Uber and Lyft riders and drivers, beware. Regionalism and urbanism may be the reason your services are being banned in various cities across the world.

“Ride-hailing” as they are calling it, is when people call a private taxi service like Uber and Lyft, to get where they are going.

According to the “State Smart Transportation Initiative” ride-hailing increases the use of cars and the actual Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) in cities. One of the goals of regionalism is to reduce the use of cars as much as possible, and promote the increased use of public transit. SSTI cites that users of Uber and Lyft actually contribute to the decrease in the use of public transit.

Could this be the why some cities have banned Uber and Lyft services from operating within their limits? It is interesting to note that Uber and Lyft are targeted on SSTI’s website as “traffic offenders”.

Austin, Texas is one of those cities where Uber is banned. Austin is considered to be among the most “sustainable” and “progressive” cities, under the full control of the regionalists. They are a member of the UN’s ICLEI (an Agenda 21 organization for cities).

We suggest that it is NO coincidence that Vancouver, Canada, where Uber is likewise banned, is also a member of the UN’s ICLEI organization.

Beware New Hampshire. Smart Growth America has its NGOs/lobbies/quasi-governmental groups coming in to train NH’s DOT in “smart” transportation projects.

Meanwhile, keep your eye on services like Uber and Lyft.