Ready to ditch your car for ride sharing services Uber or Lyft? Not yet, say readers

Flexibility and freedom more highly prized than lower cost of ride sharing, according to readers

A Reuters/Ipsos poll showing that 9 per cent of Americans who sold or traded in a car last year have ditched auto ownership in favour of Lyft and Uber ride sharing services, doesn’t resonate with North American Energy News readers. Most are firmly wedded to their cars, minivans, trucks and SUVs, and can’t imagine how family life, in particular, would function without a least one vehicle.

What came through loud and clear in the answers to my Facebook question asking readers if they would give up their car(s) for ride-sharing, is how complex peoples’ lives are.

Private ownership provides them with the flexibility to travel at a moment’s notice, make multiple stops (ferrying kids to and from activities is a big issue for families), and generally enjoy the freedom that comes with having at least one automobile in the driveway.

During an interview last month, Stanford economist Tony Seba argued a four to 10 fold reduction in cost per mile travelled would prompt owners to abandon their cars in droves. He calculated that by 2030, “95 per cent of U.S. passenger miles traveled will be served by on-demand Autonomous Electric Vehicles owned by companies providing Transport as a Service.”

Like Uber and Lyft, which are already developing autonomous EVs and appear destined to transition to TaaS firms.

But the preferences and attitudes illustrated in this (admittedly unscientific) survey demonstrate that private auto ownership will likely stick around for a long time, particularly in mid-sized cities like Calgary and Edmonton, where most residents live in the suburbs.

Stephen M. Williams: If insured, regulated, and equivalent cost to owning my car, I would consider it…depends on the distances too. At one point we were a one-car family and we rented cars when we needed to. It really does work out to be similar costs.

Jeremy Smith: At this point, no not likely. My car affords me the freedom to travel when and where I need to, from down the block, to across the continent.

Heather Alexandra: No. I have places to go and people to see and need the flexibility of my car. Plus my last Uber was the slowest drive home ever. Guy followed his navigation that took him 2 blocks up and 1 block over, then 1 block up and 2 blocks over – I think he turned about 8 times – he could have made it to my house in 3 turns. Made me crazy.