Research by a group of scientists in the United States suggests that ride-hailing is worse for the environment than traditional ways of transportation.

According to a just-published study by the Union of Concerned Scientists, the proliferation of Uber and Lyft vehicles is creating more pollution than taxis or people using their own cars.

The researchers recommend ride-hailing companies adopt eco-friendly policies, like using electric cars.

Here are five highlights from the study, which the group released this week:

1. Rapid growth

The ride-hailing industry has exploded since Uber launched in 2010 in the U.S., rapidly surpassing taxi ridership. By 2018, Uber was used for more than 10 billion rides across the globe. Riders with Lyft, a more recent addition, had taken one billion trips by 2019 according to the study.

2. Environmentally unfriendly

After crunching the numbers, the researchers concluded that ride-hailing trips can bring about 69 per cent more climate pollution than the trips they replaced. This is partly due to the miles a ride-hailing car accumulates from one ride to the next. Ride-hailing also increases the number of car trips: in its absence, many of these customers would likely be taking public transit.

3. Congestion nightmare

The study found that the ride-hailing industry also increases congestion on the roads. In Manhattan, ride-hailing trips nearly doubled between 2010 and 2017. That means more cars are spending more time stuck in traffic, according to the study.

4. Could be still a better choice

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The researchers found that on average, a non-pooled ride-hailing trip can generate about 47 per cent more emissions than a private car trip.

But replacing personal car trips with ride-hailing is still a much better choice, especially if passengers are carpooling or using it to connect to public transit.

5. Recommendations

Researchers had a few suggestions on how to address the pollution and congestion impact from the industry growth — accelerate the use of electric vehicles, promote and offer incentives to carpooling and facilitate ride-share connections to public transit.

The Union of Concerned Scientists is a nonprofit organization founded by scientists and students at MIT more than 50 years ago. It says its mission is to tackle various problems facing the planet through scientific research and technical analyses.

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