Philadelphia is hardly the only place where people are opting to pay more for the convenience and reliability of ride-hailing. In 2016, transit ridership fell in 24 out of 30 major U.S. cities, the Federal Transit Administration reported. In that same period, the two private services saw their passenger trips grow exponentially. Other factors, like falling gas prices, probably contributed to transit's poor showing. But as Erik Johanson, SEPTA's director of innovation, told me, even if "the declines are not entirely due to ride-hailing, they're correlated."