With ridesharing services taking over the streets in major cities, they’re causing infrastructure issues and are running up against new laws and regulations put in place to govern the swarm. In August 2018, New York City became the first major hub to cap service, issuing a one-year freeze on all new vehicle licenses in an effort to cut down on gridlock and regulate the booming ride-hail industry. In another attempt to reduce congestion, the city implemented a new surcharge in February 2019 for all for-hire vehicles traveling through the busiest neighborhoods (read: the majority of Manhattan). In Barcelona, Uber and Cabify suspended their services following a new law requiring all vehicles to be booked at least 15 minutes in advance. And this fallout is not just reserved to cars; in Europe, dockless bike sharing schemes have faced trouble, with British companies like OfO, oBike and Urbo exiting the market in the past year due to problems with infrastructure and uptake.
As a result, apps dedicated to a single avenue of ridesharing are becoming a thing of the past as consumers look for a more seamless and diversified travel experience across public and private services.