Ridesharing Growing Leaps & Bounds
Ridesharing offers consumers a convenient transportation option. Although the industry is still in its infancy, the market has quickly become dominated by two major players: Uber and Lyft.
Uber has practically become synonymous with ridesharing. Earlier this year, Uber, which operates in 85 countries, celebrated its 5 billionth ride. To top that off, the company is currently in negotiations to ensure their remarkable growth will continue to soar in the years to come. At the recent Wall Street Journal’s D.Live technology conference in California, Arianna Huffington said that Softbank will very likely finalize a venture deal with Uber in the imminent future. A major investment from this Japanese tech giant should ensure that Uber will continue to reign as the dominant player in the ridesharing market.
However, Uber’s main competitor, Lyft, is experiencing explosive growth as well. Lyft, which only operates in the US, recently delivered its 500 millionth ride. The smaller ridesharing provider increased its US market share this year to 25%, while Uber's market share simultaneously dropped from 80% to 70%. And in the second quarter this year, gross bookings grew 25% at Lyft, compared to just 17% at Uber.
In this time of unprecedented growth, one thing is certain: two major competitors in the ridesharing space spells good news for consumers!
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