Uber's popularity surges; business travelers avoiding taxis
Apr 7, 1:01 PM EDT
Uber's popularity surges; business travelers avoiding
taxis
By SCOTT MAYEROWITZ AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- Business travelers are bypassing the
taxi queue with greater frequency, choosing instead ride-hailing services like
Uber Technologies.
A new report by expense management system provider
Certify shows that 47 percent of the ground transportation rides by its users
in March were through Uber. That's more than tripled from the 14 percent of
rides that Uber had just over a year ago in January 2014. In a few cities, Uber
now tops taxi rides for business travelers.
"While we often see noteworthy market shifts -
leading restaurant chains and hotels exchanging leadership positions, for
example - it is unprecedented to see one vendor grow to take such a commanding
market share within one year's time," says Certify CEO Bob Neveu.
While taxis, limousines and airport shuttles still
dominate the ground transportation business, Certify's report shows
ride-hailing services are rapidly on the rise among business travelers. Certify
based its finding on the 28 million trip receipts its North American clients
submit each year.
Uber connects travelers with various cars through its
smartphone app. Some drivers work for car service companies; others spend a few
hours driving their personal cars on the side for some extra money.
Business travelers might be quickly moving toward Uber,
but their employers have some major concerns.
Mike McCormick, executive director of the Global Business
Travel Association, notes that many companies are worried about issues of
safety and liability. Depending on the city, Uber drivers aren't necessarily
regulated by government taxi licensing authorities. Both Uber and competitor
Lyft insure their drivers during paid rides and also require the drivers to
carry personal auto insurance that covers them the rest of the time.
Uber has faced criticism that its employees
inappropriately accessed customer data and that it does not properly screen
drivers to ensure they have clean criminal records.
In a few cities, Uber beats out taxis by a wide margin
for business travelers. In its home town of San Francisco, 71 percent of rides
expensed through Certify during the first quarter were for Uber; 29 percent
used taxis. Uber also beat out all other forms of ground transportation in
Dallas, accounting for 56 percent of the rides.
In Los Angeles and Washington D.C., Uber represented 49
percent of business travel rides. Taxis, limousines and airport shuttles still
reigned in New York, Miami and Chicago where they took 79 percent, 77 percent
and 75 percent of rides expensed, respectively.
© 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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