The Cost Of Ride-Hailing In The DC Area May Surprise You: Report

WASHINGTON, DC -- If you live in D.C., you're better off buying a car rather than relying on ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft. That's according to a new report by AAA, which found that the average annual cost of ride-hailing is a staggering $21,093 for the D.C. area.

That makes ride-hailing about twice the cost of car ownership, so if you've been relying on Uber to get around, it's a good idea to get a vehicle instead, according to the report.

“Whether you own a vehicle or not, ride-hailing services are a convenient transportation option,” said John Nielsen, managing director, Automotive Engineering and Repair, in a AAA statement. “However, with the average American city-dweller driving nearly 11,000 miles per year, a personal vehicle is still the more cost-effective choice.”

AAA examined 20 metropolitan areas for the report, including D.C. Our area wasn't the most expensive -- that honor goes to Nashville at $26,397 per year -- but it was still higher than the average of $20,118.

By comparison, the average annual cost to own and operate a new vehicle is $7,321 for 10,841 miles of annual travel. Even when factoring in an average annual cost of $2,728 for parking, ride-hailing still cost a lot more.

“For those who travel a very limited number of miles annually, or have mobility issues that prevent them from driving a personal vehicle, ride-hailing can be a viable and important option,” added Nielsen in the statement. “But, for everyone else: the car is still king.”

You can further boost your savings by getting a used car that is fuel efficient and carefully maintaining it, the organization says.

"To determine the average number of miles traveled by a city-dweller, AAA’s analysis leveraged data from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety’s American Driving Survey," the statement goes on to note. "AAA’s Your Driving Costs data served as the basis for all car ownership calculations, factoring in depreciation, fuel, maintenance, repair, financing, insurance, license, registration costs and taxes. Total cost of ride-hailing is based on data from 243,838 economy-level, single rider trips in 20 U.S. urban areas and does not factor in costs associated with carpooling or multimodal transportation options. On average, those using ride-hailing services spent an average of $13.15 per trip, spending 15.11 minutes and traveling 6.66 miles. Ride-hailing costs include the occasional use of rental vehicles for longer distance travel."

(Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)