Takeaways from Uber’s Roundtable on Addressing Congestion

On September 23rd, 2020, the Uber Policy team hosted an invitation-only roundtable to address long standing concerns about congestion, which is still present during COVID. More than a dozen senior officials from cities, public transit agencies, academia, and national organizations came together to better understand how COVID-19 has impacted urban mobility including congestion issues affecting our cities, explore best practices to address some of the negative externalities, and lay out the next steps in creating a public-private partnership. This initial discussion largely focused on the following seven key themes:

Key Consensus Themes

• The transportation industry is universally hit hard by COVID-19 but congestion is already rebounding
• COVID-19 induced split between remote and essential workers has significantly altered travel demand
• COVID-19 has exacerbated the vulnerabilities in our public transit system
• Public agencies have been given license to experiment and pilot more centering on equity
• Unprecedented collaboration among public agencies and their local communities
• We must approach the issue of congestion together, no single agency/company can solve it on their own
• How Uber can partner with cities to help address congestion

The transportation industry is universally hit hard by COVID-19

The impacts of COVID-19 have been felt by all mobility operators, whether public or private, local, regional, national or global. Ridership and revenues have dropped precipitously as riders reduce or curtail nonessential travel, shift to remote work where possible, and avoid shared modes due to perceived or actual risks of infection. In a troubling sign for the future, we are already seeing a rebound in traffic congestion, suggesting a shift away from less congesting and more sustainable modes of travel. This is a dire situation for mobility operators that may linger even after the pandemic is over.

The split between remote and essential workers has significantly altered travel demand

COVID-19 has radically altered the balance between remote workers, non-workers, and essential workers in our economies, leading to visible impacts on travel demand patterns. Remote workers generally can work from the safety of their home, eliminating peak period public transit or carpooling demand. On the other hand, essential workers are traveling more and sometimes switching to private cars when transit and multimodal options are inadequate. Such jobs tend to be lower income, and located in neighborhoods where some cities have observed higher traffic volumes than in higher income areas where more remote workers likely live. The long-term impacts on our workforce recovery and travel patterns, especially public transit usage, remain to be seen.

COVID has exacerbated the vulnerabilities in our public transit system

US public transit systems generally are designed around the peak and downtown commuter, are chronically under-funded, and in many cities, are a primary mobility option for the most economically vulnerable. With many office based employees working from home, and shops and restaurants closed, far fewer people traveled to downtown, or throughout cities on transit in general. Some transit agencies have reduced service accordingly, leaving those who still rely on public transit with fewer options. Conversely, other agencies have redesigned their services by focusing on essential workers’ origins and destinations like hospitals, factories and other locations, and improving service outside of normal AM and PM commute times. However, frequency of service is still an issue, and the longevity of these designs is in question post-COVID-19 as future funding sources remain unclear.

Public agencies have greater license to experiment, with an increased focus on equity

One welcome response to this unprecedented crisis has been the relaxation of some bureaucratic processes, allowing cities and transportation agencies to be more nimble and try new ideas in real-time. Many of these ideas have involved repurposing private car infrastructure for other uses that have seen more demand during the pandemic: slow streets, protected cycle tracks and transit lanes, curbside pickup, and outdoor dining, to name a few. The current situation has brought these pilots and changes to fruition with unprecedented speed, while also underscoring the need for an equity-centered approach to avoid perpetuating or further exacerbating existing inequalities in our cities.

Unprecedented collaboration among public agencies and their local communities

While many of the obstacles are internal bureaucracy and siloed processes, states, regions and cities are working much closer together to free up resources and target initiatives that can provide cover and scale to these temporary interventions. In addition, localities are having difficult conversations centered around equity and racial justice — where real innovation is less about the lanes and parklets, and more about new ways of co-creating and collaborating with the communities they serve. Several participants mentioned that this approach would also be necessary to address the congestion issues for their cities.

We must approach the issue of congestion together, and no single agency can solve it on their own

Even though different public and private stakeholders in the mobility space have different priorities, budgets, and operating models, all are affected by congestion in some way. No single agency or company can solve the complex jigsaw puzzle that is urban traffic congestion, and every entity has their part to play in addressing congestion. A collaborative, multi-pronged approach may include:

• Tools that directly reduce traffic congestion. In cities from Stockholm to London to Singapore, cordon or congestion pricing has been proven to reduce traffic by charging for road space. Similarly, rationalizing the cost of parking at peak times in downtown areas can help disincentivize single-occupant driving, while devoting more curb space to dedicated pick-up, drop-off, and freight loading zones can help reduce double-parking that obstructs traffic flow.
• Facilitating and supporting a shift to shared and active modes. In most cities, the private automobile is the most convenient and comfortable way to get around. By making sustainable alternatives more convenient, accessible, and competitive, people will have less incentive to drive by themselves. This is particularly important for first-last mile travel, where the lack of options could be the primary driver for private car ownership. This can be accomplished directly by adding dedicated transit lanes and contiguous protected bike lane networks, designating new “slow streets,” and improving transit coverage and frequency. In the longer run, changes to land use policies and the built environment allowing denser, mixed-use development will allow more people to access their needs within a short walk, bike, or scooter trip.
• Incentivizing alternatives to peak-period travel. Mobility is vital to lives and livelihoods, but some trips can be foregone or shifted with minimal impact. As we’ve learned during the pandemic, remote work is a viable option for many companies, and encouraging employers to continue this practice at some level (by allowing work-from-home, staggered and flexible hours, and the like) will help reduce peak-hour commuting. Restricting freight deliveries during peak commute hours in city centers will also help improve traffic flow.

Next steps: How Uber can partner with cities to address congestion

Although participants in the roundtable discussion represented a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives, they generally agreed that partnering with Uber to address congestion would be mutually beneficial — particularly as travel and traffic continue to rebound through the end of the pandemic. The specific form of these partnerships, and Uber’s role in them, are in active discussions. Uber is committed to working with public agencies and other stakeholders to help solve the congestion puzzle.