Despite a decade of rideshare apps, DUI’s still a growing problem in KC

By Ben McCarthy

When two rideshare companies from Silicon Valley launched in town ten years ago, expectations were palpable that the two growing tech giants would not only revolutionize transportation around Kansas City, but also create more profound shifts.

Lyft began taking riders in April of 2014, and Uber started in May.

Yet, neither company did any kind of celebrating last spring for their 10-year anniversary. Uber did not respond to requests from the Telegraph, while Lyft’s communications representative Eric Smith shared some data pointing to success in what the company calls its 2024 Missouri Economic Impact Report.

Amongst the report’s data it highlights the following:

• 61% of it’s drivers were “members of a community of color”
• 55% of rides start or end in low-income areas,
• 36% of it’s riders do not own or lease a car
• 9% of Lyft rides are late-night trips when public transit services are limited or unavailable

Furthermore, the report discusses its place in helping riders living with a disability, 81% of which say Lyft has increased their independence and 96% feeling Lyft has increased their access to transportation.

The report also notes that 54% of its riders are aged 18 to 34, and that the age group of 16 to 34 is involved in nearly half of all alcohol-involved fatal crashes in the U.S in which the driver was over the legal limit.

When Lyft, and then Uber, launched ten years ago, many local attorneys assumed the services would throttle DUI arrests, almost to the point of extinction.

However, a look at the DUI arrest data over the past decade paints a much different picture.

In 2013, the last full year before Uber and Lyft launched locally, Kansas City, MO recorded 982 DUI arrests. Last year, that number had grown to 1391.

Sergeant Blake Brownlee, the KCPD’s DUI Section Supervisor says the arrest data is a reflection of many things, beyond the rideshare apps inability to curb the poor decision-making of impaired drivers.

“The rideshare options have helped, but it’s not going to eliminate impaired driving,” Brownlee said. “The decriminalization of marijuana has certainly contributed to DUI’s.”

The arrest data since 2020 shows a massive spike in DUI arrests (predating marijuana laws being relaxed in Missouri). In 2020, 1046 DUI arrests were made. In 2021, the arrests grew to 1335 (40% of which involved crashes), with numbers flattening in 2022 at 1333 arrests. The KCPD DUI unit, founded in 1972, is now dealing with what they refer to as “poly drug use” as impaired driving increases around the metro.

“We’re hearing from arrestees that they don’t understand why they’re being arrested since marijuana is legal,” Brownlee said. “Well, alcohol has been legal since prohibition, but we’re still going to arrest you for impaired driving.”

Brownlee’s unit is up against many new falsehoods, including young drivers who say they’re actually better off on the road when they’re feeling a high from marijuana usage. He points to a need for renewed funding for DUI checkpoints around town, and more general educating drivers at a young age.

“We have to get back to defining what impairing substances are,” Brownlee said. “Things like DUI checkpoints are quite beneficial, but we have to be educating people.”

Jerod Breit, Regional Executive Director for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), echoes Brownlees sentiments toward raising high visibility enforcement, along with securing funding to bring new awareness campaigns back into the schools. The MADD Heartland office (once headquartered in Grandview, but now fully remote) continues to offer free educational tools to area schools, and partners with both Lyft and Uber to encourage people to plan ahead before heading out at night.

“The rideshare apps have been the second best tool in avoiding impaired driving,” Breit said. “The best is still having a plan and a designated driver, but the younger generation seems less concerned with impaired driving.”

Breit says their internal data reveals Gen Z drivers (roughly high school to late 20’s)hold attitudes that are more likely to see them embark on impaired driving trips, and MADD’s hope is to help reestablish programs at the elementary level that harken back to past approaches. It doesn’t appear to be costs driving young drivers away from rideshare apps, as Lyft’s local pricing has actually fallen over the last decade: when it launched in 2014, rides were $1.80 per mile, and 50 cents per minute. Now, fares run $1.03 per mile, and 17 cents per minute (although other flat fees associated with the ride, such as “pickup” and “safety,” have increased).

“Growing up, we had things like DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), but there’s not much of that in school to generate awareness,” Breit said.

Breit strongly suggests that the national MADD office will be rolling out a major social media campaign in October designed to drive awareness to the Gen Z demographic.

Safety for drivers and passengers remains an ongoing problem for rideshare services around the country. Last week, Uber announced they will be rolling out more safety features for drivers and riders, including new video recording options built into the app on their smartphones.

Sergeant Brownlee says there is some good data emerging for 2024: DUI arrests this year (845) are down from the same time last year (1058).