The right way to handle congestion

THE rise of ride-hailing firms like Uber and Lyft has been a boon for passengers. But it hasn’t been good for everyone. Licensed cabbies lament the extra competition. Drivers for the new services complain about inadequate benefits. The latest preoccupation is the impact of ride-hailing on congestion. Between 2013 and 2016, the number of such vehicles in London rose by 66%; rush-hour traffic in the city centre slowed by 20%. Manhattan has seen something similar.Governments are right to worry about ride-hailing’s impact on traffic congestion. INRIX, a traffic-information firm, estimates that between fuel bills, time wasted sitting around in traffic and increased shipping costs, congestion cost New York City and London a combined $46bn last year. But the response of lawmakers is wrong-headed. On August 8th New York’s city council voted to place a one-year moratorium on issuing new licences for ride-hailing cars. Sadiq Khan, London’s mayor, now says he wants to do the same.