How Safe Are Ride-Share Car Services?

There are new and interesting alternatives to cab rides popping up these days, at least if you live in a decent sized town – although even that is changing.

Before the advent of mobile data and GPS this would not have been possible, but now there are private companies that are essentially “crowd-sourcing” the delivery of people to their destinations in clean cars driven by, essentially, good drivers – but read on for more information on the  safety of shared car services in the US:

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Thirty years ago you’d head to the highway on ramp, stick out your thumb, and catch a ride with anyone who was kind enough to pull over and give you a lift. It might not have been the safest choice, as you never knew who might pull over and what their motivation might be.

Today it’s a very different world. Ride sharing is both viable and mainstream. The most recognized platform for finding a ride is Uber, the multi-billion dollar business that connects passengers with drivers through its app. It operates in more than 100 cities in the U.S., and 45 countries worldwide and is challenging the traditional taxi and limousine services in each of those markets.

A competitor to Uber is Lyft, a peer-to-peer service that has launched in numerous cities. According to Lyft, they are different in that they don’t engage professional drivers; just people that want to make themselves, and their cars, available for rides. Another player with a similar model to Lyft is Sidecar.

Uber runs background checks on all potential drivers as the first level of screening to ensure safety. This is true in the U.S., but each market has different rules so it’s important to know the rules for the destination you might be in. An added level of security comes in the form of reviews, when passengers rate their experience on a scale of one to five stars.

Uber offers both private car and ride-sharing options where you can jump in with strangers. Should you worry when traveling with strangers in the case of an Uber or Lyft ride-share? If you’ve ever taken the Airport Shuttle, you’ve had a similar, but not as comfortable, experience. Go for it. How Safe Are Ride-Share Car Services?