Taxi and rideshare use has recovered from COVID-19
Results from IPART’s annual point to point transport survey show that use of taxis and rideshare in Sydney
has bounced back from COVID-19, with rideshare use now higher than pre-COVID usage.
Last year, ridership remained below pre-COVID usage, with a little over one-third of Sydneysiders saying
that they had used taxi services at least once in the previous 6 months, while 46% said they had used
rideshare services such as Uber, Ola, Shebah or Didi at least once in the previous 6 months.
This year, use of taxis rose back to 44% of Sydneysiders reporting that they had used a taxi at least once in
the past 6 months, while rideshare use rose to 55% of Sydneysiders reporting that they had used
rideshare at least once in the past 6 months. In 2019 the respective figures were 49% of responders who
had used taxis and 51% who had used rideshare in the preceding 6 months.
“The 2023 survey shows that people are getting out and about again and using different forms of point to
point transport to do so,” said IPART Chief Economist Mike Smart.
“In all areas of NSW, rideshare use has rebounded to an even higher level in 2023 than in 2019, the year
before the COVID pandemic.
“Rideshare continues to be the most popular form of point-to-point transport in Sydney.”
In urban areas outside of Sydney a similar proportion of people use taxis and rideshare, but in the rest of
NSW taxi use is still higher.
The 2023 survey results show that rideshare overall is perceived more positively than taxis, particularly in
terms of waiting times and satisfaction with fares and value. However, taxis outrated rideshare in
perceptions of navigation and route knowledge and driving skills.
The survey was undertaken in March and April 2023 with representative population samples in Sydney,
Newcastle, Wollongong, Gosford and Wyong, and in regional NSW.
An information paper and the full survey report are available on IPART’s website.
Media Contact: Candy Nahnsen
0427 105 865
media@ipart.nsw.gov.au