NEW YORK (TheStreet) - The rise of Uber as the preferred transportation option of business travelers continued apace in the third quarter, according to expense-management software company Certify.

Taxis lost roughly 10% market share during the quarter while rental cars saw an ebbing in the rate of share declines to 2% after a 10% decline in the second quarter. Taxis have now fallen to a 22% share of business travelers' wallets in the third quarter, from 37% in the first quarter of 2014. Ride-sharing has gone to 34% from 8% in the same 18 months (see Chart below).

Share of Business Ground Transportation by Model

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Courtesy of Certify

Lyft continues to grow the fastest, albeit off of what remains a much smaller base of business.

The top five cities for ride-share growth were Boston (74%), Atlanta (32%), LA (29%), New York City (28%) and Dallas (26%).

The rapid growth of ride-sharing owes to a formidable combination of higher customer ratings and lower costs. Uber received an average rating of 4.69 out of 5 compared to 3.70 for taxis, at an average cost per trip of $27.61 compared to $35.28, respectively.

This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned but is short TAXI, a taxi medallion lending company.