Nobody, not even transportation experts like me, had an inkling that ride-on-demand services like Uber would change our travel habits so quickly and dramatically. Never in our lifetime have we witnessed such a rapid shift in transportation. Despite global protests, pushback and even outright bans, Uber has become a commanding social and political force—and a $70 billion company—in just eight years. Including Uber’s competitors, like Lyft and Via, the ride-share industry has provided more than 10 billion rides.

But the reverberations...