Urban mobility has evolved immensely over the years, from travel carts to unique forms of transportation. And these days, we have ride sharing services, a very large business sector with over 1.7 billion active users, according to data from Statista. Whether it’s Lyft, Uber, Bolt or many others, these companies are great because they make it easy to access a car ride whenever you need it the most.
Ridesharing’s Impact on City Life
Transportation Accessibility
One of the core benefits of ride sharing is that it allows city dwellers to reach any destination without hassle. I can say for a fact that I use such services often, and reaching the destination is easier than ever, without having to rely on taxis. It’s a very cohesive and professional way to go anywhere without even having to use a car.
And the major advantage is that ride sharing fills gaps in the public transportation system. You have countless drivers that can get you where you want to go, fast. Not only that, but it’s more convenient, even if there are weather issues, there’s always a ride there for you!
Urban Traffic Patterns
With ride sharing apps, you get to reduce the personal car usage, and you can prevent congestion in various areas. A lot of these ride sharing drivers have special access roads and ways to get past traffic congestion. Instead of exacerbating traffic issues, you get a more cohesive and professional solution, and that can be a huge game changer.
Environmental Considerations
Many ride sharing drivers have electric and hybrid cars. So no only are you polluting the environment less by using these cars and not your own, but it also ends up being an eco-friendly solution a lot of the time. That’s especially true since a lot of these apps also offer group driving as well.
Economic Shifts in Urban Mobility
In addition, this becomes a great source of income for drivers. People get to drive their own vehicle, pick up other persons and then make a good income. Of course, this does affect the public transportation and taxi industries, since people enjoy the convenience of ride sharing.
Safety and Legal Implications
Are there any safety implications regarding this? Absolutely, there are a variety of safety solutions added within the ride sharing apps. Friends and family can easily track where you are, and that will eliminate a lot of potential worries that could arise. It also speeds things up and you can prevent any downsides
Ride sharing apps have great protocols and tools in place, along with emergency features that do make it easier to connect with someone. At the end of the day, the main focus is safety, and most apps will integrate methods to connect with others in case of danger.
Concerns about accidents and rider safety incidents
Of course, there will always be challenges when it comes to ride sharing apps. At the end of the day, you are getting driven by a stranger. So there can be a variety of challenging situations that you are dealing with. Incidents happened, and there were many lawsuits that settled anywhere between $10,000 to $500,000.
The Role of Technology in the Future of Ridesharing
A very interesting topic these days is how ride sharing will evolve in the long term and what we can expect from the technology. As we can see already, AI is becoming a major part of the industry. And there are many other technologies in place that have the potential to make ride sharing a whole lot more interesting and powerful in the long term.
Here are some of the expectations we have when it comes to the future of ride sharing:
- Maybe the most expecting thing is that a lot of people think autonomous vehicles will become the future of ride sharing. Replacing drivers with AI has the potential to minimize any type of abuse, while also streamlining and potentially improving the user experience.
- Plus, AI can also be used to optimize the routes and provide dynamic pricing. All these things have the potential to make ride sharing more effective, powerful and less challenging.
- App based integration with the public transit system might also be coming. That’s a clever system to use, and one that has the potential to better integrate an adequate solution, while making it more engaging and empowering at the same time.
Challenges and Criticisms of Ridesharing
Any industry as successful as ride sharing will have its fair share of challenges and criticism. And there are problems in here as well. The safety and accident liability of drivers and riders is always going to spark debate. Aside from that, every country has its own regulatory hurdles as they try to balance ride sharing with the regular transit systems.
And then we also have the driver classification. Are ride sharing drivers employees, or are they an independent contractor? Is the company offering them any benefit or are they just working for themselves and they support all the issues/consequences in case the car breaks down, etc. All of these things are going to bring challenges, and while some stuff has improved, a lot of it hasn’t!
Conclusion
With that being said, we think that ride sharing has a great future ahead, and it certainly helps push the boundaries in some amazing ways. Having a more sustainable future and less pollution is always going to come in handy. Of course there can be demanding and challenging moments. But in the end, what matters is how we approach everything and the systems that will be used. Ride sharing certainly helps with that, and it proves to be a disruptor with great results.
We think that the cities of tomorrow can benefit from ride sharing, and this truly is one of those incredible, state of the art technologies that can enhance the way we transit within cities. It’s very important to find ways that improve urban living, and transportation is always going to be a challenge. But once we alleviate that and focus on results, the outcome can be nothing short of spectacular!
Write and Win: Participate in Creative writing Contest & International Essay Contest and win fabulous prizes.
