Just before Dallas' revamped transportation-for-hire regulations go into effect on April 30, a new report shows how deep of a foothold app-based car service Uber has carved into the city.
Dallas and San Francisco are the the two cities that saw more business users take trips in an Uber car than in a cab, according to Certify, a travel and expense software company. Fifty-six percent of paid car-rides by business users in Dallas were taken with Uber during the first quarter in 2015, more than double the 27 percent share Uber rides took in the first three months of 2014. Lyft, another ride-sharing app that many see as Uber's competition, barely made a blip on the expensed-trip radar, accounting for less than 1 percent of business rides nationally, according to Certify.
New York City and Chicago business users both still favor cabs by more than 50 percent, which probably has a lot to do with the fact that you can, you know, actually hail a cab on the street in those cities.
Once the new regulations kick in, it will be interesting to see if Uber can maintain the gains it's made. Uber drivers, Lyft drivers and cab drivers will all have to have city of Dallas licenses by the end of this month. Uber and Lyft drivers will also be required to carry commercial insurance that activates whenever they are picking up or driving passengers.