It's clear that the growing popularity of disrupters like Uber, Lyft and Zipcar have fundamentally changed our transportation habits, and indeed our perceptions of car ownership. Not only have these disruptive companies quickly closed in on the taxi market, the automobile industry is also feeling the pain as more consumers begin to embrace the share economy.
Ironically, it seems that along with taxi companies, ride-sharing start-ups will also have something to worry about, with the growing anticipation of self-driving cars hitting the road within five to ten years. According to Crowd Companies:
"Ride sharing drivers at Uber, Lyft, Sidecar, BlaBlaCar will be disrupted as autonomous cars do a safer job at lower cost."
Some car dealerships are already testing such cars on the road. At this year's largest wireless event, Mobile World Congress, Reneault-Nissan announced its plans to launch a self-driving car, capable of maneuvering in traffic jams, come 2016.
Arguably the phenomenon behind ride-sharing platforms such as Zipcar and BlaBlaCar, have helped pave the way for the interest in self-driving cars. "Society is learning we don't need to own a car to complete our journey, increasing the demand for this new product,"Crowd Companies' Jeremiah Owyang observed.
It is not only taxis and ride-sharing companies that are set to be disrupted, with predictions the arrival of self-driving cars will have a ripple effect throughout other industries as well. Indeed Owyang predicts that car ownership may very well dwindle, and "mid range and long range transportation and delivery services would be impacted as local delivery becomes automated."
Of course, there are many kinks to be worked out before the product is ready for the mass market, notably the vulnerability of computer-run cars being prone to viruses. However as the share economy continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how first generation ride-sharing companies will adapt to remain competitive with the arrival of self-driving cars set to become a game-changer.
self-driving car / shutterstock