Back

Are Ride-Hailing Services Causing The Death Of Car Ownership?

16 October 2017

What type of car you own has always been one of the biggest status symbols.

But even more than the make and model, just the fact you can roll around in your own set of wheels sends a strong message to the world that you’ve made it in life — you no longer have to ride smelly public transport, get drenched in the rain while walking to work, or rely on anyone else for a lift.

But owning a car isn’t only a great way for people to show off to their neighbours, it’s also a potent symbol for businesses too.

Just as having a brand-spanking new McLaren P1 LM on your drive says a lot about you, nothing says more about a business than the vehicles that make up its fleet. The manufacturer, fuel type, cleanliness, even the country in which they were made — all these things say a lot about its values and way of conducting business.

But clever companies have long known you don’t need to own your fleet to make a strong impression. In fact, leasing your vehicles from an outside company can work wonders for your business’s image, thanks to additional services like fleet and risk management, maintenance and repair, and regular vehicle or model upgrades.

From a business perspective, leasing simply makes sense in every area — time, money, environment, positioning. But not having your own car and leasing instead has taken a while to be adopted by the masses, not least due to the notion of having to own everything being deeply into our culture and our idea of success.

However, for a number of years, there’s been a steady decline in the number of young people buying cars, and, for that matter, even getting their drivers licences. The reasons include everything from cost and insurance to parking and traffic — not to mention getting home after a bender of a night out.

And today, with the new wave of ride-hailing and carpool services, car ownership may finally have met its match.

This is no doubt down to the ease of being able to tap a few buttons and hail a ride, but what’s really tipping the scales is what services like Uber are offering in terms of luxury and comfort — rivalling the long-standing notion that owning is better.

I mean, why sink your savings into a deposit for a new sports hatchback when you can pay pittance for a lift in a saloon or MPV with tinted windows and leather trim? New services like UberX, UberExec, and UberLUX, are offering users the chance to ride in a range of luxury vehicles, on-demand, and even receive the chauffeur service to go with them.

What seals the deal is the fact that the costs are comparable — with ride-hailing even working out more economical for some people.

One study on Los Angeles analysed the costs of owning a car versus using UberX to get around. It found that for people who drive less than around 10,000 miles a year, UberX is cheaper than owning a car.

The ride-hailing craze is also good news in terms of traffic and congestion. As users are forced to weigh up the costs of each ride, it may encourage them to take fewer trips — in contrast to using their own car and not thinking about the costs of their driving habits.

Who’s to say if ride-hailing will fully replace car ownership. But one thing’s for sure, with self-driving vehicles, carpooling services, and other emerging transport tech like flying cars and the Hyperloop, it’s hard to deny the days of owning a car are in the past.

If you’d like to find out more about our leasing service or our other fleet management options, leave us a comment or send us a message via our contact page.

Back