Culture
Has the Rise of Uber Led to More Heavy Drinking?
New research suggests that ride-hailing is associated with increases in drinking behaviors in U.S. cities and metro areas.
If I am going out and plan to have just one drink, I’ll call an Uber. And that’s a good thing: Drunk driving is a public-health crisis, killing more than 10,000 people a year. One advantage of ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft is that, according to a number of studies, they reduce drunk driving.
But there’s another connection between ride-hailing and alcohol. Ordering that Uber, it seems, encourages people to drink more than they otherwise would.