New York City and Boston are night and day when it comes to ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Lyft. New York is engaged in a fierce policy debate about the apps, amid fears they are contributing to crippling congestion and exploiting drivers. In Boston and at the MBTA, meanwhile, the issue is largely on […]
Lyft
Posted inTransportation
Uber, Lyft expanding to bikes, scooters
Uber and Lyft are expanding their vision of ride-sharing to include not just cars but bicycles, electric bicycles, and electric scooters. Uber jumped in first, adding the electric bikeshare company Jump to its app earlier this year in San Francisco and then acquiring the company outright in March for an estimated $100 million. Lyft earlier […]
Posted inThe Back Story
Ride-hailing apps rule at Logan
RIDE-HAILING APPS such as Uber and Lyft are now the leading way passengers get to and from Logan International Airport, an indication of how rapidly their popularity is growing. According to statistics compiled by the Massachusetts Port Authority, the ride-hailing apps have gone from handling 11 percent of pickups and dropoffs in 2016 to 21.4 […]
Posted inThe Download
Uber vs. the T
A new poll of 944 Massachusetts users of ride-hailing apps indicated that services like Uber and Lyft are adding to congestion on the roads and drawing passengers away from public transit. The poll was conducted by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, which last fall equipped 10 drivers for ride-hailing apps with tablets that allowed their […]
Posted inEconomy
Rosenberg suggests House to blame for Airbnb inaction
SEN. STAN ROSENBERG chastised his fellow lawmakers on Thursday for dithering for years while the short-term rental industry embedded itself in the market and grew unencumbered by regulations and the lodging tax “It’s not going away, technology is not going away,” said Rosenberg, who was part of a CommonWealth magazine Newsmakers panel discussing how Beacon Hill […]
Posted inTransportation
Uber, Lyft changing traffic patterns at Logan
RIDE-SHARING SERVICES appear to be changing traffic patterns at Logan International Airport, boosting the number of people paying for chauffeured services while causing a slight drop in the use of private cars, rental cars, and public transportation. Data compiled by the Massachusetts Port Authority indicate the number of people using ride-share services, taxis, and limos […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download, Transportation
The Codcast: Ride-sharing regs redux
After several years of fits and stops, the Legislature finally passed a bill last summer that would regulate transportation network companies such as Uber and Lyft with an eye on safety for passengers. While lawmakers gave the Department of Public Utilities a pretty big canvas to paint their regulations on, they mandated a few set-in-stone parameters […]
Posted inTransportation
Drivers urge DPU to alter background checks
EDWARD HARUNK SAID driving for Uber gave him the flexibility to take care of his sick wife and bring her to doctor’s appointments whenever she needed. “Being an Uber driver enabled me, as a sole caregiver, to set my own time and allowed me to focus on my wife’s challenges,” the 59-year-old Wellesley resident, a […]
Posted inTransportation
Logan passengers can now get a Lyft
MASSPORT HAS REACHED an agreement with Lyft to allow the ride-hailing company to operate out of Logan Airport, a move that paves the way for other transportation network companies such as Uber to pick up passengers at the terminals and take one of the last remaining lucrative routes away from Boston cabbies. “This is something […]
Posted inThe Back Story, Transportation
Logan inching toward agreement with Uber, Lyft
Massport is quietly trying to fashion new regulations to open up Logan Airport to all ride-hailing drivers but, six months after passage of a state law paving the way for transportation network companies such as Uber and Lyft to operate, the sides are still unable to reach an agreement. A Massport spokeswoman said the bill […]