From “God view” to Greyball, Uber’s used all kinds of tracking software over the years to keep an eye on everyone who uses their apps. Now, there are reports that User was using yet another secret tool to horn in on the competition in some less-than-aboveboard ways. [More]
Transportation & Infrastructure
Scorpion Fell On Passenger’s Head During United Flight, Stung Him
By 4.13.17
Two of the consumer news themes of this week have been terrible things happening to United Airlines passengers and live scorpions lurking where they shouldn’t. Why not bring these themes together? A man on a flight from Houston to Calgary over the weekend says that he was stung by a scorpion that fell out of an overhead bin onto his head. [More]
Police Using GPS ‘Darts’ To Track Suspects, Prevent Dangerous High-Speed Chases
By 4.10.17
It sounds like something straight out of a movie: A suspect’s vehicle blows past a police car, tires screeching as it speeds away. But instead of hitting the gas and starting a high-speed chase that could endanger everyone involved — including innocent bystanders — police in one Colorado city can now fire GPS tracking “darts” at fleeing vehicles. [More]
One Family Earned $11,000 By Not Flying Delta During Delay-Filled Weekend
By 4.10.17
If you had somewhere to be this weekend and booked to fly with Delta Air Lines, there’s a decent chance you either arrived late, never made it, or had to fly another carrier — all thanks to lingering cancellations and delays brought on by a storm. Yet Delta’s nightmarish weekend was a windfall for some frequent fliers, like one family who scored more than $11,000 by choosing to not fly Delta. [More]
Honda Recalls 37,000 Accords In Hunt To Find 2,500 Defective Airbags
By 4.7.17
To date, Honda has replaced nearly nine million defective, shrapnel-shooting Takata airbags. Now the company is undertaking a “needle-in-a-haystack” search for 2,500 Accord vehicles that weren’t included in any of those recalls. The automaker says these cars have replacement airbags that were installed before anyone knew of the defect. [More]
United Airlines Passenger Arrested After Officials Find Fake Bomb In His Suitcase
By 4.7.17 — Updated: 5.5.17
There are many things you could do to annoy your fellow flyers — from eating a tuna fish sandwich to breaking into song — but carrying around a fake explosive device in your suitcase and forcing the flight to be delayed for nine hours is guaranteed to ruin everyone’s day, and a good way to end up in custody. [More]
Hyundai, Kia Recall 1.2M Vehicles Over Engine Failure
By 4.7.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Realizing that a non-moving car is a useless car, Kia and Hyundai have recalled nearly 1.2 million vehicles in the U.S. over concerns about engine failure. [More]
Popularizer Of ‘Designated Driver’ Concept Can’t Get Drivers To Put Phones Down
By 4.6.17
Jay Winsten is not a household name, but everyone recognizes the term “designated driver,” which the Harvard professor brought to the United States, popularized, and turned into a social norm back in the ’80s. Now Winsten is trying to address the driving danger of our time: Why won’t drivers put their phones down? [More]
American Airlines Apologizes For In-Flight Mag Photo Of ‘Pilots’ Drinking
By 4.5.17
American Airlines is apologizing to its employees for running a photo in its in-flight magazine of two guys drinking and serving booze while dressed as pilots. [More]
Bay Area’s Disabled Say BART Still Filthy, Unusable After All These Years
By 4.5.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Twenty years after a federal court ordered the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, serving San Francisco and Oakland to make trains — and their stations, entries, and elevators — cleaner and more accessible for people with mobility issues, disabled rights groups say BART has either failed to live up to its obligations or backslid, resulting in a system that is “effectively unusable” for some. [More]
Passenger Sues Uber After Other UberPOOL Passenger Cuts Her Face With Knife
By 4.5.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
UberPOOL lets you shave a bit of money off your ride by sharing the car with other passengers headed in the same direction. As with any situation involving strangers put together in a confined space, there exists the possibility of everything from awkward silence to romance to violence. The question is: Should Uber be held responsible when an UberPOOL ride goes horribly, horribly wrong? [More]
Airbus Happy To Squeeze Another 80 Seats Into World’s Largest Jet
By 4.4.17
The Airbus A380 is already the largest passenger plane in the world, holding around 550 passengers in its typical configuration, but Airbus says it can make this “superjumbo” jet even more jumbo by reconfiguring it to squeeze in another 80 seats. [More]
Police: Uber Driver Sexually Assaulted Passenger, More Victims May Be Out There
By 4.3.17
An Uber driver in southern California has been arrested “on suspicion of various sexual assault crimes” after he was accused of parking his van and sexually assaulting a sleeping passenger near her home. Now police have put the word out that they’re looking for other possible victims. [More]
TSA Reaches Out To Woman Who Said Son Endured “Horrifying” Pat-Down
By 3.31.17
Earlier this week, a Texas woman posted a video on Facebook claiming that the physical security check she requested for her special needs son crossed the line. Now, the woman says she’s been contacted by the Transportation Security Administration and will work with the agency to create a system that is more appropriate for children and people with medical challenges. [More]
Loyalty Programs Make More Money For Airlines Than Ticket Sales
By 3.31.17
You might think think of frequent flier miles as a giveaway for airlines; carriers rewarding loyal customers with free or discounted travel. However, these programs are now a bigger money-maker than airfare for U.S. airlines. [More]
Smartphones May Be Behind Unprecedented Rise In Pedestrian Deaths
By 3.30.17
Despite increased consumer awareness of safety and a growing number of cars on the road with crash-avoidance technology, pedestrian deaths in the U.S. are at their highest level in 20 years. One reason for the increase: Smartphones. [More]
FCC Stops Authorizing New Providers Of Low-Cost Broadband
By 3.30.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
New FCC Chair Ajit Pai has made no effort to hide his intention to roll back many of the rules and policies put in place by his predecessor, Tom Wheeler. Now that Congress has effectively undone Wheeler’s internet privacy rules, Pai has set his sights on low-cost internet access. [More]
Volkswagen Reaches $157M ‘Dieselgate’ Settlement; Gets Approval To Sell Diesels Again
By 3.30.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Volkswagen is inching closer to putting its “Dieselgate” scandal in the rearview mirror. The automaker has agreed to a $157 million settlement that will end lawsuits in 10 states, and it has been cleared to start selling diesels in the U.S. again. [More]
