Ride-sharing Apps Overtake Taxis on Expense Reports

The increasing popularity of ride-sharing apps such as Uber and Lyft has vaulted them ahead of traditional taxi and car rental services on corporate expense reports, according to one expense management software vendor.

Uber and Lyft now account for 48.7 percent of the overall ground transportation category nationwide, according to the Certify Q2 SpendSmart Report, a 3 percent increase from the previous quarter. Car rental receipts for the second quarter represent 37 percent of the total, while taxi receipts account for 14 percent, with taxi receipts declining 51 percent since 2014.

Uber dominated over Lyft and taxis, accounting for 73 percent of ground transportation transactions in Q2 (with over 10 million receipts and expenses analyzed by Certify, a provider of travel and expense management software.

The mobile apps have provided stiff competition for traditional taxi drivers, many of whom now have been forced to sign up with the apps to get customers.

“Our data shows the real-time transformation of the ground transportation category and how modern business travelers have wholly embraced ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft,” said Certify CEO Robert Neveu in a statement. “The market continues to grow at an incredible pace, and competition is getting sharper and more sophisticated. I think what we’re seeing now is really the emergence of the kind of market forces you find in more mature industries, forces that will invariably drive downward pressure on pricing, as well as an increased demand for new and better services in the future. Ride hailing was bent on disruption from the beginning, and by the looks of it there’s a lot more change to come.”

Prices do seem to be dropping for fares in many cities, although Uber continues to attract criticism for its surge pricing policy, inviting increased competition from rival apps such as Gett. The average price of an Uber fare dropped in Q2 to $25.48, a decline of 15 percent since the second quarter of 2015. In contrast, taxi fares rose 15 percent over the same time period. But while Lyft captured only 5 percent of all ride-hailing transactions in the second quarter of this year, it appears to be growing faster than Uber since  the second quarter of 2014 (145 percent for Uber, compared to 176 percent for Lyft), according to Certify’s figures.

Certify also tracks other types of expenses that traditionally show up on T&E reports, such as hotel bills, meals and airline fares. Some of the other results for Q2 are below:

Most-Expensed Restaurants:
Starbucks: 4.81% of expenses, averaging $11.55 per receipt
McDonald’s: 2.83%, averaging $8.75
Panera Bread: 1.65%, averaging $39.52
Subway: 1.6%, averaging $16.09
Dunkin’ Donuts: 1.31%, averaging $12.38
Most Expensed Restaurants by Meal
Breakfast: Starbucks 16.18%
Lunch: Subway 3.49%
Dinner: McDonald’s 1.81%

Top Rated Restaurants (on a scale from 1 to 5, rated by travelers)
Chick-Fil-A      4.5
Panera Bread  4.3
Jimmy John’s  4.2
Starbucks        4.2
Chipotle           4.1

Most Expensed Airlines
Delta: 21.14%, averaging $427.41
American Airlines: 19.94%, averaging $306.83
Southwest Airlines: 14.46%, averaging $297.22
United Airlines: 13.42%, averaging $413.02
Alaska Airlines: 1.39%, averaging $252.93

Top Rated Airlines
JetBlue                   4.5
Alaska Airlines        4.4
Southwest Airlines  4.3
Delta                       4.2
American Airlines    3.7

Most-Expensed Hotels
Hampton Inn: 9.29%, averaging $227.03
Marriott: 8.54%, averaging $244.87
Courtyard by Marriott: 6.87%, averaging $179.04
Holiday Inn Express: 4.73%, averaging $221.27
Hilton Garden Inn: 4.59%, averaging $201.54

Top Rated Hotels
Hilton                           4.3
Marriott                         4.3
Westin Hotels              4.3
Courtyard by Marriott   4.2
Hilton Garden Inn         4.2

Most Expensed Car-Rental Services
National: 24.61%, averaging $187.11
Enterprise: 16.34%, averaging $218.60
Hertz: 15.38%, averaging $201.25
Avis: 13.14%, averaging $190.99
Budget: 4.20%, averaging $196.12

Top Rated Car-Rental Services
National:    4.3
Enterprise: 4.2
Avis:           4.1
Hertz:         3.9
Budget:       3.8

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