Sorry, cabbies, but business travelers just like Uber better

There are hundreds of cab drivers who are already cranky about Uber and the latest report from Certify isn't going to improve their collective mood. Certify, an expense report management company, sifted through all of the receipts its users submitted from April 1 through June 30 and have released a SpendSmart Report for the second quarter of 2015. For the first time ever, Uber has become the most popular option for business travelers, outpacing taxis and its rideshare rivals. During that three month period, 55% of business travelers chose Uber, compared to 43% for cabs and a sad looking 1% for Lyft. That's a tremendous increase for Uber compared to June 2014, when cabs were the occasionally weird-smelling ride of choice for 74% of business travelers.

According to Certify, the average cost of an Uber ride was $30.03, compared with $34.48 for a taxi and $22.51 for Lyft (and here's where Regina George would roll her eyes and say "Stop trying to make Lyft happen"). Robert Neveu, the CEO of Certify, said: 

"Our latest survey shows that for the first time, Uber overtook taxicabs, when competing for the business traveler dollar. Along with an uptick in the use of both Lyft and Airbnb, it’s clear that the sharing economy is here to stay for business people. We believe this market shift is based on both convenience and price, since these newer services are typically more cost-effective compared with traditional vendors. Established travel providers will need to adapt quickly or face further market share erosion to the sharing economy."

And yes, Airbnb is becoming a more popular option for those spending their bosses' money too. It hasn't quite reached Uber-like popularity yet, but there was a 148% increase in the number of business travelers who stayed in an Airbnb rental between Q1 an Q2 of this year. Although the average stay at an Airbnb was longer than a hotel stay – 3.8 nights to 2.1 nights – sleeping in your host's bed "so you may know their dreams" was 256% more expensive.