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bigethan

Have you actually been in sf traffic in the uber/lyft world? My observations from my life:

-Double parking everywhere waiting for pickup / dropoff /routing. Blocking car and bike lanes.

-riders getting out into traffic

-erratic drivers (new to SF, easily lost)

Its pretty terrible.

If they painted their cars yellow, and made them pickup and drop off at corners / out if the flow of traffic things would be way better (imho).

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They double parking everywhere needs to be dealt with by Uber / Lyft immediately. It's everywhere, all the time, and it's going to end up getting their services regulated more heavily than they should be.

What do you think they could actually do? I doubt either could exist if restricted to pick up and drop off in actual loading zones + available parking spaces. Bus stops are drastically more abundant than either of those.

There are a ton of things they could do with their app and it's messaging (eg,Encourage people to drag their pin drop to a corner).

Stopping at a corner is just as illegal as stopping anywhere else, isn't it?

the concern here is the blocking of traffic, not legality. Corners often have space to pull over without blocking traffic.

They actually do steer riders to designated pick up zones. But it's optional and most people probably just stick with their exact address. They could make it mandatory, but it wouldn't be competitive. I'd hope regulators look at this before more drastic restrictions, as there are many environmental benefits to ride sharing vs how things used to be.

The nearest white/yellow curb is usually 10+ blocks away, AFAIK. In SF they are only outside major buildings.

Doesn't have to be a white/yellow curb. Put your location to a spot that has a place where the cab can easily pull over eg, driveway, fire hydrant, etc.

I agree completely Uber and Lyft feel that a competitive app is more important than the overall traffic health and safety of a city. It's heartbreaking for me to watch them slowly destroy what was once a bike friendly city.

Yes and in my observations from life erratic driving and riders exiting inappropriately apply to taxis as well. Double parking for pickup is the new problem (not so much drop off). But that's a result of app based hailing and would apply to traditional taxis as well when responding to such hails (e.g. Flywheel). I see it more as a significant bike lane issue than a significant contributor to car congestion. Remember that easy and good taxi service reduces the motive to drive independently downtown, which reduces traffic.

You have to do this, otherwise the passenger will never find you. Passengers DO NOT walk to you when you pick them up. Even if you're waiting around the corner like 30 steps away.

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