Millennials Embrace Ride Hailing
to Pave a New Path For Mobility

Quick: What first comes to mind when you hear the term “shared mobility service?” If you said Uber, you’d be in line with more than half of Americans, according to new research from ReportLinker. The ride-hailing service was mentioned by 57% of respondents in unaided questions, and 96% of the time in aided responses. The company has been so successful at generating awareness of the space, that Americans are more likely to cite a brand name than a type of service when asked about their familiarity with shared mobility options.

That Uber’s brand is top of mind among consumers is notable, both because shared mobility services are poised to disrupt the transportation market in a big way and because ride-hailing services are just one of several shared mobility options:

• Car-sharing services, offer drivers the ability to lease an automobile for a few hours per day.
• Ride-sharing services, enable riders to share trips with others going the same way.
• Ride-hailing services, such as Uber, are notable for disrupting the taxi industry and are predicted to do the same to the automotive industry. These services enable passengers to hail freelance drivers using their own cars to transport riders on short trips.
• Bike-sharing services are similar to car-sharing, in which users pay nominal amounts to rent a bicycle for an hour or two.

While car-sharing has been around for a while – Zipcar began operations in 2000 – most of these shared mobility services are relatively new. But there’s a good reason Uber and ride-hailing are top of mind for consumers. Ride-hailing services are more popular than other types of mobility options. They’re used much more frequently than ride-sharing services, for example, with 82% of respondents to ReportLinker’s survey saying they’ve hailed a ride, compared to just 12% who say they use ride-sharing.

Beyond Uber, the brands American consumers recognize most are Lyft, which was mentioned by 75% of respondents in aided questions and 11% of the time in combination with Uber in unaided responses. Millennials, who have a higher comfort-level with ride-hailing services than older generations, demonstrated strong name recognition of top brands, with Uber (98%), Lyft (84%), and ZipCar (49%) at the top of the list.

One challenge for ride-hailing players is getting nonusers interested in their services. Although 59% of non-users mention ride-hailing services most often, 68% of this group say they’re reluctant to try such services.

Millennials Catch A Ride

When millennials head out to meet friends for an evening of socializing, they will pull out their phones, open an app, and summon a ride-hailing service like Uber, 70% of the time. This may be because millennials are less likely to own a car than older generations. Just 78% of millennials are car owners compared to 91% of older generations. This trend is why many technology and automotive companies are rethinking what the future may look like for personal transportation.

Millennials also tend to use ride-hailing services more frequently than other generations, with 13% saying they use such services as much as 2-5 times per week. By comparison, 51% of other generations say they summon cars less than once a month.

For this generation, ride-sharing services are attractive because they offer a fast way to commute and are an environmentally sound alternative that reduces fossil fuel consumption, ReportLinker says. It’s no wonder millennials are embracing shared mobility in larger numbers.

All Hail Ride-Hailing

Among all consumers, the top reason given for hailing rides from Uber and similar services is that they’re so easy to use. The ability to simply open an app and call a car to the nearest curb is appealing to 64% of US respondents, according to the ReportLinker survey. But it’s not the only reason. Thirty-six percent said they liked the short waiting time, while 35% cited the efficiency of the experience, and 28% said the reduced cost appealed to them.

Yet, there are still concerns. Several lawsuits accusing Uber drivers of alleged sexual assaults still resonate, with a third of riders saying they worry about safety during trips. American consumers also say they have concerns about data privacy and data security.

Overall, however, riders appear to be happy with their experience using shared mobility services. The average satisfaction score for users of ride-hailing services like Uber is 4.26 on a 5 point-scale. Among the reasons they say they’re pleased with the company they choose to use include the wide accessibility of the service (42%), the ease of payment (29%), and the low cost (22%).

And shared mobility companies continue to improve the customer experience. For example, in response to customer requests, Uber recently relaunched a completely redesigned app, making costs more transparent and simplifying access to customer service.

Impact of Ride-Hailing on The Future of Travel

Ride-hailing services, led by Uber, have significantly disrupted the landscape for personal travel. One of the significant findings of this study is that Millennials are embracing ride-sharing services with greater ease than older generations. Their preference for transportation options that are fast, easy-to-use, cost-effective and environmentally friendly are certain to reshape the future of travel.

The automobile industry certainly recognizes this shift and what it potentially means for the future of automobile ownership. Both traditional players like Toyota, and automotive startups such as Tesla have plans to enter the shared mobility market in coming months.

But because technology companies like Uber and Lyft have led the charge into shared mobility, they are poised to benefit from the trust they’ve built among their growing number of riders. More than half of US respondents say they’re more confident in technology companies and their ability to provide positive experiences for users of shared mobility services.

To make headway in this market, automakers will need to partner with shared mobility companies like Uber and Lyft if they expect to succeed in the redrawn landscape.