Ride-sharing to usurp car ownership and provide a quarter of all trips, claims The Economist

Uber and other ride-hailing services will account for a quarter of all trips globally by 2030 as they increasingly provide jourmeys cheaper than car ownership.

This is the claim of latest edition of The Economist, which pointed to Uber’s $70bn valuation as evidence investors expect it to not only shake up the $100bn world taxi market, but increasingly move into the $10 trillion market for global mobility. It quotes an estimate from the bank Morgan Stanley that in less than 15 years the 4% share of global trips will increase sixfold, including other firms such as Ola in India and Lyft in the US.

The news journal argues Uber journeys are already cheaper than car ownership for 14% of people in US urban centres, and says Uber is pushing down costs further.

However, it acknowledges reports that the company lost $1.3bn or more in the first two quarters of 2016, that it is locked out of a number of European markets and faces the prospect of further battles with regulators if it becomes more dominant, and that its planned move into autonomous vehicles will mean it is no longer 'asset light,' lowering profit margins.