It’s easy to think of Uber as belonging squarely American millennials, but the ride-hailing app, and the ecosystem attached to it, are truly global enterprises. The service operates and competes in dozens of nations worldwide… except with one less, now that it’s having to give up on one of the most populated countries on Earth. [More]
ride-hailing
Uber, Lyft, & Philly Cabs Have Showdown Of Their Own At The DNC
By 7.27.16
Do you remember the scene in Anchorman when all the different news teams have a giant, lethal street fight? We imagine the showdown between Uber, Lyft, and Philadelphia cab drivers over access to the Democratic National Convention to be similar. Okay, it’s not physical, but the accusations are flying between the three ride-providing groups related to where and when they can pick up and drop off passengers headed to the event. [More]
GM Giving Lyft Drivers Early Access To New Electric Chevy Bolt
By 7.11.16
Back in March, General Motors announced that a portion of its $500 million investment in ride-sharing service Lyft would go toward renting SUVs to prospective drivers for $99/week. Today, the carmaker announced it would expand that service to two additional cities and offer these drivers a chance to be the first to get their hands on the new Chevy Bolt electric car. [More]
VW Focusing On New Electric Car Offerings To Make Up For Emissions Scandal
By 6.16.16
After admitting to equipping more than 11 million vehicles worldwide — around 500,000 in the U.S. — with illegal “defeat devices” designed to cheat emissions standards, Volkswagen is trying to undo that damage by focusing more on greener, electric vehicles. [More]
Uber Teams Up With Capital One For Rewards Program
By 6.15.16
For the most part Uber and credit cards go hand-in-hand: in order to hail a ride you must be willing to pay for your ride via a debit or credit card stored to your account. So it should come with little shock that the company is now partnering with Capital One on a rewards program for riders. [More]
You Can Now Schedule Your Lyft 24 Hours In Advance
By 5.23.16
Allowing riders to book trips in advance essentially defeats the purpose of an on-demand ride-hailing app. But it’s a concept that Lyft is now ready to provide customers. [More]
Waze Taking On Uber, Lyft In San Francisco With Carpool Service
By 5.16.16
Earlier this year, Google’s traffic app Waze joined forces with Lyft, allowing the ride-hailing company to use its navigation technology in an attempt to get riders to their destinations in the fastest manner possible. Now, the tech company is ready to take on the on-demand ride industry all by itself, launching a carpooling service in San Francisco. [More]
GM & Lyft Set To Test Self-Driving Taxis Within A Year
By 5.5.16
It hasn’t taken General Motors long to figure out how to spend its $500 million investment in Lyft. A month after the carmaker said it would use some of those funds to rent SUVs to prospective drivers, the partners unveiled plans to begin testing self-driving taxis on public roads in California. [More]
Uber Drivers Are Independent Contractors, Will Receive Up To $100M In Settlement
By 4.22.16
For the better part of three years, Uber drivers have sparred with the ride-sharing company over the status of their employment: are they independent contractor or actual employees? Today, Uber has agreed to settle two lawsuits over the issue, paying up to $100 million to the drivers who will remain independent contractors. [More]
Uber To Pay $25M To Settle Allegations It Misled Passengers On Drivers’ Safety, Fees
By 4.8.16
Less than two months after Uber agreed to pay $28.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing the company of misleading consumers about its “industry leading” safety procedures, the ride-hailing company is ready to put another case behind it. The company will pay $25 million to settle a civil lawsuit with the district attorneys in Los Angeles and San Francisco over nearly identical allegations. [More]
Uber Offers $10,000 “Bug Bounty” To Hackers Who Can Detect Service’s Security Flaws
By 3.22.16
No matter how hard a company works to ensure its secure its product is, someone, somewhere can find a security flaw in it that leaves it wide open to hackers. For these reasons, several organizations have sought the services of white-hat hackers to test for weaknesses in their networks and websites. Today, Uber joined that growing list of companies. [More]
Uber Will Now Take You From San Diego To Tijuana, Won’t Bring You Back
By 3.17.16
Want a one-way ticket to Tijuana? You can get one from Uber now: the ride-hailing company is providing cross-border trips from San Diego to the Mexican city. There’s one catch, though – passengers have to find their own way home. [More]
Uber Now Allows You To Add 10 People To One Account With “Family Profiles”
By 3.16.16
Acknowledging that some Uber customers are using their account to hail rides for people other than themselves, the ride-sharing service has announced a “Family Profile” option that lets multiple Uber passengers bill to the same credit card. [More]
Uber Now Has An 800-Number For Non-Emergency Situations
By 3.11.16
Since Uber began shuttling people from one place to another with the tap of an app, we’ve heard stories about rides gone wrong — assaults, harassment, and hostage situations — that often end with the customer having a difficult time reaching an actual human working for the ride-hailing company. That’s apparently changed, as the company quietly issued an phone number for passengers to contact them back in October. [More]
Police: Woman Attacked Uber Car, Driver With Baseball Bat
By 2.15.16
When you make a living driving people around, you’re likely to run into a bad customer or two, from a driver being attacked by a passenger to a rider commandeering and then crashing the ride-hailing vehicle. A Chicago Uber driver experienced a not-so-great night on the town last week, when someone attacked him and his vehicle. [More]
Uber To Pay $28.5M To Settle Allegations It Misled Customers On Safety Practices
By 2.12.16
Ride-hailing service Uber has agreed to pay $28.5 million to more than 25 million customers, and rename its so-called “safe ride fee” in order to settle a class-action lawsuit that the company misled consumers about its “industry leading” safety procedures. [More]
Ford Partners With Startup To Launch On-Demand Bus Service In Kansas City
By 2.11.16
Residents of Kansas City will have another option when it comes to tooling around town next month: Ford has partnered with Boston-based pop-up bus company, Bridj, to launch an on-demand bus service in the city.
[More]
Police: Drunk Uber Passenger Stole His Driver’s Car, Crashed It Into Curb
By 2.8.16
It’s one thing to hail a car to take you somewhere, but it’s an entirely other, illegal thing to call for that ride and then take the car yourself. Police in Oregon say a drunken Uber customer fought with his driver before making off with his vehicle. [More]
