Not really. It's the very definition of an ad hominem.
If the study uses non-factual information or does not interpret the data by understanding the nuances that may yield different interpretations, then the author's educational background may offer an explanation. But that isn't the critique here.
I think it was the website that name-dropped, not the author of the study. It seems poor form to criticize the study itself based on how it's reported in pop media.
Studies stand or fall on their own merits. The background of the author isn't actually relevant to that. If the study holds, it holds. If it doesn't, it doesn't.
That doesn't indicate the quality of the study either way.
I don't drive that often but I don't use ridesharing services or the bus. I bike.