In short, transit wasn't really there. When transportation network services went down, people felt stranded. Transit friendliness can go a long way.
In a Medium piece, the folks behind the Transit app discuss why the transportation conversation at South by Southwest focused only on rideshare. "SXSWers were bereft of their beloved ridesharing services, forced to wait for cabs in the rain with 'no alternatives'. We racked our brains for a possible solution. We think we found it: Fixed-route ridesharing."
In other words, transit. But in central Austin, transit is sparse and hard to use compared with other central cities. Changing that could shift the narrative at future festivals. "Our data suggests that there's an exponential relationship between 'transit friendliness' and the number of trips that actually get taken. Basically what that means is that by making a destination a bit more transit friendly you end up getting a lot more people taking transit."
The tradeoff between transportation network companies and transit should (in theory at least) depend on the type of urban landscape you're traversing. "Ridesharing is easy and convenient. It's a fantastic complement to public transit. But it shouldn't be the default mobility choice in the downtown core of a big American city."
FULL STORY: The media focused on the wrong thing during SXSW
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