Big football events reshape a city’s rhythm. Supporters move in waves before kick-off, after the final whistle and around fan zones, creating sharp spikes in demand rather than a steady flow of trips.
That last point matters most. A busy tournament day can produce plenty of ride requests without producing many completed trips.
The report says drivers are worried that traffic itself will be the biggest obstacle. If roads around key event areas clog up, wait times rise, tempers shorten and cancellations become more common.
That creates a familiar major-event paradox: more demand on the app, but no guarantee of better take-home pay. Taxi firms appear to share the same concern, with volume only translating into revenue if vehicles can circulate freely.
For football fans, the smarter play may be obvious. Host cities typically lean hard on rail, buses and planned walking routes during events of this scale, and that could define the travel experience as much as the football itself. If supporters heed that message, ride-hailing may become more useful for off-peak trips than for the final mile around the busiest venues.
As the World Cup gets closer, the next storyline to watch is how city planners, transport operators and platforms manage the pressure points on matchdays - because in Toronto and Vancouver, the traffic could become part of the tournament.