Google’s Waymo is taking another step toward its driverless car future in Arizona, where the company is now accepting applications for a new program that gives regular people access to its fleet of self-driving minivans. [More]
transportation
State Claims Uber Is Slow To Suspend Drivers Accused Of Working Drunk
By 4.14.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Although many people use Uber to avoid getting behind the wheel after having a few too many drinks, regulators in California say the ride-hailing company put passengers and the public at risk by failing to quickly boot drivers accused of accused of working while under the influence from its platform. [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]
Lyft Adding Option To Let Passengers Round Up Their Fares For Charity Donations
By 3.27.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
For decades, retailers have had charity donation jars at checkout points, giving customers the option to quickly support a helpful organization with the change from their purchase. Now Lyft is looking to apply that same model to ridesharing, by letting passengers round up their fares with the extra money going to non-profit groups. [More]
Some Younger People Are Buying Cars So They Can Drive For Ride-Sharing Services
By 3.1.17
For many drivers, the best part of having your own car is that you don’t have to deal with anyone else — you can blast your music, sing at the top of your lungs, or eat a tuna sandwich, and there’s no one to judge you. But some younger drivers now may have a new reason to buy a car: To become a driver for Uber or Lyft. [More]
Lyft Making Major Push Into The Midwest With Biggest Expansion To Date
By 2.23.17 — Updated: 3.1.17
Congratulations, residents of Eau Claire, WI; Kankakee, IL; and Mankato, MN — you will soon have another way to get from point A to point B: Lyft is adding more than 50 cities to its lineup, its largest expansion to date. [More]
Google To Take On Uber, Lyft With Major Expansion Of Waze Carpooling Service
By 2.22.17
It seems you can’t throw a rock in the street these days without hitting a ride-sharing vehicle (but don’t do that, seriously). Google is going to make that marketplace even more crowded with a major expansion it has planned for the carpooling function included in its Waze navigation app. [More]
Taxi Drones Preparing To Take Off In Dubai
By 2.13.17
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a reference to Superman — no, it’s a drone, and instead of carrying a package or even a six-pack of beer, it’s ferrying humans through the skies over Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. [More]
Why Your Social Media Feed May Be Filled With Pledges To #DeleteUber
By 1.30.17
Over the weekend and this morning, your social media feed may be filled with friends urging others to #DeleteUber and stop using the ride-hailing service. How does a popular app go from top of the heap to boycott target in just a few days? [More]
Lyft Planning To Launch Service In 100 New U.S. Cities By End Of Year
By 1.25.17
If you’re looking for a set of hired wheels to transport you around town, you may soon have another option: Lyft says it’s planning to add 100 more U.S. cities to its service. [More]
Budget Carrier AirAsia X Cleared For U.S. Flights
By 1.24.17
The next time you’re looking to book a flight on the cheap, you could have another option on the table now that budget carrier Asia X says it’s gained approval to fly anywhere in the U.S. [More]
Texas Uber Driver Accused Of Raping Passenger After Driving Her Home
By 1.17.17
Another driver for a ride-sharing sharing service has been accused of assaulting a passenger. This time, it’s an Uber driver in Texas who has been arrested for allegedly raping a woman after driving her home. [More]
You Can Drive A Different Cadillac Every Day — If You’ve Got An Extra $1,500/Month
By 1.5.17
Want to cruise around town in a luxury vehicle but can’t decide which car you want to commit to? Cadillac thinks it has a solution with a new subscription service that gives members access to an array of Cadillacs for a flat monthly fee. [More]
You Have Until Jan. 15 To Lock In Unlimited Access To Tesla Superchargers
By 1.3.17
If you were bummed when Tesla Motors announced it would be ending the program that gives Model S and Model X owners free access to the company’s Supercharger stations, take heart: you’ve got about 12 additional days to buy a Tesla vehicle and lock in a lifetime of unlimited charging. [More]
Uber Passenger: Driver Stranded Her Halfway Through 150-Mile Trip Home From Hospital
By 12.28.16
An Arizona woman says she was left stranded at a gas station in the desert on Christmas when her Uber driver decided he didn’t want to continue the second half of the 150-mile trip. [More]
Philly Uber Customer Surprised By Attempted $28,639.14 Charge
By 12.20.16
You would probably remember taking a ride long enough to cost tens of thousands of dollars. So one Uber customer was more than a little surprised to find her bank flagging and blocking a $28,639.14 charge from the ride-hailing company. [More]
Uber Admits Its Self-Driving Cars Have A Problem Handling Bike Lanes
By 12.20.16
The rules of the road don’t just cover cars — there are conveyances of the two-wheeled variety out there as well. Considering many human drivers don’t understand how to share the streets with bicycles, it’s somewhat unsurprising that Uber is admitting that its autonomous vehicles are having a hard time dealing with them as well. [More]
