City Proposes Uber And Lyft To Replace Buses

I’ve already made my disgust with the gig economy and Uber in particular pretty clear. Their modus operandi is to go into an area, usually violating local rules and/or ordinances, and then dare local officials to shut them down. So it is really distressing to see Arlington, Virginia actually planning to supplant current public transport under a proposed plan with Uber and Lyft. The plan would involve using some kind of carpool service such as UberPool of LyftLine to service residents in more remote areas and deliver them to transit hubs such as rail or subway stations. In addition, certain bus routes that do not get substantial ridership as well as off-hours service on other routes would be supplanted by the carpool service under this plan. Even worse, Arlington is planning to subsidize these rides. Even with those subsidies, you have to wonder whether this service will cater to wealthier residents as opposed to lower income riders. Rather than using Uber or Lyft, perhaps Arlington could expand its taxi service or offer its own on-demand vans to accomplish exactly what Uber and Lyft would be providing. But, once again, it looks like another public good will be turned over to private enterprise.