Uber, Lyft may lead to drop in car ownership, study finds

Uber, Lyft may lead to drop in car ownership, study finds

Uber and Lyft have been saying for years that ride-sharing companies would lead to fewer people owning cars. A new study shows there could be some truth to the claim.

Researchers from three universities surveyed Uber and Lyft customers in Austin, Texas, after the company had to leave the city because of a city ordinance. The surveyors found that 41 percent of the consumers used their own car to fill the void, and 9 percent bought a car. Several smaller ride-sharing companies that entered the market after Uber and Lyft left captured 42 percent of the consumers.

The researchers did find that those who had their own car took more trips than the ones who stayed with ride-sharing companies. The study was done by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, Texas A&M Transportation Institute and Columbia University.

One news website, theverge.com, wrote about the survey results, –Itês an interesting snapshot, but far from the evidence of the wholesale demise of personal car ownership that has been the hallmark of ride-share company executive rhetoric for several years.”

A study last year by the American Public Transportation Association found that users of Uber and Lyft own almost half a car less on average than people who never used ride-sharing services.

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