Lyft which is the top transportation service in the United States has recently been making a few changes in their app in efforts to go “Green.” For example, they launched a new feature which allows users to share a ride with user who are in the same area or going to a near destination. In another attempt, Lyft decided to acquire the Motivate company which a bikeshare operator.
Lyft’s goal is to reduce the need of using personal cars and provide affordable and reliable ways to get around town. The company has also expanded to carpooling and scooter renting. The problem is that Lyft has been receiving complaints from electric bicycle users that have said that the braking force in the front wheel is very strong. As a result Lyft has removed the electric bicycles in New York, Washington DC and San Francisco.
While the company is hard at work trying to resolve the issue they have made non-electric bicycles available to users as an alternative. This was a very interesting topic to me because I feel like many companies are trying hard to incorporate technology as a way of being environmentally friendly but it also comes with many risks. The main question that this concept arises is if environmentally friendly solutions which are technology based really worth the risks? There are many other non-technological solutions to reducing car usage that are also much more simple, but then also the benefits of technology based solutions like getting to your destination in half the time and effort will be lost. How can we meet a middle ground?
Link to articles: Lyft Pulls Electric Bycicles, Lyft Acquires Bike Company
I think that there is always going to be a risk when implementing technology into something new. I think that implementing tech into making things more enviornmentally friendly is worth the risk because the pay off can be much greater than risk. There just needs to be more testing when implementing this new tech. I feel that Lyft will be able to implement this tech successfully. This is a very interesting case and is something I did not know about until this blog, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHi Karen!
ReplyDeleteGreat topic - going green is a huge movement and it’s not surprising rideshare companies are willing to cooperate.
To answer your first question, a company with enough popularity and funding such as Lyft should have tested their e-scooters enough to know that something was wrong with their front break. Therefore, if Lyft cannot get the technology right, they should not do it at all. Customer safety should always come first.
I absolutely agree with your second statement. There are plenty of ways to get around town without the use of a car. In a city such as Tucson, for example, there are plenty of ways to get to class. Students have the options to drive their car, walk, ride bicycles, etc. There are pros and cons to each way of transportation. For instance, if a student lives off campus, the fastest way to get to class is to drive. However, it is also the most expensive in terms of parking. The next fastest way is to bike to class. However, they run the highest risks of getting stolen. The e-scooter is a new technology that has boomed in many cities in a positive way. It cuts the time in half to get to class and students don’t have to worry about it getting stolen. However, if risks are involved where students can get seriously hurt, it us up to the student on which risk they would rather take.