Uber-Lyft dispute they're to blame for San Francisco's traffic congestion

SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - If you think traffic congestion in San Francisco is getting worse, you're right. San Francisco County Transportation Authority is saying rideshare companies shoulder about half the blame.

This study says, "yes," traffic is getting worse and rideshare companies are to blame for about 50 percent of that increased traffic.

Ask just about any driver in San Francisco if traffic has gotten worse over the last five years and you'll get a resounding "yes."

Now, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority has released a new report backing that up and saying transportation network companies, TNCs, such as Uber and Lyft, are to blame for about half of that additional congestion.

'When we look at the increase in congestion between 2010 and 2016 as measured by delay, or miles of travel, or average speeds, we estimate that TNC are responsible for about 50 percent of the additional congestion," said Joe Castiglione of the SFCTA.

The study says rideshare companies account for just over half of the increase in delays and 55 percent of the average speed decline.

As you might expect Uber and Lyft are disputing this report. 

Lyft released a statement saying "This report is flawed and an incomplete picture of the transit challenges San Francisco faces. Congestion is a complex issue, and Lyft is committed to being a part of the solution."

Uber said "While we appreciate efforts to better understand the causes of congestion, this study fails to consider critical factors like the spike in tourism or the growth of freight deliveries, both of which have exploded since the study's baseline date of 2010."

The study's author says while those are factors to consider the data on traffic congestion and its causes don't lie. "So, all the data that we use to do this analysis you can download, Uber ad Lyft can download today and look at it. And if they have additional data that they think would help correct, improve or enhance our analysis, we would welcome the opportunity to incorporate that data into our analysis," said Castiglione.

The study also goes on to say the biggest traffic impact has been to the densest parts of the city including the Financial District and many of the city's busiest traffic corridors.