UC Berkeley to study climate impact of Uber and Lyft

Researchers at UC Berkeley's Transportation Sustainability Research Center (TSRC) have announced that they are pairing with NRDC Urban Solutions to study the climate impact of ridesharing schemes like Uber and Lyft. The study will examine whether such "ridesourcing" services have a positive impact, by replacing privately owned automobiles, or whether they actually put more cars on the road by competing with existing public transportation systems.

Amanda Eaken, deputy director for urban solutions at the UCB TSRC environmental policy group, will lead the research. The study will look at ridesharing at the national level and focus on both activity data from these companies as well as surveys of rideshare users. The team has also reportedly reached out to Uber and Lyft for additional raw figures. The UCB team expects to have their initial research completed and published by fall of next year.