Americans are starting to warm to these ride-hailing services in a way that wasn’t really expected and many are now choosing them in favor of their own private vehicles.While private car ownership is still holding strong for the moment in the US, that may well change in near future if Uber and Lyft have anything to do with it.
Statistics show that nearly a quarter of US car owners traded in or sold a car in the last 12 months. Of those, nearly 10 percent chose not to replace that car. Instead, they made the decision to use ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft instead. The online poll confirmed that of those taking part, 584 respondents got rid of a vehicle in the previous 12 months and 566 claimed they will be getting rid of one within the next 12. While most were simply trading in their car to get a replacement, a surprising nine percent specifically said they now use ride-hailing services as their main mode of transport. Almost the same amount of people said they intend on using these services as their main method of traveling in the near future. There was also around nine percent that relied on other modes of transport mainly, such as cycling or mass transit.
It may not have been a comprehensive survey in that we don’t know where the majority of these people giving up their private vehicles are from, but it does show the trend towards private car ownership is changing. We may people on cities adapting to this way of transportation faster than rural areas, but that’s not to say it won’t catch on quick. Even traditional carmakers have recognized this shift and some have even partnered with Uber and Lyft. You know the saying if you can’t beat them, join them, right? GM has already invested $500 million in Lyft and Daimler has partnered with Uber in a bid to provide us all with the next generation of autonomous vehicles. Mercedes-Benz is also getting involved by looking at introducing its own autonomous taxis that would potentially cut traffic and energy consumption significantly.
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