About a year after Lyft started allowing riders to request multiple stops on their trips, Uber is joining its rival in offering the option for extra destinations. [More]
transportation
Google’s Alphabet Takes Aim At Uber With $1B Investment In Lyft
By 10.19.17
A long time ago, in a ride-hailing era that now seems far away, Google and Uber were friends, with the internet giant plugging $258 million in Uber in 2013. Four years later, the two sides are embroiled in a legal battle over self-driving cars, and the tech company is pouring money into Uber’s biggest rival, Lyft, instead. [More]
GM Wants To Be The First Company To Test Driverless Cars On NYC Streets
By 10.17.17
With its maze of one-way streets, congestion, aggressive taxi drivers, double-parked cars, occasional motorcades, parades, and exploding manhole covers, New York City can be a challenge for even the more skilled drivers. And if General Motors gets its wish, you could soon add driverless to this mix. [More]
Uber Charges Passenger $925 For What Is Normally $117 Ride
By 9.29.17
In certain markets, Uber will charge a “surge” rate during busy times that is in excess of what a passenger normally pays for a ride. But one Chicago Uber customer says she had no idea she’d be charged $925, nearly eight times the standard rate, for her lengthy trip. [More]
Volkswagen Pledges To Make Electric Versions Of All Its Vehicles By 2030
By 9.11.17
What’s one way to avoid major emissions-cheating scandals? Make cars that don’t run on fuel: As part of the company’s previously announced plan make up for Dieslgate by focusing on electric cars, Volkswagen says it’ll build electric versions of all 300 models it offers by 2030. [More]
United Airlines Won’t Be Fined Over Passenger-Dragging Incident
By 9.7.17
The federal government won’t fine United Airlines for the forcible removal of a ticketed passenger from an overbooked flight last April, an incident that prompted the carrier to implement a slew of policy changes. [More]
Uber, Mall Team Up To Offer Dedicated Pickup Spots, Human Customer Service Reps
By 8.31.17
In a move designed to lure shoppers back to brick-and-mortar stores, mall giant Westfield is patterning up with Uber to offer dedicated drop-off and pick-up spots in 33 shopping centers — and some will feature real live humans to help with customer service. [More]
Uber Picks Expedia Boss Dara Khosrowshahi To Be Next CEO
By 8.28.17
Two months after Uber’s board of directors made CEO Travis Kalanick’s leave of absence permanent, the ride-hailing company has chosen Expedia’s head honcho Dara Khosrowshahi as its next top boss. [More]
Uber Driver Accused Of Locking Passenger In Car, Demanding Sex
By 8.21.17
A Chicago Uber driver has been charged with unlawful restraint after he was accused of locking a passenger in his car and demanding that she have sex with him. [More]
The #DeleteUber Campaign Led To 60% New User Bump For Lyft
By 8.15.17
Early this year, Uber found itself the target of a social media campaign urging people to #DeleteUber, prompted indirectly by a travel ban proposed by the federal government. Unsurprisingly, that movement has proved fruitful for the ride-hailing service’s biggest competitor, Lyft. [More]
Report: Tesla Has Plans To Test A Self-Driving, Electric Semi-Truck
By 8.10.17
Sure, you may be getting used to the idea of sharing the road with cars that drive themselves — but how do you feel about cruising alongside an autonomous semi-truck? [More]
Could Midwest Express Return To The Skies?
By 8.10.17
While we’re used to airlines either shutting down or getting swallowed up in mergers, one recently defunct carrier may be rising from the ashes: There’s an effort to bring back Midwest Express, an airline perhaps best known by its fans for serving warm — baked-on-board — chocolate chip cookies. [More]
“Driverless” Van Includes Driver Dressed As Car Seat, For Science
By 8.8.17
A “driverless” van that has been spotted cruising the streets of Arlington, VA, isn’t actually operating autonomously: There’s a man behind the wheel — but he’s dressed as a seat. And though it may sound like a prank, it’s all in the name of science. [More]
No, Travis Kalanick Is Not Going To Be Uber’s CEO Again
By 8.8.17
Months after Uber’s board made CEO Travis Kalanick’s leave of absence permanent, rumors have begun swirling that that he would soon be returning to his former position — buzz he may have started himself. But there will be no comeback for Kalanick. [More]
Pilotless Planes Could Save Airlines $35B — If Anyone Is Willing To Fly In Them
By 8.7.17
While we’ve been getting used to the idea of driverless cars over the last few years, would you be willing to slip into an autonomous vehicle that’s, uh, quite a bit larger? Like the size of a jetliner, perhaps? [More]
Lyft Driver Says She Was Attacked, Robbed In Road-Rage Incident
By 8.7.17
Road rage is nothing new, but a Lyft driver in California says she was brutally attacked and then robbed in what she’s calling a road rage incident. [More]
Uber Is Charging Riders A $15 Fee In Some Cities To Have Drivers Return Their Lost Items
By 7.26.17
Realizing that you’ve left something precious in a hired car — a bag, a phone, a clarinet — is not a great feeling. But in order to turn that frown upside down and have your stuff returned to you, you’ll have to pay Uber $15 in some cities. [More]
Uber Suspends Driver Accused Of Getting Busy During Customer’s Ride
By 7.25.17
Public displays of affection can be an awkward person for anyone not involved in the action. But one Uber passenger says his experience went from beyond uncomfortable to downright dangerous when his driver engaged in sexual activity with a woman during a trip. [More]
