Lyft and Uber: you control bike share in SF. Now what?

John Zimmer
Co-Founder and President, Lyft

Dara Khosrowshahi
CEO, Uber

Dear John and Dara,

An Uber driver spat on me.

I was biking down Eighth Street in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood during rush hour about two years ago. Car traffic was at a standstill. Ahead of me, a car with the ubiquitous Uber sticker in its back windshield suddenly pulled into the bike lane, speeding in between parked cars and traffic, coming within inches of hitting two people on bikes in the process. I caught up to the car at the next light and made eye contact with the driver. I motioned for him to roll down his window. He did, and then spat in my face before I could say a word, speeding away again as the light turned green.

Believe me, I know that the behavior of one jerk driving an Uber doesn’t represent the behavior of all Lyft and Uber drivers, just as the bad behavior of one person biking doesn’t mean everyone who bikes is a rule-breaker. But the tension that exists in our city between Lyft and Uber drivers and people using our bike lanes is undeniable.

My experience with that Uber driver in 2016 would be impossible today because there is now a protected bike lane for the entire length of Eighth Street. People driving are separated from people biking by transit boarding islands, parked cars and Ford GoBike stations.

Many similar improvements have been made to streets across our city in the 12 years I’ve been biking in San Francisco. The advocacy of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, of which I have been a member for over a decade and am now proud to lead, has more than doubled the number of people biking in that time. We also championed our city’s adoption of Vision Zero and the establishment of an affordable and accessible bike share system, among many other victories.

Mixed in with those successes, I’ve also seen some aspects of biking in our city get worse. Transportation network companies (TNCs) like Lyft and Uber — the companies you run — add thousands of additional cars to San Francisco’s streets every day, and those drivers are flagrantly disregarding the law and creating unsafe conditions. The number one complaint we hear from our over-10,000 members is illegal loading and unloading in our city’s bike lanes. People biking are regularly forced into fast-moving car traffic because people driving for your services consistently break the law. Every day, people tweet and email us photos of your vehicles in bike lanes, hoping that somehow we can help. We’re doing our part, advocating for policies that protect people on bikes. Will you do yours by ensuring your drivers follow the rules of the road?

Recently, your companies have aimed your ambitions beyond cars. It’s clear that you both seek to expand your platforms to absorb all modes of transportation. Lyft’s recent announcement that it was purchasing Motivate, the leading operator of bike share systems in North America (including Ford GoBike in San Francisco) followed right on the heels of Uber’s recent acquisition of JUMP, a stationless electric-assist bike share system active in several US cities, including San Francisco.

Now that both of your companies are welcoming users on bikes, it’s time to step up and take real and meaningful responsibility for the safety impact you are having on San Francisco’s streets. Just a few days ago, John, you made some bold and public commitments outlining Lyft’s support for Vision Zero. It is now time for both of your companies to move beyond words and take concrete action.

If Uber and Lyft are serious about safety for their users and people who bike, you will take the following steps:

• Expand geofencing to restrict passenger pick-up and drop-off along heavily traveled bike routes and known high-injury corridors
• Utilize telemetry data to discourage deadly driving behaviors like speeding and combat distracted driving by limiting access to your apps while drivers are operating a motor vehicle
• Provide comprehensive education for all drivers that covers safely sharing the road with people who bike
• Share meaningful operational data with cities so they can better plan to manage congestion and improve safety
• Pay your fair share for the impact that additional traffic caused by your companies has on our city’s streets
• Advocate for more protected bike lanes, encourage people to get out of cars and grow the number of people who use non-automotive transportation

I also invite you to go on a bike ride with me. I’d love to show you how your employees and users navigate the streets of San Francisco on two wheels and the dangers they face from your operations.

For the health of our planet and the health of our cities, we must reduce the number of car trips, not grow them. The future of urban transportation is people-powered. Welcome to the movement.

Sincerely,

Brian Wiedenmeier
Executive Director
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition

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