Studies are increasingly clear: Uber, Lyft congest cities

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BOSTON (AP) - One promise of ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft was a drop in the number of cars clogging city streets.

But recent studies in cities from Boston to New York to San Francisco suggest the opposite: that the companies are pulling riders off buses, subways and bicycles and putting them in cars instead.

A new wrinkle is a service by Uber called Express Pool that links riders in the same area who want to travel to similar destinations. Critics see it as directly competing with mass transit.

A study of traffic woes in London instead placed blame for congestion on construction and delivery trucks.

The companies have pushed back against the reports. They say ride-hailing is making it possible to reduce the number of personally owned cars on the roads.