Rideshares Deliver For All Types

Gary Campbell
Aug 24, 2017 · 3 min read

Have you taken an Uber lately? Perhaps caught a Lyft with some friends? If so, you are not alone.

The rideshare industry, led by companies such as Uber and Lyft, has exploded in the last few years. It’s changing the way people get from point A to point B.

The concept is simple. Break out your phone, open up an app and call for a ride. Within minutes, you will have a vehicle at your front door.

There are plenty of options, with dozens of companies popping up in markets around the country. The industry has grown from a quirky idea to a multi-billion dollar industry with more than 9 million users worldwide on Uber and Lyft alone.

But the real question: Just who are the people taking these rides and why?

The truth is simple, everyone. People from all walks of life, age, socio-economic status, race, neighborhood, etc.

But within everyone, there are some common groups and subsets. Here’s a closer look at some of types of regular passengers.

The commuters

The workday commuter is a core audience for rideshare, with everyone needing to get to work in some way. Rideshare provides many of the benefits of public transit for commuters, but gets riders where they need to go even faster in the more private setting of a personal vehicle.

In this subset, there is much more variation than one might imagine. Office workers all the way to the executive level may take advantage, giving them a chance to catch up on work on the way to and from the office.

But rideshare also has an appeal to service-level job workers. Many fast food company workers may be younger and without their own vehicles, so they request a ride. Additionally, pickups and drop-offs are common at warehouses and manufacturing facilities.

The event goer

Whether a sporting event, a concert or a festival, event traffic can be a serious hassle. So many event-goers choose to skip it entirely and get a ride. Instead of battling traffic, you can go door to door without much fuss.

As rideshare gets more common in many communities, event organizers are getting on board. Designated pickup and dropoff areas are quickly becoming the norm at many large events and organizers are partnering directly with ridershare partners to simplify the process.

The traveler

Among rideshare passengers, the trip to or from the airport is all too common. It takes the complication of finding a parking space and remembering where you parked out of the equation.

For those travelling out of town, rideshare services provide an easy way to navigate in whatever location they may be visiting. The driver is a local and can provide local knowledge to those traveling.

The out on the towners

It’s Friday or Saturday night, and plans include dinner and stop at the local bar or club. With the proliferation of rideshare services, the best option is to get a ride and avoid any possibility of drinking and driving. Rideshare is the designated driver for the new millennium.

Anecdotal data from cities across the nation and a variety of studies from anti-drunk driving organizations and universities have shown that rideshares are making a significant positive impact in reducing drunk driving arrests and fatalities.

The should have called-ers

Not every person that needs a ride calls for one. And in many cases, they pay the consequences.

In the end, it becomes a common refrain in the back of a rideshare: “I lost my license and can’t drive anymore.”

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