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Ridesharing company

Rideshare app

A ridesharing company is a company that provides transportation services to passengers by matching them with available drivers using websites or mobile apps. Instead, of hailing for taxi out on the streets rideshare companies provide an alternative way for passengers to summon taxi to their location by the help of online technology. However, rideshare vehicles cannot be hailed from the street and can only be accessed by utilizing online platform like mobile app.

The legality of ridesharing companies varies by jurisdiction and in some cases have been banned from operating. Rideshare regulators require driver background checks, insurance, put a cap the number of drivers in an area, determine the fares passengers can be charged and minimum wage. [1]

Ridesharing vs. ride hailing

The term "ridesharing" specifically refers to the cars that are being used for ride sharing purposes utilizing the online applications and cannot be hailed from street. Whereas, ride hailing simply refers to cars that can be summoned anywhere on the street. Ride hailing cars have also started utilizing technology behind ridesharing as well.

Product overview

Ridesharing service is generally accessed via mobile app. Before the rise of smartphone, passengers would have to call car service company and schedule a pickup. But after smartphone went mainstream and cellular data limitation started diminishing, people have started using ridesharing services in masses. Users of ridesharing services set up a personal profile with respective ridesharing company through their mobile app by providing information like their name, phone number and payment method which can be either debit or credit card.

Taxi and Limousine Commission

Drivers on the other hand have to meet all the requirements set by the regulators before being able to pick passengers via ridesharing services. New York City has one of the toughest requirements for any individual to get license to operate ridesharing vehicle. Applicant have to submit a lot of documents and go through numerous test, all of which have fees involved. Some of the test applicants should expect are defensive driving test and TLC Driver License exam. [2] There may be accommodations for hearing-impaired drivers. [3] Drivers may be notified before accepting a trip if it will be longer than 45 minutes. After each transaction, drivers and customers may rate each other and users with low ratings may be deactivated. [4]


Impact

Service in poorer areas and downward pressure on fares

Vehicle for hire service to poorer and less populated areas has increased, while fares have faced downward pressure due to competition. Poor neighborhood had been neglected by the taxi drivers for decades and people from these neighborhoods had to rely on black town car services to arrange pickups which are not cheap either. But with emergence of rideshare companies, these neglected neighborhoods have found an alternative which also offers cheaper prices. [5]


Possible reduction in drunk driving

Studies are inconclusive on whether drunk driving rates have declined, with some studies showing that it depends on the city. People have alternative to driving their car to events due to rideshare companies and they tend to use it whenever they plan on driving. Places where people can easily access rideshare cars have seen drop in DUI and shows that people have shifted from taking risk of going to event and drinking to rather just taking rideshare cars to their destination. [6]


Companies

Uber

Uber

Uber_logo.jpg In 2009, Uber was founded as Ubercab by Garrett Camp, a computer programmer and the co-founder of StumbleUpon, and Travis Kalanick, who sold his Red Swoosh startup for $19 million in 2007. [7] Following a beta launch in May 2010, Uber's services and mobile app officially launched in San Francisco in 2011.[56][57] Originally, the application only allowed users to hail a black luxury car and the price was 1.5 times that of a taxi. [8] The company is based in San Francisco and has operations in over 900 metropolitan areas worldwide. Uber is estimated to have over 78 million monthly active users worldwide. In the United States, Uber has a 67% market share for ride-sharing. [9]

UberX, the basic level of service, includes a private ride in a standard car with driver for up to four passengers. Depending on the location, Uber offers various other levels of transportation service at different prices including: black luxury vehicles, newer or premium level vehicles, cars with leather seats, sport utility vehicles, minivan, vans, Suzuki Altos, hatchbacks, electric cars, hybrid vehicles, motorcycles, auto rickshaws, actual taxicabs, lower-cost shared transport with other passengers going in the same general direction (suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic), child safety seats, pet shipping, guaranteed Spanish language-speaking drivers, additional assistance to senior citizens and passengers with a physical disability, and wheelchair accessible vans. [10]

Lyft

Lyft

Lyft was launched in the summer of 2012 by computer programmers Logan Green and John Zimmer as a service of Zimride, a long-distance intercity carpooling company they founded in 2007. [11] The company is based in San Francisco, California and operates in 644 cities in the United States and 12 cities in Canada. With a 30% market share, Lyft is the second-largest ridesharing company in the United States after Uber. [12] The company has a set minimum vehicle requirement, and the drivers must pass two background checks before approval with the company. Automobiles must have four doors with a minimum of five seatbelts. The age and condition of the vehicle, among other requirements, vary by state. [13]

Lyft offers several service classes, which vary by city. [14]

  • Original Lyft provides rides in regular vehicles for up to four passengers.
  • Lyft XL provides rides in regular vehicles for up to six passengers.
  • Lyft Black is a premium black car service including luxury vehicles.
  • Lyft Black XL provides rides in premium black SUV service for up to four people.

Via

Via Transportation, Inc.

Via Transportation, Inc. is an American vehicle for hire company headquartered in New York City founded in 2012 by Israeli entrepreneurs Daniel Ramot and Oren Shoval. It operates services in New York, Chicago, and Washington DC, and in London, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Milton Keynes through ViaVan, its joint venture with Mercedes-Benz Vans. [15]

Via differs from other rideshare companies as it is an on-demand transit provider primarily focused on shared rides. For riders who choose a shared vehicle, Via's algorithm matches multiple passengers heading in the same direction and books them into a single vehicle. Shared rides are usually from corner-to-corner to streamline vehicle routes, requiring passengers to walk to a nearby pickup point, indicated on the app. [16]