Fasten your seatbelt … as we travel into the safety zone of the ridesharing landscape

In this Jan. 14, 2016, photo, a driver waits to pick up passengers at an Uber and Lyft pick up area at the Bellagio hotel and casino in Las Vegas. (Photo: AP/John Locher)

As ridesharing continues to transform and disrupt traditional methods of transportation, scrutiny behind the safety of passengers continues to be a topic for discussion, particularly by the long-standing players in the transportation industry. Driver safety is also a concern.

Transportation network companies (TNCs), also known as ridesharing companies, have modernized the transportation industry, and brought modern regulations. The taxi industry believes these differing regulations give ridesharing companies an unfair advantage. In terms of pricing, for example, ridesharing companies can increase prices during peak times, but taxis can’t due to regulatory constraints. They further claim that the regulations surrounding ridesharing don’t sufficiently protect the safety of passengers as the legacy regulations do for taxi services. There is no evidence that this is accurate, however, and in fact, ridesharing may actually be safer.