People find ways of adapting to change. Remember when public transport was extremely slow and had lots of people so that you couldn’t even breathe? Do you also remember that taxi driver basically robbing you by making you pay an extremely unfair price on your fare?
Then you must have been happy when services like Uber and Lyft, or Bla Bla Car in Europe, first appeared? And while many people who start browsing the internet usually browse YouTube, or look for The most luxurious casino destinations in the world, this article is dedicated to those of you who are interested in the impact Uber and Lyft have on our environment. So, what is their environmental impact? Are they helping to save the environment or making everything worse? Stay tuned to find out.
Sharing is Caring
There is a reason as to why this saying is so popular and prevalent. Yes, giving someone that last piece of chocolate, even though you really wanted it, is a great thing to do. Not only do you get the satisfaction of giving someone that last piece, but also getting that warm and fuzzy feeling of sharing and empathy in practice. In order to show empathy to the environment, we should be using public transport or other ways of sharing a transport. This is where Uber and similar services come in. Why travel by yourself and spend lots of money on fuel, when you can travel with other people, share a ride, save fuel and the environment by traveling in a single car. Ideally, everyone would need to travel in a bus, as that reduces environmentally destructive emissions, but that is not a possible reality.
More Comfortable Bus Rides – A Different View on Car Sharing Services
Just like you would travel on a bus, sharing a car with someone would give you a first class experience, and you wouldn’t be on a bus. You are likely to rest more when traveling by car and you are likely to meet new people which you might stay in touch with. Who knows, your Uber driver might turn out to be the love of your life. The point is that by going with other people, driving with them, you do help save the environment.
Empty Car Sharing Cars Are a Problem
But what if nobody books a ride with you, and you end up going to your destination alone. Well, that would be the same as if you went alone without being an Uber driver. When a car is driven by a single person and the other seats are not occupied, it is wasting both money, fuel and damaging the environment. If all the other filled seats are going the same route, but in their own vehicles, then that is definitely having a bad impact on everyone.
Car Sharing Services Have Caused Protests
In some countries in the world, car sharing services have caused protests, most often from taxi drivers. The protests are often backed by reasons which are not realistic and based on the fact that most ridesharing drivers earn a lot more than taxi drivers. With that in mind, and the taxi drivers protesting, that means a lot of vehicles were out of work, and a lot of city streets were blocked, causing traffic to halt and emissions to rise.
For the most time, ridesharing services are helping the environment. There are occasions where they would not be helpful, but those are very rare and unlikely to happen.