“They are out there in force at the worst possible times,” said Prof Christo Wilson, a computer scientist at Northeastern University, who has also studied the services. He refers to Uber’s traffic data, which ‘perfectly matches the peaks for the rush hour.’ He also adds that the low fares and convenience mean that people are ordering rides to go from A to B when they wouldn’t normally. Both help contribute to the gridlock.

So what can be done to stop traffic from backing up or bottlenecking? One solution involves combining ride-hailing with sharing. Many ride-hailing companies, such as Uber, Didi Chuxing in China and Ola in India enable customers to carpool. This allows travellers who share similar destinations to share the journey. The app enables an en route pickup,which means more streamlined traffic, and less time spent with an empty vehicle.

Could this decongest the world’s jam-packed roads? It is certainly one solution. But maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the more traditional public transport options. "Congestion is a really complicated issue," said Andrew Salzberg, head of Uber's transport policy. But, “There is no more efficient way to move people around than public transport," he added. So don’t do away with that bus pass just yet.

词汇表 flag down 挥手拦车

ride-hailing 叫车服务

traffic flow 交通流量

traffic jam 交通堵塞

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