Not too many years ago, airports and the streets of our nation’s largest cities were filled with taxi cabs. Today? Hardly any. In fact, taxi revenue in America has seen a steady decrease since 2017. If you have traveled at all in the past decade or so, you know why. Ridesharing services have changed the way we are transported. Jumping in with a complete stranger in his or her own private vehicle would have been frowned upon just a decade ago. Today, it is commonplace.
Here are a few facts. About 28% of Americans use rideshare apps, with nearly all of them choosing Uber or Lyft. Uber has about three-fourths of the U.S. rideshare market while Lyft has the remainder. Why the Uber dominance? Uber is available around the world, but Lyft is only available in the U.S. and Canada. As such, more people have — and use — the Uber app.
Despite this growth, though, the vast majority of Americans still do not use rideshare apps. I am guessing most of these folks never use taxi services either. Are those who use rideshare apps younger? Yes, they are typically 18 to 29 years old. They rideshare a lot, right? Wrong. Only 8% of people who use rideshare apps consider themselves “frequent users,” and 21% use rideshare apps “occasionally.”
CITYVIEW columnist Kristian Day made a decision a few years ago to go carless and wrote about the experience. He sold his vehicle and relied on ridesharing to get to his point A’s and point B’s. He said he saved a lot of money on car payments, repairs, gas and insurance, and it made him plan his trips much better. Even so, after a year or so, he bought a car again.
Kristian likes using rideshare services. I don’t. In fairness, I don’t like using taxi cabs either. Truth be told, I don’t even like to drive. But, I am not as courageous as Kristian. So, like many of you, I roll with the times in my truck and use Uber when necessary, contributing slightly to the more than $150 billion rideshare value.
With all this growth, Uber must certainly be rolling in profits, right? Wrong again. At least not until this past year. For the first time in its 15-year history, Uber ended the year with more money than it spent — while decimating the taxi industry.
Meanwhile, this past weekend, we visited friends in a heavily populated area who are avoiding both driving their cars and ridesharing. How? They zip around on their electric bicycles, passing cars by the dozens. They also reside in Florida, where winter bicycling works. I am happy for them and for all who choose alternative transportation methods. I really am. Call me a gas-guzzling rural Iowa boy if you want, but when walking isn’t realistic, I will continue to rely on my truck as my primary means of transportation. If you need a ride, I often have an open seat to share with you — and you don’t even need an app.
Have a meaningful Monday, and thanks for reading.
