It's a question that every person who needs to use a car to get around asks at some point: should I own a car or just use Uber and Lyft?
AAA released a study this month saying ride-sharing is not a cost-effective replacement for vehicle ownership.
AAA said in the study that those living in smaller towns or rural areas will pay $20,118 annually by relying on ride-hailing services as a primary mode of transportation. This would equate to more than twice the cost of owning a car, factoring in gas, insurance and parking.
AAA said for San Diego specifically it would cost an average of $17,316 per year.
“Whether you own a vehicle or not, ride-hailing services are a convenient transportation option,” said John Nielsen, managing director, Automotive Engineering and Repair. “However, with the average American city-dweller driving nearly 11,000 miles per year, a personal vehicle is still the more cost-effective choice.”
But Lyft disputes this study, saying that it does not account for shared rides or combining rideshare with transit, bicycles, scooters and other transportation.
A spokeswoman for Lyft said, “This AAA report contains a number of blind spots when examining the costs of ridesharing compared to vehicle ownership. Most prominently, it admits to not examining shared rides, which comprise one-third of Lyft rides in cities where shared rides are available."
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Lyft said research asserts that while 80 percent of weekly drivers said they never use public transit, 95.5 percent of weekly rideshare riders utilize public transit.
"Many researchers have found that using Lyft and services like it is a more affordable and sustainable alternative to personal car ownership," said Lyft Spokesperson Campbell Matthews. "With each personal vehicle sitting unused for 96% of the time on average, Lyft remains committed to increasing car occupancy and making car ownership optional."
