Surge-taxing Uber as a way relieve urban congestion

[joey_bladb]

@doctorow

drivers are incentivized to come to the city-center despite the traffic (because that’s where the fares are) and riders are incentivized to skip public transit when there are a lot of cars around to hail with their apps.

This is even apparent here in Portland, OR – from 6-9pm, a line of Uber and Lyft vehicles basically shuts down incoming automobile traffic to the airport. It’s absolutely nuts. I wonder how we never saw this kind of phenomenon when there were just taxis? I suppose airports etc. had rules for taxi cabs which are not applicable to Uber?