How Cities Can Work With Uber And Lyft To Create Better Transportation Networks

Will your next public transit trip be in the back of an Uber? That might have seemed ridiculous in years past, when the company was less established, and more likely to be challenging city regulations as opposed to collaborating with municipal authorities.  But the increasing ubiquity of transportation networkcompanies (TNCs) such Lyft, as well as carshare and bikeshare companies, have made these services increasingly important parts of our urban transportation networks. City transit authorities aren’t seeing TNCs and emerging mobility companies as upstarts or disruptors,. They're potential partners who can offer cost-effective ways to expand service and reach underserved populations.

TransitCenter, a New York-based public policy research and advocacy group, examined how these new agreements are changing transportation, and their potential to reshape how we get around cities in the future. The result, Private Mobility, Public Interest, suggests the changing landscape will continue to introduce popular new transit technologies. Cities need to adapt, seek out mutually beneficial partnerships, and embrace rapid change.

"Partnerships have been coming out with increased frequency this past year," says Zak Accuardi, a program analyst with TransitCenter, during a press conference yesterday to discuss the report. "They’ve been happening so fast that even with a team here dedicated to conducting this research, it’s been hard to keep up. There’s a lot of confusion and concern over these services, and the exact role that they play."

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