FAKE NEWS? Ride Sharing In Most Markets Is Twice The Cost Of Ownership, But No One Mentions That

The auto industry is a long way from seeing autonomous vehicles and ride-hailing companies put an end to traffic deaths and personal car ownership, according to one of the top U.S. auto dealers.

“We have reached peak absurdity on this topic,” Wes Lutz, the chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association, said of driverless cars. “Self-driving vehicles are theoretically safer. But we don’t know if they are actually safer. And we don’t know because there just isn’t anywhere near enough data to prove it one way or another.”

Read Article

SanJoseDriver - 10/10/2018 1:08:59 PM

+2 Boost

$20,118/year to use ride sharing for a year??? Um, no. I have several fiends that no longer own a car in Silicon Valley, using Uber/Lyft even for their daily commute, and the cost is around $600-800/mo. Uber even offers commuter rates now that guarantee a consistent low rate for heavy users.

All that being said, Uber is losing money so I'm not sure if the prices are sustainable. Even if it was a $1k/mo, a self-driving car would likely reduce costs to $400/mo or less.

arrowmg - 10/11/2018 9:34:37 PM

+1 Boost

but $800/month is mid-level luxury car note territory. that's steep for just a daily commute, considering, you may still need to go shopping, and run other errands that require an auto.

SanJoseDriver - 10/14/2018 3:07:33 PM

+1 Boost

True, but subtract out your costs. How much do you pay for gas? $200/mo? Insurance, $100/mo. Maintenance (inc tires), $50/mo ave. Parking, $50/mo. That is $400/mo right there. What kind of car can you get for $400/mo? Likely a Camry-esq vehicle, maybe an entry level premium car.

dumpsty - 10/11/2018 10:00:48 AM

+1 Boost

Ride sharing has provided jobs - full & part time - to all the markets the ride sharing services are available in.

It's unfortunate that ride sharing has supplanted the old taxi & public transit systems in many of those major cities as well. But the industry will come to a balance as it adjusts to the economy. See hotels vs AirBnb.

Ride sharing provides doorstep-to-doorstep service & that comes with a corresponding premium. It should cost more than owning a basic midsize car in whatever area you're in. However, perks such as matching commuter rates for the frequent users is a more enticing reason to keep using ride sharing services vs a bus/taxi.

MDarringer - 10/11/2018 9:49:48 PM

+1 Boost

It's also put a lot of people at risk riding in largely unregulated cars with dubious insurance coverage.