I don't know where you live, but existing with "what ifs" sounds really depressing. Consider spending some of your trading dollars on a decent size luxury SUV or truck, with satellite radio coming through an upscale sound system…enjoy life. Take some advanced driver training if you're so worried about getting into accidents. Ride sharing is like using a public washroom…avoid it, unless you really have to.
I had Asian metropolises in mind. The "what ifs" are real scenarios, no amount of driving lessons will help when people crash into your vehicle. It's also quite fun to just step out of a vehicle and forget about it, not spend 15 minutes looking for a parking space and worry about someone scratching your precious.
Not to mention that saying that "Ride sharing is like using a public washroom…avoid it, unless you really have to." would be equivalent to saying that a good hotel is a public washroom and each time you travel to one place, you buy real state on that place just to be in something that is "exclusively yours". You can even pick which type of vehicle you want to call... If you want the cheapest or the best, it is your choice... That with all the benefits that have already been mentioned.
Asian metropolises… where are you? in Syria? If that's the case, then ya. People there are probably running into each other to get out of there. My comments were directed toward more democratic western civilized dwellings.
Same goes for taking a first class flight, you're sitting in someone else's filth! Obviously everyone needs a private plane. I was thinking Manila but same goes for huge western cities as well.
Bear in mind that this study may have been funded by Uber, Lyft or some other party that has something to gain from this. Remember the cigarette manufacturers funding research saying smoking does not cause cancer. Similar to this I have started seeing studies saying renting is better than owning...
On that basis it could be funded by a car manufacturer who is behind the curve when it comes to self driving cars , it could be financed by just about anybody or nobody , but if you can't see the cost savings your an idiot , mostly most of the cost of hiring a taxi is labour.
Uber costs less than driving in some major cities In four of the five largest U.S. cities, it may be cheaper to replace car ownership with a ride-sharing service such as Uber. Results of a study released last week released found that commuters in New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles spend less weekly commuting and running errands using Uber than they would owning a car. (The Car Connection)
Study: Uber and Lyft might go out of business before they can effect the ride sharing business of the future. I agree that for a casual car user they can be cheaper than a car ownership, but they also have to stay in business and there this finicky thing called profits.... https://www.forbes.com/sites/lensherman/2017/12/14/why-cant-uber-make-money/#6a83f1dd10ec "Uber’s seven-year entrepreneurial journey has been extraordinary. No venture has ever raised more capital, grown as fast, operated more globally, reached as lofty a valuation -- or lost as much money as Uber. Last month, Uber reported a third-quarter loss of nearly $1.5 billion, bringing its 2017 year-to-date red ink to $3.2 billion. Losses of this magnitude are clearly not sustainable, and call for an explanation of why Uber has been unable to rein in ballooning costs and what it will need to do to survive, let alone prosper."