Some two-thirds of citations for driving in transit lanes and bike lanes, failing to yield to pedestrians, and other motor vehicle violations, are issued to Transportation Network Company (TNC) cars such as Uber and Lyft--this according to a study from the police department of violations in downtown San Francisco.
The findings were presented at yesterday's regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors' Land Use and Transportation Committee.
Here's the breakdown from the SFPD report:
Source: SFPD/via GovTV
Commander Robert O’Sullivan, San Francisco police liaison to the SFMTA, said (as shown in the above graphic) that the study ran from April 1 to June 30. Out of 2,656 citations, 1,723 were done by cars with Uber and Lyft stickers.
What makes the numbers so shocking, said Supervisor Aaron Peskin, is that they are so disproportionate. "You have one out of four cars being a TNC in the district I represent," he said. "You would think the number of violations would be the same, one out of four, but what you’re seeing is the opposite--almost three out of four are TNC drivers.”
O'Sullivan assured the supervisor that officers are not targeting TNCs. Instead, they simply recorded which cars had Uber or Lyft stickers when they wrote the citations.
Commander O'Sullivan presenting the TNC report. Image: SF GovTV
"It was really astonishing to see the number of TNCs that routinely use the bike lane as the drop off spot with no regard to the fact that cyclists are using it," said Supervisor Jeff Sheehy, who sits on the committee. He joined a protest for protected bike lanes on Valencia this month.
"These numbers confirm what our members experience on the streets of San Francisco everyday: Uber and Lyft drivers violating the law and threatening the safety of people who bike and walk. Now that SFPD data proves they are doing so in numbers far disproportionate to their share of traffic volume, this should be a wake-up call to the city and the industry," wrote Brian Wiedenmeier, the SF Bike Coalition's executive director, in an email to Streetsblog.
“Supervisors discussed concerns we at Uber share, namely how best to address traffic congestion and improve public safety on San Francisco streets. Uber is committed to being an active partner in working to make improvements in these areas. Every day in San Francisco, thousands of people use Uber in ways that complement--rather than compete with--public transit, bicycling and walking. Our aim is to continue contributing to a robust, multi-modal transportation network that works well for everyone,” wrote Alex Randolph, Uber public policy manager, in an email. And Chelsea Harrison, communications manager for Lyft, wrote that: "We are supportive of holistic efforts to address congestion and have been in conversations with city officials for months to engage collaboratively on a pilot program to do just that."
Meanwhile, Jeff Hobson, Deputy Director for Planning for the County Transportation Authority, explained at the committee meeting that San Francisco has few real means to control TNCs, which are regulated by the state like any other privately owned car. Peskin said he will ask the City Attorney to look into suing. "This is a pattern and practice of thwarting public safety laws. There’s got to be a legal path here if the state will not allow us to regulate TNCs."
"How many cyclist have to be injured on high injury corridors before action is taken," said Orland, who wants to see protected bike lanes installed and Uber and Lyft reigned in by regulators. "Some people are only persuaded by hard data. Now the safety of San Francisco's residents has to be prioritized."
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