Transportation development has hardly been stagnant. In just over a century, humankind has seen the introduction of automobiles, planes, and electric trains. We have gained access to fast and convenient public transit options as well as affordable and expedient private vehicles. Yet, it seems to surprise nearly everyone that the transportation industry is continuing to change ― this time, thanks to ridesharing.
Though the concept of ridesharing has been around for several decades, only within the past 10 years or so has the practice gained widespread use. These days more than a third of Americans rely on ridesharing apps to get around, and experts predict that number to increase dramatically in a few short years with the introduction of yet more impressive transportation technology. Still, most people are fascinated, frightened, or both at the development of ridesharing as a transportation solution. Perhaps understanding the history and implications of this innovation will help everyone understand and feel enthusiastic about ridesharing’s rise.
The History of Ridesharing
In truth, ridesharing isn’t the most novel of transportation developments. The concept of sharing transportation existed long before planes, trains, and automobiles: The first taxi service on record began in 16 when drivers collected passengers in horse-drawn buggies. Even ridesharing as we know it today ― strangers selling space in their personal vehicles ― was first noted in 1914, just after Ford’s affordable Model-Ts hit American streets. Jitneys, as rideshares were called then, competed directly with licensed taxi cabs and allowed enterprising car owners to earn a little on the side.
In the middle of the 20th century, commuters concerned about road congestion and fuel prices organized ridesharing programs in cities around the U.S., helping ride-less workers connect with drivers to cut costs and beat traffic. In fact, Nixon’s and Carter’s administrations supported such initiatives with government funding. Though the ridesharers of the past might have lacked the mobile technology of modern ridesharing, they were still able to take advantage of the abundant benefits of sharing rides, to include easy profits, convenient transport, lower consumption, and more.
In the late ‘00s and early ‘10s, as the Global Recession saw most folks looking for budget-savvy solutions to costly problems, the atmosphere was right for another ridesharing resurgence. However, at the same time, smart mobile technology was finally gaining traction, and app developers were expanding into new service industries. As a result, the peer-to-peer sharing economy boomed: Users could buy and sell used goods, use spare bedrooms as travel accommodation, hire average people to complete chores, and, perhaps most importantly, participate in car sharing. Since then, car sharing has ballooned into a multi-billion-dollar sector of the transportation industry ― and it should become even more valuable in coming years.
The Future of Transportation
Ridesharing isn’t the only factor altering transportation’s landscape. Consumers’ interest in more affordable, more efficient vehicles has increased research and development of cheap and environmentally friendly transportation options, including optimized public transit and fuel-efficient vehicles. What’s more, several automobile manufacturers are primed to release autonomous vehicles as early as 2018.
Though it might not be novel, the ridesharing industry is proving itself to be flexible and forward-thinking. Ridesharing companies are exceedingly interested in proving that car sharing is better for the environment than at least one alternative: personal vehicles. Indeed, there is ample evidence to suggest that ridesharing is indeed greener than driving your own car. What’s more, most ridesharing companies are already preparing for the driverless revolution, partnering with autonomous vehicle manufacturers and organizing their infrastructures to offer consumers both driver and driverless options.
The introduction of robot cars should revolutionize transportation in a way we haven’t seen since the first commercial flight. Paired with the existing ridesharing market, autonomous vehicles are likely to create a more convenient and private form of public transit. After all, it makes little sense for a person to waste money purchasing and maintaining a vehicle when he or she can receive the same services on-demand; with driverless cars, there is little difference between using a rideshare and riding in one’s own vehicle.
GM, Toyota, BMW, Volkswagen, Volvo, and a handful of other automakers have cultivated close relationships with existing rideshare companies to facilitate the launch of their autonomous services. Ridesharing is certain to be integral in the future of transportation, so the consumer should strive to become friendly with the service before the true revolution begins.