Ride sharing statistics

Article by Matilda Douglas-Henry

Ride sharing services like Uber, Lyft, and DiDi only came into the world about a decade ago, but for many of us they have become a convenient and familiar mainstay in our daily lives. As one of the fastest-growing industries in the world, there are a lot of facts and figures on ride sharing, which we will share with you in this article. 

Here we will cover:

1. An overview of ride sharing statistics
   
2. Global ride sharing statistics 
   
3. Ride sharing statistics in Australia
   
4. Ride sharing statistics by demographic
   
5. Ride sharing and safety
   
6. Ride sharing projections
   

Ride sharing statistics: an overview

• The ride sharing industry is a fast-growing one, and is worth an estimated $61 billion; its global value was less than $1 billion a decade ago. 
  
• Uber, arguably the most popular ride sharing platform, has 3.8 million drivers worldwide, and completed an average 18.7 million trips a day in 2020*.  
  
• Rideshare vehicles are becoming increasingly more complicit in road accidents that result in both serious injuries and fatalities. 
  

Global ride sharing statistics

There is quite a lot of variety between local and global ride sharing data, as many countries have ride sharing platforms that you can’t find elsewhere. Uber is often high in the ranks as one of the most popular services worldwide, but what about other apps? 

Lyft, for example, has become an increasingly popular service for many American commuters. Together, Lyft and Uber control 99 per cent of the market in the United States. In 2017, Uber controlled 74 per cent of the market on its own, which dropped to 69 per cent in 2020—a reflection of Lyft gaining serious recognition in the industry. Approximately 25 per cent of the entire United States population uses a ride sharing app at least once a month. 

China, by comparison, is dominated by DiDi, a ride sharing service that came to Australia in 2018. In 2016, DiDi bought Uber’s Chinese outpost, and accounts for over 90 per cent of the country’s rideshare market. 

Ride sharing statistics in Australia 

In keeping with the global trend, Uber is the most popular rideshare service in Australia. A report from 2020 shows that Uber heavily dominates the local market, with over 9 in 10 users choosing Uber over other services. 

Nevertheless, other platforms like Ola and DiDi provide competition in a market that only continues to grow. The 2020 report has 93 per cent of customers using Uber, followed by Ola (20 per cent) and DiDi (14 per cent). 

Ride sharing statistics by demographic

In Australia, Uber is most popular with passengers aged 50 and over, and is used equally by men and women. Newer platforms have targeted marketing strategies aimed at younger users; DiDi is favoured by 18 to 29 year old males, and Ola is the preferred platform for females aged 30 to 49. And let’s not forget Shebah, a Melbourne-based service that offers female drivers to a female-only market*.

In the United States, ride sharing is most popular with Americans aged 18 to 29, making up 51 per cent of active customers. 53 per cent of Uber and Lyft users earn an annual salary of $75,000 and over, likely because ride sharing mainly operates in urban cities. As far as drivers, in 2019 only 27 per cent of American Uber drivers were female. 

Ride sharing and safety 

As ride sharing continues to expand its global presence, it has started to play a disturbingly prevalent role in road accidents and other unsafe scenarios.

Rideshare vehicles are becoming significantly more involved in accidents, in large part because drivers are spending too much time on the road. Some troubling US-based statistics show that: 

• Ride sharing has increased traffic deaths by 3 per cent. 
  
• Rideshare vehicles account for approximately 1,000 daily car accident deaths. 
  
• Between 2017 and 2018, Uber vehicles were involved in 97 fatal crashes. 
  
• Accidents occurring at drop-off and pick-up points are also increasing*. 
  

With ride sharing showing no signs of slowing down, these figures will grow over time. It’s important to adopt as many safety and preventative measures as you can: if possible, don’t ride alone (particularly when in a vulnerable or compromised state), always wear your seatbelt, and don’t be afraid to ask your driver to slow down if they’re making you nervous. 

Ride sharing projections

The ride sharing market is anticipated to be worth a staggering $220 billion by 2025, which is an increase of nearly 400 per cent from its current value of $61 billion. Pundits also anticipate that the self-driving car industry is going to play a big role in the future of ride sharing, with Lyft, Uber, and DiDi already focusing on technological advancements in this field. Autonomous vehicle development is projected to generate a global revenue of $173 billion by 2023 .  

Conclusion 

We hope this article has you feeling well-informed about ride sharing and its global and local dominance. If you or your car has been in an accident involving a rideshare vehicle, use our quick quotes service if applicable, and review your insurance policy before you make a claim.