What a difference a year makes: it’s been almost 12 months since Uber and officials in Portland, OR agreed to work on new rules together to allow the company to operate in the city, and now, those rules have finally been approved, giving ride-hailing services the go-ahead to do their thing. [More]
uber
Pennsylvania Proposes $50M Fine Against Uber For Operating Without Approval
By 11.18.15
Uber’s tendency to begin operations now and ask for permission later seems to have backfired in a big way in Pennsylvania, with two judges for the state’s taxi and bus regulatory agency recommending a $50 million fine against the ride-hailing company for operating without first getting the proper state approval. [More]
Uber Now Offering Last-Minute NFL Tickets, Rides To Games — In Jacksonville
By 11.17.15
Earlier this fall, Uber began a two-month, Saturdays-only test allowing passenger to watch college football games while on the move in Nashville, Detroit, Atlanta and Houston. Now the company is one-upping itself by providing last-minute tickets to riders wanting to see a professional football game — as long as they live in Jacksonville and want to see the currently 3-6 Jaguars. [More]
Uber Launches Service To Help Drivers Connect With Passengers On Their Route
By 11.16.15
Between offering taxi, private car and rideshare options, Uber seems to have a service to meet just about every users’ transportation needs. Today, the company announced it’s also looking out for its drivers, by launching Destinations, a feature that lets drivers tell the app where they’re heading and pick up passengers along the way. [More]
Lyft, Uber To Offer Homeless Veterans Free Rides To And From Jobs, Interviews
By 11.10.15
Ride-hailing companies have always shared a bit of a spirited rivalry: a hacker redirected Uber’s petition site to Lyft and Lyft accused Uber employees of requesting and then canceling 5,600 rides. But today the companies announced they would put their differences aside and team up to offer free rides for veterans in need of transportation to and from jobs and interviews. [More]
Uber’s Carpool Service: Helping Strangers Find Love In The Back Of A Car
By 11.9.15
Move over online dating sites, there’s a new player looking to make love connections between near strangers, albeit inadvertently. While the Uber app has been hooking up passengers with drivers for a while, the company is now apparently facilitating romance via its carpooling-like UberPool service. [More]
Fired Taco Bell Executive Apologizes For Drunkenly Attacking Uber Driver
By 11.5.15
Days after a video hit the Internet showing an Uber passenger attacking a driver in California (and getting a face full of mace in the process), the California man accused of the assault has issued an apology. In the meantime, he was fired from his executive position at Taco Bell and the Uber driver is suing him. [More]
Man Accused Of Drunkenly Attacking His Uber Driver Gets A Face Full Of Mace
By 11.2.15
UPDATE: As it turns out, the passenger who alleged assault the Uber driver in California is a Taco Bell marketing executive. At least, he used to be: the company says it’s fired the suspect after the accusations were made public yesterday. [More]
Uber May Be Shooting Itself In The Foot With Surge Pricing
By 10.29.15
While it might be more difficult to hail a taxi at rush hour in Midtown Manhattan, the base rate for your ride is no different than if you’d flagged down that cab two hours earlier. But if you try to summon an Uber driver, you might he hit with increased “surge” pricing. Uber says the higher cost is intended to lure drivers to these high-demand areas, but a new study claims that surge pricing may have the opposite effect. [More]
Uber Customers Can Order Up A Kitten Visit In More Than 50 Cities Today
By 10.29.15
If you’ve missed your chance in the past to order a kitten visit through Uber — whether because there weren’t enough cats to go around or the offer wasn’t available in your city — you’ve got another opportunity today. Uber will bring shelter kittens (many of which are eligible for adoption) to customers in more than 50 cities today between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Snuggle fee: $30 for 15 minutes of playtime. [Uber] [More]
Uber, New Jersey Town Partner To Offer Residents Free Rides After A Night On The Town
By 10.26.15
Since its launch, Uber has had a somewhat contentious relationship with cities and municipalities over the legality of its services. But in an interesting turn of events, the ride-hailing app is actually partnering with one town, offering free rides for citizens that may have had a few too many adult beverages. [More]
NYC Taxi Commission Approves Pilot Program That Would Use GPS, Tablets To Calculate Fares
By 10.16.15
The taxi you hop in on your next trip around New York City may function a lot more like Uber and other ride-hailing services: the commission tasked with regulating the city’s taxis approved a pilot program that would replace traditional fare meters with those powered by GPS location. [More]
Uber’s “Safe Rides” Fee Now Varies Depending On Where You Live
By 10.16.15
Since April 2014, Uber passengers taking rides in the U.S. and Canada have paid a flat $1 “Safe Rides” fee, something the company said would go toward funding background checks, regular motor vehicle checks, driver safety education, and insurance. Depending on where you live, however, that fee could increase soon. [More]
AT&T, Uber Team Up To Stream College Football Games On Your Next Ride Across Town
By 10.16.15
The next time you have to trek across down during the big game, you might not have to worry about missing any extraordinary plays: Uber and AT&T have struck a deal to stream college football games in some of the vehicles operated through the ride-hailing service. [More]
Uber Lauches UberRUSH Courier Service In Chicago, San Francisco
By 10.14.15
After spending nearly a year-and-a-half testing a courier service that provides customers with on-demand orders from local businesses in New York, Uber has officially expanded UberRUSH to two additional cities. [More]
Lyft Partners With Hertz To Recruit Drivers Who May Not Own A Car
By 10.9.15
Don’t have a car, but want to make a few extra dollars picking up strangers and taking them point A to point B? A new partnership between Lyft and Hertz car rentals aims to let you do just that — and get free gas, kind of. [More]
French Constitutional Court Upholds Law Banning Amateur Uber Drivers
By 9.22.15
Back in August, Uber stopped running its UberPop service. That’s the equivalent of the UberX service in the United States, where safe drivers who just have regular licenses, not livery licenses, hire themselves out to drive people around for a lower price than taxi service. The reason wasn’t the pending legal challenge: the company claims that it feared for the safety of its drivers and passengers. [More]
Uber Appeals Certification Of California Suit Against Them As Class Action
By 9.16.15
Not long ago, Uber took an unsurprising step: they changed their driver agreements so their independent contractors would have to give up their right to sue the company in a class action. The drivers eligible for a recently-certified class action in California are those who never agreed to that provision, but that doesn’t mean that Uber isn’t appealing its certification as a class action anyway. [More]
