Apps play a central role in our lives and are revolutionizing the transportation industry, a sector that has been starved of technological innovation for a while. “Transportation has barely changed in the last 10 years,” Daniel Sperling, founding director of UC-Davis’ Institute of Transportation Studies and professor of civil engineering, told Tech Page One. “What these app-based services are doing is providing the opportunity and first step to changing how we use vehicles.” One of the major ways that app-based innovations are changing transportation is through ride sharing.