In cities where there is Uber and where public transport is absent or scarce, excessive drinking (literally "binge drinking") has increased by a fifth. This is one of the results of a curious investigation conducted in the United States by three economists – Jacob Burgdorf and Conor Lennon of the University of Louisville and Keith Teltser of Georgia State University – with a title that already explains it all: “Do ride sharing service increase alcohol consumption?”.
Could Uber's service increase the consumption (and in many cases the abuse) of alcohol? The answer was predictable: yes, given that among other things, and net of the many controversies that have engulfed it over the years (legal battles with local administrations, cases of sexual violence, the stock which has lost over 30% since was listed last May), Uber has made it much easier for revelers to get home safely. What is surprising, if anything, are the dimensions of the phenomenon and its consequences on public health.
The app created ten years ago by Travis Kalanick is now available in over 700 cities worldwide and in the meantime it has had an indisputable merit: that of having reduced road accidents and consequently the victims of the so-called "Saturday night massacres". For example, a study published in 2017 found that after Uber arrived in Portland, Oregon, alcohol-related car accidents decreased by 62 percent. At the same time, however, the rise of Uber would lead people to drink to excess, knowing they won't get behind the wheel at the end of the night (if not the night out).
The study by the three US economists has in fact found that on average alcohol consumption in US cities covered by the app has increased by 3%, and above all excessive consumption (binge drinking, ie downing four or five drinks within two hours) increased by 8%, while “heavy drinking” (that is, revelry nights repeated at least three times a month) grew by 9%. And all this within just two years of Uber arriving in that city.
The increases were even more significant in cities without public transport, where the presence of Uber has led the average consumption of alcoholic beverages to +5% and "hangover" episodes to rise by around 20%. Another surprising fact, and not exactly comforting, is that if it is true that Uber has brought down accidents, it is also true that before its diffusion, alcohol consumption was actually decreasing and even significantly, according to what the authors were able to verify of the research that the Economist also spoke about.
In short, before you can happily let go again because someone else will be driving the car anyway, American revelers were starting to adjust accordinglyconsciously limiting alcohol consumption. Today, however, the issue of public health is more topical than ever, in a country already tormented by widespread obesity and a strong propensity for cardiovascular disease. On the other hand, bar and club managers and those who work there can smile: the study calculated that employment in bars and restaurants increases by an average of 2% each time Uber enters the market.
