Ride-Hailing Apps Have Allowed More Binging and Increased Demand For Bartenders

A study published last week analyzed ridesharing’s effects on binge drinking and found that it increased heavy drinking by around 20% and increased employment at bars and restaurants by an average of 2%. The Economist reports: A new study by three economists — Jacob Burgdorf and Conor Lennon of the University of Louisville, and Keith Teltser of Georgia State University — finds that the widespread availability of ride-sharing apps has indeed made it easier for the late-night crowd to binge. By matching data on Uber’s availability with health surveys from America’s Centers for Disease Control, the authors find that on average alcohol consumption rose by 3%, binge drinking — where a person downs four or five drinks in two hours — increased by 8%, and heavy drinking — defined as three or more instances of binge drinking in a month — surged by 9% within a couple of years of the ride-hailing company coming to town. Increases were even higher in cities without public transport, where the presence of Uber led average drinking to rise by 5% and instances of binge drinking to go up by around 20%. (Heavy drinking still rose by 9%.) Remarkably, excessive drinking was actually declining before Uber’s appearance, giving further evidence that the firm’s arrival affected behavior. If people are likelier to drink a lot, but less likely to drive drunk, it is hard to say what the overall public-health impact of ride-hailing firms has been. That said, there is one group of individuals who clearly benefit from the presence of Uber, Lyft and others: bartenders. Messrs Burgdorf, Lennon and Teltser find that employment at bars and restaurants increases by an average of 2% whenever Uber enters the market.