Auto Rental News
MenuMENU
SearchSEARCH

Uber Tops Car Rental in Business Travel

For the first time, Uber finished ahead of car rental for total national ground transportation for business travelers in fourth quarter 2015, according to Certify’s SpendSmart Report.

by Staff
January 27, 2016
Uber Tops Car Rental in Business Travel

A customer requests a ride through Uber's mobile app. Photo courtesy of Uber.

2 min to read


A customer requests a ride through Uber's mobile app. Photo courtesy of Uber.

Certify, a travel and expense management software provider, has released the results of its third annual SpendSmart Report on business travel spending trends for the fourth quarter 2015 and full-year 2015.

For the first time, ride-sharing Uber finished ahead of car rental as a percent of total rides nationally in Q4 2015. According to the Certify report, 41% of business travelers picked Uber, 39% chose car rental while 20% picked a taxi.

Ad Loading...

Prior to Q4 2015, only San Francisco and Boston reported Uber as having a greater percent of rides than car rental.

Lyft, the No. 2 ride-sharing service, accounts for a small part of the total rides, but the company has increased more than 700% in the last year, says the report.

“In the three years since the Certify SpendSmart Report was first released, we’ve seen the relative strength of the economy reflected in key sectors of the business travel market,” said Robert Neveu, CEO of Certify. “Prices have risen steadily along with demand for traditional travel services, and for the most part we haven’t seen a lot of fluctuation in expense amounts or the vendors preferred by most travelers. What we couldn’t have anticipated back in 2013 was the phenomenal growth of Uber and the impact it and other sharing economy services would have on corporate travel today. It’s a story that will continue to unfold for years to come.”

Additionally, the report ranked the top rated car rental services in fourth quarter. Out of five stars, Enterprise Rent-A-Car came in first place with 4.3 stars, followed by National Car Rental at 4.2 stars, Avis at 4 stars, Hertz at 3.9 stars and Budget Car Rental at 3.9 stars.

For full-year 2015, companies spend 5% of their travel and expense budgets on car rentals. The top percentages include 19% on meals, 17& on airlines and 14% on lodging, according to the report. For car rental, the average expense amount per individual transaction is $186.42.

Ad Loading...

The Certify SpendSmart Report provides analysis of vendors, expense amounts and satisfaction rating data from corporate expense reports collected directly from its customer base, according to the company.

Click here to view the full Fourth Quarter and full-year 2015 SpendSmart reports: 

More Rental Operations

Green Motion team with banner bearing Japanese flag.

Green Motion Expands Into Japan With Master Franchise Agreement

Japan's tourism industry, business travel market, and demand for vehicle rental services are reasons the country represents an important market for the company.

Read More →
ACRA Chairman Sharky Laguana on stage at the ICRS event in Grapevine, Texas.
Legal & Legislativeby Martin RomjueJune 24, 2026

ACRA Carrying Fuller Industry Load As AI and EVs Lurk In Future

The leading car rental professional business group details an active legislative, regulatory, and macro-trends agenda affecting car rental operators.

Read More →
Light blue horizontal bar graphs on a chart showing World Cup-related rental car booking trends.
Rental OperationsJune 23, 2026

World Cup Travel Data Shows Longer Car Rentals and More One-Ways

A recent analysis of FIFA bookings found varied demand patterns that influenced rental car pricing.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Side view of ICRS speaker Sanchit Garg at podium in front of a floor lit red curtain
Rental Operationsby Martin RomjueJune 22, 2026

A Leveling Force: AI Morphs Into A Rental Car Profit-Seeker

Revenue managers can’t match the emerging AI tools gobbling lots of data that could counter the competitive race to the rate bottom.

Read More →
Photos of Martin Romjue and Denis Gjoni on opposite sides of large headline for the video.
Rental Operationsby Martin RomjueJune 17, 2026

Stop Losing Money On Rental Tolls

Regardless of your rental fleet size and structure, fleet managers, executives, and owners can gain valuable insights into an often-overlooked area of fleet operations.

Read More →
Richard Lowden gesturing on stage in front of a red curtain at the Gaylord Texan Resort near Dallas.
Rental Operationsby Martin RomjueJune 12, 2026

Rethink The Future To Avert A Race To The Bottom

Rental car operators heard a sobering industry message and a stern challenge at the close of the International Car Rental Show.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
John Possumato holding microphone while asking a question during a live conference session at the ICRS Show.

DriveItAway, Free2move Plan Shared Fleet Program for Independent Rental Fleet Operators

Vehicles would be placed with participating rental operations to support car renter demand and provide additional fleet capacity.

Read More →
Close-up of a Jeep Wrangler front grille and headlight with text noting Stellantis’ recall of 1.3 million Jeep vehicles worldwide over a potential fire risk tied to power steering wiring.
Fleet Acquisitionby StaffJune 10, 2026

Stellantis Recalls 1.3 Million Jeep Vehicles Worldwide Over Fire Risk

Stellantis is recalling more than 1.3 million Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator models worldwide over a fire risk linked to power steering pump wiring.

Read More →
Franchisee standing with yellow U-Save branded sign in front of the rental car outlet.

Green Motion And U-Save Open Rental Operations In Guatemala

The brands will open their first rental car outlets in the country at La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
An airplane parked at a gate next to large headline and bullet points about study highlights.

U.S. Business Travel Drives $623 Billion+ in Economic Impact as Spending Reaches $538 Billion

The data also underscores the industry’s strong multiplier effect across the U.S. economy, revealing that each dollar invested in business travel in 2024 generated $1.16 in GDP.

Read More →
Ad Loading...