The rideshare boom reshaped urban transportation, bringing millions of riders and drivers into a new kind of mobility network. Today, the U.S. market is dominated by a handful of players—Uber and Lyft in particular—while autonomous vehicle (AV) operators begin to carve out early footholds. Fares have climbed, competition has thinned, and new entrants often struggle to survive.
In this environment, Obi, a global rideshare aggregator often called “the Kayak of rideshare,” is betting that rideshare transparency can shift the balance—giving riders more choice, enabling providers to reach new customers, and preparing the market for the complexity that comes when AVs scale.
From Revel’s Exit to Obi’s Rideshare Opportunity
The latest shake-up came on August 11, when Revel, an electric rideshare operator, announced it would exit New York City, the country’s largest and most expensive ride-hail market, to focus on EV charging. For Obi, it was both a market signal and an opportunity.
When the company added Revel’s pricing to its app, 10 percent of all Obi rides in NYC shifted to the electric upstart—a clear indication that when riders can see all their options in one place, behavior changes. As Revel departs, Obi is doubling down on its mission to make that kind of transparency available everywhere.
New Obi CEO Bets on Rideshare Pricing Transparency
On the same day Revel exited New York’s ride-hail market, Obi appointed Ashwini Anburajan as CEO. Since joining as Chief Revenue Officer in 2023, Anburajan has driven global expansion, revenue growth, and headline-making data products, including an AV-pricing analysis that revealed Waymo charges $3.50 per km versus Uber’s $2.90 and Lyft’s $2.60—yet still draws riders willing to pay the premium.
Her résumé blends worlds rarely seen together in mobility leadership—crypto fund co-founder, startup operator, venture investor and NBC political reporter. That combination of storytelling, deal-making, and data strategy now fuels Obi’s push to open a market where opacity has long been standard. She steps in as AV adoption accelerates, pricing transparency gains attention, and both riders and providers look for more sustainable economics.
Founder Payam Safa, who built Obi into a platform with over 1 million users in 175 countries, moves into the roles of chairman and president.
An Industry Built on Rideshare Consolidation
Rideshare is projected to grow from roughly $190 billion in 2024 to $480 billion by 2032, according to Fortune Business Insights. But in the U.S., the industry reality is consolidation. Uber and Lyft control the vast majority of rides and often move in parallel on pricing and policy, while augmenting their rideshare businesses with subscriptions (Uber One, Lyft Pink) and delivery services (Uber Eats, Lyft Delivery).
Billions in venture capital once poured into the rideshare industry to break up entrenched taxi monopolies, but in the U.S., the market ultimately consolidated around two dominant players. AV entrants like Waymo and Tesla remain niche players in limited geographies, more a signal of the future than a competitive force today.
Why NYC’s Rideshare Prices Could Shape the Future of Mobility
New York City isn’t just the country’s largest rideshare market—it’s also one of the most expensive in the world. According to Obi’s Global Rideshare Report, $10 gets you just 1.8 km (1.1 mi) in NYC, compared to 2.3 km in London or Paris, and 27 km in New Delhi. Base fares average $24.19 before tips and fees, pushing many trips past $30.
Public-data laws make NYC one of the few cities where fare data is transparent in real time, allowing researchers and regulators to see the patterns: riders paying more, drivers earning less. Half the drivers surveyed in Obi’s 2024 report said rides have become too expensive for passengers—a statistic that underscores why rideshare pricing transparency is gaining urgency.
Rideshare Pricing Advocacy: The Untapped Frontier
In recent years, the rideshare industry has seen advocacy around driver pay, benefits, and safety—highlighted by The New York Times reporting on passenger assault claims—but little focus on rideshare pricing transparency for riders. Obi is positioning that as the next frontier.
In markets where fares are opaque and fluctuating, riders are often unaware of how much more they could be paying compared to other providers for the same trip. Cities like Denver have added driver take-rate disclosures to show more transparency to customers, but it’s unclear if this has influenced how riders choose rides or leave tips.
The launch of new apps promising no surge pricing underscores growing interest in models that build trust through transparent, predictable pricing. In addition to Waymo, Tesla and other AV offerings, Empower is offering drivers a subscription-based model and consumers lower prices. New entrant YUR launches in NYC this month, promising no surge pricing. Heride in Atlanta pairs female passengers with female riders. Alto in Miami targets luxury consumers. None have captured a significant market share.
Obi’s mission is to bring rideshare pricing transparency to every market, allowing riders to compare real-time fares across providers, just like Kayak did for flights.
Why Autonomous Vehicle Growth Makes Obi’s Rideshare Model Stronger
AV adoption is still in its early stages, with Waymo, Tesla and others operating in limited geographies. But as they expand, so will the complexity of comparing rides—not just by price, but by mode, fleet type, and service level. Obi’s aggregation model is built for that future, allowing riders to weigh autonomous vehicle premiums against human-driven rides in real time.
Its AV pricing analysis—showing riders will pay more for perceived safety and novelty—highlights why Waymo pricing intelligence could become even more valuable as autonomous fleets scale.
How Obi’s Rideshare Data Is Shaping Industry Headlines
Obi’s data isn’t just powering its app—it’s informing major reporting and policy discussions:
- Bloomberg used Obi data to investigate surge pricing caused by driver lockouts and the resulting loss of income and impact on drivers’ mental health.
- TechCrunch analyzed Obi’s AV pricing data, finding that Waymo pricing charges $3.50/km versus Uber’s $2.90 and Lyft’s $2.60 for similar trips—yet riders still pay the premium for perceived safety and novelty.
- Business Insider reported on a Columbia University study that analyzed Obi’s ride-hail data to investigate Uber’s upfront pricing model and its potential for price discrimination.
Even in the face of resistance, including instances where riders received messages warning that linking their account to a third-party app could risk deactivation, Obi has continued to grow, underscoring consumer demand for rideshare transparency.
How Obi Survived Where Other Rideshare Aggregators Failed
Rideshare aggregators have a grim track record. Migo raised $11 million before disappearing. Bliq raised $20 million in total, only to lay off staff and flounder earlier this year. Obi has raised just $5 million but outlasted them by focusing on product quality, user trust, and monetizing its data.
While many rideshare companies refuse to pay affiliate commissions, Obi has built a parallel revenue stream via a data business selling anonymized, aggregated insights. That business model gives Obi independence from any one platform’s goodwill, a critical advantage in a market where partnerships can be fleeting.
What’s Next for Obi—and the Future of Rideshare Transparency
As rideshare prices climb and AV adoption accelerates, Obi is positioning rideshare pricing transparency as both a consumer right and a competitive necessity.
“The most valuable thing you can own in this industry,” Anburajan says, “is the trust of the consumer.”
If that trust shifts toward platforms that empower riders with real-time, side-by-side choice, the next wave of mobility disruption might not come from a new fleet on the street—but from who controls the data in your pocket with rideshare pricing transparency.
