Ridesharing services accounted for 46 percent of ground
transportation transactions processed by expense management supplier Certify
during the first quarter.
The services—Uber, primarily—continually have gained ground
on taxis in Certify's quarterly reports over the past two years. Ridesharing
gained 4 percentage points of transaction share since the fourth quarter of
2015, and taxis lost 6 percentage points during that same period, accounting
for 14 percent of ground transportation transactions in the first quarter.
Ridesharing surpassed
car rentals in the fourth quarter of 2015, though car rentals gained some of
the share back in the most recent quarter, at the expense of taxis. Car rentals
accounted for 40 percent of Certify ground transportation transactions in the
first quarter, up from 38 percent in the previous quarter.
Uber accounted for more than 43 percent of rides during the
first quarter, though its main ridesharing competitor, Lyft, is gaining ground
among corporate users. Lyft accounted for 2.5 percent of Certify's ground
transportation transactions during the quarter, compared with 1 percent the
previous quarter.
Certify projects Lyft will become a bigger
corporate player this year, particularly in light of its recent $1
billion investment round, half of which came from General Motors. "One
way GM and Lyft plan to take on Uber is by creating a number of short-term car
rental hubs across the U.S. that will allow people who do not own a car to pick
one up and, in that moment, become an income-earning driver for Lyft,"
according to Certify. "This move should increase both the company's
operating footprint, as well as its base of available drivers, who are
essential to any expansion strategy."