2021 in numbers: How we drove to the moon and back… 10 times

New products, new features, new records – for us at Cachet, 2021 has breezed by in a whirlwind of activity. It has been an even busier year for our ride-hailing clients, who completed more than 1.7 MILLION trips, driving people around Estonia, Latvia and Poland. That’s 2x more trips than Tallinn Airport had passengers in 2020. 

To be fair, that’s not really an honest comparison. The pandemic has reduced demand for international travel, whereas ride-hailing and other gig services are booming in popularity. Cachet is happy to be a key part of this new economy, and we want to make it possible for virtually anyone to join and participate in it by offering tailored and affordable insurance. 

A lot of ride-hailing drivers have already taken advantage of this. So, today, let’s celebrate the people that help us get to our destinations and look back at 2021 through numbers.

 

2021 ride-hailing in numbers

Our clients worked 462,000 h, drove 8,100,000 km and completed 1,700,000 trips. These numbers are too big to even think about, so let’s put them in perspective. 

The total length of all the roads in Estonia is 16,608 km. Earth’s circumference is 40,000 km. The distance to the moon is 384,400 km. 

So, 8,100,000 kilometers is:

• Driving every road in Estonia nearly 500 times,
• Driving around the world 202 and a half times,
• Driving to the moon AND back 10 times.  

It took a total of 462,000 hours, or 19,250 days, or 53 years to reach these numbers. Basic math reveals that the average speed at which a ride-hailing driver moves is 19 km/h. 

Of course, this isn’t accurate since some time is spent waiting or idling, but it paints an interesting picture – if you got in your car right now, started driving straight to the moon at a pace of 19 km/h and without ever stopping, you could complete 10 roundtrips in 53 years. 

But that could be dangerous and we’re not even talking about the logistics of it. Every driver knows that you need to take regular breaks to stay alert and reduce the chance of an accident. Especially if you’re driving the entire day. That’s why we’ve updated our app Dashboard to keep you informed about your driving hours and gain insight into how you can reduce some crucial risks while driving. 

 

Driving and insurance claims stats

On average, half of Cachet’s clients have at least one day a week where they drive for more than 9 hours. 14% of riders drive for more than 9 hours 6-7 days of the week. 

That’s one of the benefits of the gig economy – set your own hours and work as much or as little as you want/can and earn accordingly. Cachet’s taxi insurance adapts to a driver’s schedule, so they only pay for the hours they drive. 

Still, the other half of ride-hailing drivers are never behind the wheel for more than 9 hours and for many drivers, ride-hailing is a side-gig that allows them to supplement their income on their own terms. 

This is further reflected in our client’s driving habits. While just over half of all drivers are Average Riders and drive throughout the day, the other half focus on certain times of day: 

• 24% of drivers fall into the Evening Rusher category, 
• 16% are Morning Rushers, and 
• 10% are Night Riders. 

Now, when it comes to insurance claims, the general trend is quite positive. There aren’t too many accidents and half of all our clients have never filed a claim. For 37%, it has been over a year since they’ve had to turn to insurance. That leaves 14% – that’s how many people filed a claim over the last year. 

 

We’ve been busy too

As we can see, the people using Cachet have had an eventful 2021. And we’re doing everything in our power to make sure insurance for ride-hailers and other people is as hassle free and smooth as possible, so people can live their life peacefully without having to worry about crazy paperwork or unfair rates. 

Hard work brings results. 

“2021 was a really successful year for Cachet so far. We entered the Polish market, launched as a broker in Estonia and received the EU broker license. This gives us the opportunity to enable platform work lifestyle on a much larger scale than before. Next to advancing our core product for ride hailing, we have also launched products for the delivery sector, as well as established cooperation with Vok Bikes and Upsteam.” — Hedi Mardisoo, CEO & Co-founder, Cachet

It doesn’t stop there. In 2021, we’ve also:

• Reworked our driver dashboard to make it more convenient and give you interesting insights about your own habits,
• Launched City rider insurance to help those of you who use e-scooters feel safer on the streets, 
• Created a lot of educational material to help you navigate and understand the world of insurance, ride-sharing, and car maintenance, 
• And so much more.

Today, there are 28 million platform workers in the EU and this number is projected to reach 43 million by 2025. Every last one of these people will need and benefit from insurance solutions that are tailored to their flexible working habits. 

In other words, we’re just getting started.

 

2022 and beyond

Whether we look at the rapidly growing number of platform workers, or the EU commission’s recent proposals to tidy up the industry, one thing is clear – the gig economy is on the precipice of massive change. 

At Cachet, we’ll continue to improve our existing products and develop new, flexible insurance services that suit the lifestyle and needs of the platform workers of today and tomorrow. We’re excited for what lies ahead and there are many big things in store for the coming years. 

Thank you all for coming along with us on this ride, and we’re looking forward to helping you get to your next destination safely and efficiently.