Although there are many things that used to require a phone to do that we can now accomplish with an e-mail, a swipe, a tap or a Tweet, there are customer service situations — compromised accounts, dangerous situations and other scenarios — where we still want to be able to reach out and actually talk to a live human being. But unlike many other consumer-facing companies, Uber doesn’t offer a contact phone number or a more immediate way to get in touch with the company besides a support e-mail address. [More]
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Uber Testing App Enhancements That Help Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Drivers
By 5.28.15
We’ve covered in the past Uber’s problems with the ride-hailing service’s disabled passengers, which range from ride snubs to service dogs forced to ride in the trunk. It’s worth keeping that in mind when you learn about Uber’s latest change to their driver app to accommodate a different community of people with disabilities: the service is testing changes to its system that make driving for the service possible for people who are deaf. [More]
Uber Discouraging Drivers From Using In-Car Advertising Services
By 5.11.15
While some taxi services are using every available square inch of their cars to advertise to passengers and the public, Uber cars have remained ad-free thus far. Some Uber drivers had hoped to make some extra cash through in-car marketing, but the ride-sharing service is saying no.
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Report: Uber Bidding $3B For Nokia’s Maps Service
By 5.8.15
After rumors earlier this year that Google was perhaps planning a ride-sharing service to rival Uber and Lyft, and that Uber was working on its own driverless cars, it comes as no surprise that Uber might be trying to disentangle itself from relying on Google’s mapping technology: A new report says the company may have bid up to $3 billion to acquire Nokia’s mapping services unit. [More]
Uber Halts Operations In Kansas After Legislature Votes To Mandate Background Checks, Insurance Coverage
By 5.6.15
It seems like every few months a new city or state announces it will no longer allow Uber to operate in its jurisdiction. But in a slight change of pace, the ride-sharing company is actually taking itself out of the equation in Kansas. [More]
Brazil Suspends Uber, Uber Keeps Driving
By 4.30.15
Car-hailing app Uber has racked up another municipality on its list of places where the service has been banned, yet drivers remain on the roads anyway. That distinction belongs to the entire nation of Brazil, where a judge has ruled that providing rides to strangers is the exclusive right of licensed taxi services. [More]
Report: Uber Testing Same-Day Delivery For Retailers
By 4.29.15
Not content to ferry passengers, packages and food, Uber is reportedly casting its net in the pool of merchant delivery, by taking advantage of both its drivers and its UberRUSH courier service to connect online shoppers with their goods the same day they order them from popular retailers. [More]
Uber Expands Food Delivery Service UberEATS To Chicago, New York City
By 4.28.15
Since opening for business, ride-sharing company Uber hasn’t been content with simply giving customers rides from point A to point B. After dabbling in all kinds of pilot programs including on-demand drop-offs of everyday essentials and courier services, the company seems to have found a second niche: food delivery. And so, Uber plans to expand UberEATS to Chicago and New York this week.
Judge: Uber Must Face Lawsuit Claiming Discrimination Against Blind Passengers With Service Dogs
By 4.21.15
Months after the National Federation of the Blind claimed in a federal civil rights lawsuit that some of Uber’s drivers have discriminated against blind passengers by refusing to pick them up when they had guide dogs — and in one case, allegedly putting a service dog in a car’s trunk — a judge has ruled that the ride-hailing company must defend itself against the suit. [More]
Dutch Prosecutors Open Criminal Investigation Into Uber Following Violations Of Banned Service
By 4.17.15
Uber’s latest hurdle to provide service in Europe, where many cities and countries have banned the ride-sharing service, comes in the form of a criminal investigation by Dutch prosecutors. [More]
Uber Won’t Allow Drivers To Discriminate Against Gay Passengers Even If A State Law Allows It
By 4.16.15
Even as lawmakers in Oklahoma sign off on a ridesharing service bill that removes protections for gay and transgender passengers, Uber has made it clear that changes to state laws will not alter its anti-discrimination policy. [More]
Uber Driver Accused Of Returning To Burgle House After Dropping Off Passenger At The Airport
By 4.1.15
Having a complete stranger know where you live is always a risk, but it’s one we’ve all learned to take for the sake of practicality — how else are you supposed to get anywhere if you don’t have the means to drive yourself, after all? But police in Denver say that risk turned into attempted burglary, when an Uber driver picked a woman up from her home, took her to the airport, and then returned to her house to try to break in. [More]
Amateur Uber Drivers Can Stay On French Roads For Now
By 3.31.15
We need some kind of global scoreboard to keep track of which Uber services are legal in which municipality. Surely there is such a thing at Uber HQ, but we have no such thing here at Consumerist. Good news for fans of low-cost transport who are visiting France, though: Uberpop, the peer-to-peer taxi service that any safe driver can work for, can temporarily still operate in France. [More]
Uber May Re-Emerge In Portland Under Pilot Program Next Month
By 3.25.15
After agreeing to suspend its service in Portland, OR last December, Uber could be back on the road in the city by April 15 if officials approve a proposed pilot program. [More]
Philadelphia Uber Driver Accused Of Rape
By 3.25.15
A woman in Philadelphia has accused a driver for ridesharing service Uber of raping her and holding her captive for hours in his car after the alleged assault. [More]
UN Women Clarifies: It’s Not Partnering With Uber On Hiring 1 Million Female Drivers
By 3.23.15
Earlier this month, ridesharing service Uber announced what appeared to be a partnership with the United Nations’ UN Women organization aimed at hiring 1 million female drivers by 2020. The news raised concerns because of the number of Uber drivers accused of assaulting female passengers, as well as the company’s loose policy for what constitutes a “hire,” and last week UN Women confirmed that it was not partnering with Uber on this initiative. [More]
The Numbers Show Startups Can’t Get Enough Of Calling Themselves The “Uber” For This, The “Airbnb” Of That
By 3.20.15
If you’ve been hearing startup companies throw around phrases like, “We’re the Uber of [insert industry that is not ride-hailing]!” or “Our service functions just like the Airbnb of [another industry that is not renting out rooms to strangers]!” you’re not alone. A recent analysis of language used by startups to describe their businesses show that a lot of them are hitching their apple carts to those brands’ rising stars. [More]
Amsterdam Uber Driver: Mysterious Masked Men Threatened Me
By 3.19.15
From the point of view of Uber, a service that summons cars and drivers over the Internet, maybe the fines imposed on the company by governments are a relatively cheap marketing expense instead of a nuisance. Yesterday, we shared that Germany has banned the company yet again. Authorities in the Netherlands have imposed a fine of $107,000 on the company for violating the laws that regulate taxis. [More]
