The introduction of ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft hasn't had any impact on the number of fatalities related to drunken driving, a newly published study finds.
Researchers at the University of Southern California and Oxford University looked at the 100 most populated metropolitan areas, analyzing data from before and after the introduction of Uber and its competitors, and found that access to ride-sharing apps had no effect on traffic fatalities related to drinking alcohol.
Uber has repeatedly pointed to drunken-driving reduction as a benefit of its service. A 2015 blog post on its website, titled "Making Our Roads Safer For Everyone," notes a survey Uber conducted with the group Mothers Against Drunk Driving that found anecdotal evidence that people believe their friends are less likely to drive drunk since the introduction of Uber.
In June, a report by researchers at Providence College and Stonehill College found a reduction in fatal vehicle crashes associated with ride-sharing app availability.
Uber has also held up a 2015 study by data scientists at Temple University that showed a correlation between decreased alcohol-related driving fatalities and the introduction of Uber services in California. The authors of that study, Brad Greenwood and Sunil Wattal, say they examined data from only one state and did not control for other factors that could affect drunken driving, such as changes in legislation.