The growth in popularity of ride-share services has been nothing short of extraordinary over the last decade or so. In around a decade (ever since apps made them possible), they’ve gone from minor startups to multinational businesses providing a significant proportion of the world’s transport.
However, while they might be convenient, they also come with various downsides. Yes, you can order a taxi on your app, and that’s nice, but these issues with these services are making many people believe that conventional car ownership will last far longer, perhaps into the 2050s, instead of ending this decade.
Inconsistent Driver Quality
One issue is inconsistent driver quality. When you go to a regular taxi firm, you know you’re getting people who have been doing it as their job for many years. The taxi company employs them to provide a service, and then they hone their skills to ensure they boost the firm’s reputation.
That’s not always the case with ride-sharing apps. Many of these companies hire members of the public looking for side gigs, and they may not provide the service quality riders expect. Their driving style might be too “boy-racer” for them, or they may fail to anticipate what’s going to happen next on the road, leading to stop-start driving.
Hidden Fees And Costs
On top of this, some services charge hidden fees and costs, which traditional taxis don’t. For example, ride-sharing services often track base fares but then add things like service charges, tolls, and booking fees.
These additions can be annoying and detract from the quality of the service, especially when using lesser-known options. Furthermore, they can make it challenging to trust services, because you never know how much they’re going to cost until you step into the cab.
Related to this is the issue of surge pricing. Apps use this mechanism to ration rides during peak hours, but they can catch you out. You take a ride-share to a destination believing that it will be the same on the way home, but it isn’t.
Lousy weather and rush hour traffic can also add to these delays, making these services more expensive than traditional metered options. Surge pricing is supposed to solve problems, but it often just creates holes in your wallet.
Driver Risks
Then there are the driver risks, something that firms like The L.A. Law Firm deal with daily. Drivers may crash their vehicles, cause injuries, or behave inappropriately. In extreme cases, felonies may also be involved.
These driver risks shouldn’t be taken lightly. Many of these apps are always looking for new drivers and don’t go through all the steps required to ensure they’re safe. That means that anyone stepping into these vehicles is potentially at a higher risk. There are now many stories of awful ride-sharing experiences, some verging on the criminal.
Driver Exploitation Issues
At the other end of the spectrum, there are driver exploitation issues. Because many of these drivers are self-employed in the eyes of these ride-sharing apps, they don’t always earn much money. Because of this, they could be paid less than the minimum wage.
Apps spend a lot of money making the case that they compensate their drivers well, but their incentive is always to offer the cheapest service and pay as little as possible.
Driver exploitation is particularly bad when drivers have to wait long periods between rides. When this happens, their hourly rates fall further.
Data Privacy Issues
Data concerns are also an issue when using ride-sharing apps. Many of these services collect personal information, like your travel habits and payment details, which someone else could exploit at a later date.
Mishandling of data is a serious issue and something that can be hacked. Already, privacy issues have arisen through the poor data handling practices of many of these firms, so who’s to say it won’t happen again?
Limited Accessibility
Finally, many of these services run into limited accessibility issues. It’s not easy for people with disabilities or older adults to take advantage of these services in their areas.
Rural or less populated areas also benefit little from this. These areas simply don’t offer sufficient business for these ride-sharing apps, so there’s little point in them setting up operations.
These combined mean that ride-sharing might not be practical in your location. While traditional taxi services may be available, it’s unlikely that there is a gig economy of sufficient size operating nearby.
