Transporation Network Companies such as Uber have quickly become the norm of everyday, short-distance transportation in metropolitan areas. Eventually, the services by these companies may even replace car ownership– tech analysts predict that using electric ride-shares will be four to 10 times cheaper per mile than buying a new car by 2021, giving the public more access to car-rides. But what progress is currently being made to make ride-sharing more accessible, to all levels of income?
These data points are from April 2014. The most active and highest income locations in New York City appear to be in lower Manhattan, which is interestingly also the location of many subway stops.
Peak pickup time each day is generally around 4pm, so we can assume people are going home from work. But regardless of time or day, rather than serving the areas that are not as wealthy and do not have as many subway stops, Ubers are picking up in higher income zipcodes.