With a new integration of public transport options, ride-hailing company Uber is making headway in easing some of the much-publicized tension between ride-hailing companies like itself and competitor Lyft and the cities in which they operate. These service-providers have been criticized for the impact their service has on decreasing ridership of public transport—a 1.3% reduction of rail ridership and 1.7% of bus ridership per year upon arrival in a market, as surmised in a recent study published by the University of Kentucky—however, Lyft and Uber have made strides to reduce this negative impact by offering public transport options alongside their service. Lyft made the first such efforts last year when it began piloting the integration of a new tab offering public transport options in its app in the belief that users will be more likely to consider these options before selecting a ride.
Uber, however, have taken a crucial step forward in their integration of Denver public transit options with the addition of a journey planner layer, akin to the functionality offered by Google Maps, giving users a direct, easy understanding of how they may access these options. Furthermore, Uber is expected to capitalize on its partnership with the mobile ticketing software producer Masabi and add the ability to purchase tickets within the app, thereby packaging the public transport options as a comparable package alongside the familiar ride-hail.
University of Kentucky study on public transport ridership declines (pdf)
Lyft’s public transport integration pilot in Santa Monica, California and Washington D.C.
Uber’s service integration in Denver, ColoradoUber’s service integration in Denver, Colorado
