to give up their cars and use alternative transportation like walking, public transit, cycling, and rideshare (Gromis, 2024). 

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Participants range from cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington D.C., Miami, San Francisco, Toronto, and Vancouver. Uber has provided $1,000 to each participant to cover transportation costs, and the Behavioural Insights Team will document their experiences. The goal here is to show the benefits of leading a life that is less dependent on cars, the largest impact being the liveability of cities. Considering the current state of traffic congestion in the United States, this can be seen as a necessary objective. 

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Urban traffic congestion is an exponentially growing problem, exacerbated by the increasing number of people moving to cities (Martinez, 2015). The U.S. has the highest number of traffic deaths among wealthy countries, with over 38,000 deaths annually between 2015 and 2019. This death rate is more than double the average in other wealthy countries, with vehicle crashes being a leading cause of death in the U.S. (Scientific American, 2024).

Population increase in these areas is not only at fault, however, it is the way that urban spaces are designed. Cities in the US increasingly belong to cars, pedestrians being pushed to the margins of the streets (or sidewalks, if there are any). Not being a priority when urban spaces are planned puts pedestrians lives at risk, where they comprise 15% of traffic fatalities but only 10% of trips (ibid). Increased traffic not only puts those who walk at risk, but it also is an inconvenience for those who are driving. 

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According to INRIX, 78% of the urban areas studied globally saw increased traffic delays in 2023, wherein New York City experienced the worst congestion among U.S. cities.

The top 10 U.S. cities with the worst traffic delays in 2023 include:

1. New York City
2. Chicago, Ill.
3. Los Angeles, Calif.
4. Boston, Mass.
5. Miami, Fla.
6. Philadelphia, Pa.
7. Washington D.C.
8. Houston, Texas
9. Atlanta, Ga.
10. Seattle, Wash.​​

Chicago, the No. 2 city for traffic delays in the U.S., ranked No. 5 globally after Paris. Chicago drivers lost 96 hours to traffic in 2023, amounting to $1,672 in lost time and a total congestion cost of $6.1 billion for the city (Fernandez, 2024). Thus, it seems reducing the amount of cars off the road has benefits for all types of commuters. 

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Potential Reduction in Traffic from Increased Carpooling

At this point we are well aware of the mantra regarding the environmental benefits of carpooling: reduced carbon emissions and better air quality. But let’s bring in some relevant examples of what this looks like in the case of the United States. 

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Using carpooling options from companies like Uber and Lyft could reduce the number of vehicles on the road by a factor of three without significantly impacting travel time (Connor-Simons, 2017). Researchers from MIT highlights the potential of high-capacity ride-sharing to alleviate urban congestion. Their study developed an algorithm for efficient ride-sharing with vehicles, particularly suited for fleets of autonomous vehicles in smart city transportation systems, proving how beneficial ride-sharing is with advanced optimization techniques (Alonso-Mora et al, 2017). 

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In New York City, for example, this algorithm found that 3,000 four-passenger cars could meet 98% of taxi demand with an average wait time of only 2.7 minutes. This means that if more New Yorkers opted for a carpool, the city would need significantly fewer taxis to serve the same number of people.

Reducing the amount of cars on the roads reduces emissions, which increases the air quality for all residents. For reference: a typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 metric tons of CO² per year, assuming an average fuel economy of about 22.2 miles per gallon and driving around 11,500 miles annually. Every gallon of gasoline burned creates about 8,887 grams of CO² (EPA). The COVID-19 lockdowns provided an unintended experiment on the impact of reduced on-road emissions. Arter et al. (2024) estimated that traffic emissions cause about 79,400 premature deaths annually in the U.S. During the 2020 lockdowns, reduced traffic likely prevented around 9,300 deaths, highlighting the need for ongoing emission reduction policies.

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How Can We Change this?

To truly address urban traffic congestion, we must consider redesigning our cities. Many U.S. cities have ample space for parking and wide, multi-lane “stroads” that prioritize vehicle speed over pedestrian safety. However, expanding streets only encourages more driving, which increases traffic.

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Drawing inspiration from the Netherlands, U.S. cities can design or redesign streets to make driving less attractive. This includes creating more pedestrian-friendly spaces and implementing measures to slow down traffic. By discouraging driving and promoting alternative transportation options, cities can become less car-dependent and more liveable. Carpooling fits in perfectly in this reconfiguration of urban spaces, emphasizing the possibility of car-sharing in a futuristic, pedestrian prioritizing imagination. 

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Cars cause noise, pollution, accidents, and worsen mental health, especially with long commutes. They consume space, create traffic, and degrade urban life. Despite these issues, cars are a market economy success, symbolizing freedom and enabling quick travel. They require significant investment and infrastructure. However, what we are highlighting in this article is the ways in which urban spaces might benefit from fewer cars. This can be achieved through road pricing, taxes, promoting alternatives like bikes and public transport, or most importantly: carpooling.

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Bibliography

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Alonso-Mora, J., Samaranayake, S., Wallar, A., Frazzoli, E., & Rus, D. (2017). On-demand high-capacity ride-sharing via dynamic trip-vehicle assignment. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(3), 462–467.

‍https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1611675114

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Arter, C. A., Buonocore, J. J., Isakov, V., Pandey, G., & Arunachalam, S. (2024). Air pollution benefits from reduced on-road activity due to COVID-19 in the United States. PNAS Nexus, 3(1), pgae017.

‍https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae017

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Connor-Simons, A. (2017, January 4). How ride-sharing can improve traffic, save money, and help the environment. MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

‍https://news.mit.edu/2016/how-ride-sharing-can-improve-traffic-save-money-and-help-environment-0104

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Editors, T. (2024, May 1). We Need to Make Cities Less Car-Dependent. Scientific American.

‍https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/we-need-to-make-cities-less-car-dependent/

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Fernandez, C. (2024, June 26). U.S. drivers lost 42 hours—a full work week—to traffic in 2023: Congestion “hinders economic growth,” expert says. CNBC. 

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/26/most-congested-united-states-cities-inrix-2023-report.html

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Gromis, A. (2024). Introducing the One Less Car Challenge. Uber Newsroom.

‍https://www.uber.com/newsroom/one-less-car/

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Martínez, E. (2015, April 4). American cities are designed for cars—Which makes life worse for everyone. Quartz. 

https://qz.com/375745/american-cities-are-designed-for-cars-which-makes-life-worse-for-everyone

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Sissons, A. (2022, June 21). Taking the cars out of the cities. Medium.

‍https://acjsissons.medium.com/taking-the-cars-out-of-the-cities-16f35898ec44

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US EPA, O. (2016, January 12). Greenhouse Gas Emissions from a Typical Passenger Vehicle [Overviews and Factsheets]. https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/greenhouse-gas-emissions-typical-passenger-vehicle