Young adults least likely to know ride-hailing exists in Winnipeg, poll finds

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This article was published 02/05/2018 (2466 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

While most Winnipeggers are aware of new ride-hailing services in the city, young adults are the least likely to know those options are even out there, a new research poll has found.

Roughly 90 per cent of people aged 45 and up are aware of the ride-hailing companies Cowboy Taxi and TappCar, which have been operating in Winnipeg since early March. Young adults aged 18 to 29 are the least aware (68 per cent).

That came as a surprise to the researchers, who were expecting to find the opposite, said Nicholas Borodenko of Prairie Research Associates.

“Normally when you’re talking about something that’s an online product, you’d expect awareness to decrease as people get older,” Borodenko said.

In total, 83 per cent of Winnipeggers are aware of ride-hailing options in the city, which were officially introduced in Manitoba on March 1.

1% have tried ride-hailing services

The study also found that of those aware of the services, only one per cent has actually tried them, with people aged 30 to 44 being the most frequent customers.

By comparison, in other major urban centres, heavy ride-hailing users often tend to be younger, Borodenko said.

“I think any business, if they opened their doors and had one per cent of Winnipeg come in over the first two months, they’d be elated.”–Nicholas Borodenko

“For us, one per cent of people sounded small, but when we thought about it some more, we realized one per cent of Winnipeggers is still thousands of people. And the services have really only been here for about two months,” Borodenko said.

“I think any business, if they opened their doors and had one per cent of Winnipeg come in over the first two months, they’d be elated.”

Researchers believe awareness of ride-hailing may skew higher among older demographics due to the lack of established names, such as Uber and Lyft, operating in the city, Borodenko said. The two companies have so far refused to come to the province, citing concerns over Manitoba Public Insurance’s policy for ride-hailing drivers.

“Those types of names certainly have a draw among younger people. I also think a lot of awareness about these companies is news driven and we know news consumption increases as people get older. You don’t really see a lot of advertising yet,” Borodenko said.

Access to credit cards may play a role

Mo Benini, owner of Cowboy Taxi, wasn’t exactly surprised by the results of the survey, saying it’s consistent with what his company is seeing on the streets. The majority of Cowboy Taxi’s customer base tends to be people aged 35 and up, he said.

“I have no answer for why the younger crowd in Winnipeg is not using it as much. The majority of our business is mostly older people. We have more airport clientele, seniors, people going to and from work. That’s who’s been using us,” Benini said.

“The biggest barrier is just getting people to use it in the first place.”–Mo Benini

“But anyone who has a smartphone, no matter what age they are, can use our services. We’re not really targeting any specific age. We’re there to transfer everyone who wants to get from point A to point B.”

Another possible explanation behind the poll results could be that fewer young people, on average, may have credit cards, Borodenko said. Credit cards are required to sign up for cashless ride-hailing services.

“A lot of people in their early twenties may not have credit cards. Older people are also more likely to travel, and so maybe have been introduced to (ride-hailing) in other cities. Once they’ve used it somewhere else, they’re more likely to use it here,” he said.

“What we’re seeing is the biggest barrier to using (ride-hailing) is just using it once. After that happens, people get hooked. The biggest barrier is just getting people to use it in the first place.”

Over the coming months Cowboy Taxi will be announcing new partnerships that will help promote the company’s brand, particularly among a younger market, Benini said, although he wouldn’t provide specific details.

A request for comment from TappCar was not returned.

In total, researchers surveyed 893 people from April 9 to 11.  Because the survey used a non-probability sample, no error rate can be calculated. A random population survey of this size would yield an error rate of plus or minus 3.34 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

@rk_thorpe