Ridesharing goes where taxis won’t
The battle between the taxi industry with its pricey medallions and big unions and the ride-sharing world are brutal and taking place across the country, state by state, city by city. When the taxis win, the average consumer loses. This study showed that Uber is adding to low income transportation that taxis refuse to provide.
Among its many noteworthy findings is that UberX is growing rapidly in low-income neighborhoods. The report notes:
Of UberX rides in noncore Manhattan and non-airport zip codes in December, 60 percent were in zip codes with median household income below the noncore Manhattan median — up from 54 percent in January.
Taxi cabs won’t go into many low-income areas because they can’t make as much of a profit as they can in downtown Manhattan.
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The implications here are straightforward: The sharing economy is making a big difference by offering innovative solutions for individuals living in less busy or less affluent areas.
It’s a great example of how ingenuity can help those who had previously been left on the curb while access to much-needed aid drives right by. And let’s not forgot that ridesharing offers an abundance of good-paying, flexible jobs for young people in an economy where youth unemployment is 13.2 percent – and even higher among black and Hispanic youth.
Yet time and time again, we see the government stepping in to regulate ridesharing, rendering it less effective and less accessible to the people who need it.
Extreme commuting: When a 10-hour transcontinental flight is just another trip to the office
My how the world changes and how many people’s attitudes differ. As a kid, I was a military brat. My family moved every three years or so. Sometimes my father managed back-to-back assignments in the DC area, so we stayed in the same house for seven years. I think that kind of life was a gift that has affected my love of travel ever since.
Other friends of mine, facing a move from LA to Waco, Texas (well, that is a bit extreme), are doing everything to drag their feet and avoid the move. They don’t even have kids, just no interest in experiencing life in Texas. Go figure. However, some families facing such a choice do have families and it means uprooting children from school and reestablishing friendships. Many have no interest in such broadening experiences. Thus, we are finding that executives who can, often commute extreme distances in “sacrificing for their children.”
From my point of view, it is not a good deal to lose a parent only to avoid change. “Rooted” is a double-edged sword.
Data are relatively sparse, but nevertheless compelling. One study on relocation trends in the US from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that the rate of interstate relocations for jobs in 2013 had dropped 51 percent from its 1948-1971 average.
Another study conducted this year by the market research firm Barna Group found that nearly 60 percent of adults never plan to move, and out of the adults who did move, 42 percent moved for family, while just 28 percent relocated for a job. And this isn’t just an American phenomenon.
“Relocation is a problem for people,” said Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute in New York, which is currently studying this issue. “Men, in particular, are putting more value on being a good parent, not just a provider, and in some sense that might mean not moving their kids.”
Ten amazing things to do in NYC
Here are ten free or almost free things to do in New York City that even some locals don’t know about. If you don’t know all of these, click through to the Savvy Stews story to learn where to find them.
1. Two-story waterfall
2. The Berlin Wall
3. The Staten Island Ferry
4. Main Street Park in Brooklyn
5. The Brooklyn Bridge
6. NYC Rainforest
7. Times Square
8. Central Park
9. The Highline
10. The Standard
I knew you wouldn’t know them all. Enjoy the priceless discovery at very affordable costs.
Photo from Wikipedia
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.