Dills: Uber, Lyft boost safety

Dr. Angela Dills, associate professor of economics at Providence College, recently co-authored a report that found ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft lower the rate of fatal accidents, DUI arrests, disorderly conduct and assaults.

What inspired you and your co-author to take a deeper look at ride-sharing services?

We started working on this project last summer. We had been reading many news reports about the dangers of ride-sharing services. Much of the coverage suggested that applications such as Uber and Lyft increased accidents and crime through increased interaction of strangers and greater driver distraction. My co-author and I wanted to evaluate these claims by looking more carefully at county-level data nationwide.

What were the main findings of your ride-sharing report?

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We find that Uber’s entry lowers the arrest rate for driving under the influence and reduces fatal vehicle accidents; it likely also reduces arrests for assault and disorderly conduct. The results present a consistent story of people having more, and often times easier, ways of getting home and off the streets after having too much to drink to drive. The story supports the theory that voluntary, market transactions are generally civilized and civilizing.

In your opinion, do the benefits of ride-sharing services outweigh the negatives (i.e., lack of regulation, background checks on drivers)?

Yes. Occupational licensing tends to benefit existing providers (here, the taxi and limousine industries) through increased prices with no net benefits to consumers. This is equally true for the ride-sharing industry. Consumers’ ability to respond quickly to problems works more effectively than the government’s ability to predict and prevent problematic providers.

What are your predictions for the future of ride sharing?

Application-based ride-sharing is disrupting a heavily regulated industry – in ways that our study suggests are beneficial to consumers and to public safety. We hope that many of the regulations supported by special interests of existing transportation options do not become law, or if they do, do not stifle the clear benefit realized by ride-sharing drivers and passengers. •

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