If Uber has its way, in a few short years you’ll be able to hail a flying taxi: During a conference this week for its Uber Elevate project, the company and its partner said they’re planning to get their new aircraft into the sky by 2020. [More]
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Uber Reportedly Tracked iPhones Even After The App Was Deleted, Bought Lyft Receipts
By 4.24.17 — Updated: 4.26.17
Judge Says Uber Can’t Use “Deficient” Sign-Up Process To Strip Users Of Their Right To Sue
By 4.18.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Can Uber use some contractual language that users never actively acknowledge to force wronged customers out of the courtroom and break up class-action lawsuits? Currently, that depends on which federal judge you ask, with yet another court ruling that Uber may not be doing enough to tell users that they are giving up their right to a day in court. [More]
NYC Will Require Uber App To Allow Tipping (Eventually)
By 4.17.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Tipping is a confusing issue when it comes to ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft in New York City. Drivers are allowed to accept cash tips, but they aren’t allowed to ask for them. What’s more, the Lyft app includes the ability to put that tip on your credit card, but Uber’s app is still tip-less. That will change later this year, as NYC will require Uber to include tipping on its mobile platform. [More]
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]
Passenger Sues Uber After Other UberPOOL Passenger Cuts Her Face With Knife
By 4.5.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
UberPOOL lets you shave a bit of money off your ride by sharing the car with other passengers headed in the same direction. As with any situation involving strangers put together in a confined space, there exists the possibility of everything from awkward silence to romance to violence. The question is: Should Uber be held responsible when an UberPOOL ride goes horribly, horribly wrong? [More]
Police: Uber Driver Sexually Assaulted Passenger, More Victims May Be Out There
By 4.3.17
An Uber driver in southern California has been arrested “on suspicion of various sexual assault crimes” after he was accused of parking his van and sexually assaulting a sleeping passenger near her home. Now police have put the word out that they’re looking for other possible victims. [More]
Uber Leaves Denmark Over New Taxi Law
By 3.28.17
Uber is again taking its toys and going home, this time leaving the entire country of Denmark after the country passed new taxi regulations that require drivers for hire to have meters and seat sensors, which apply to app-based transportation networks. [More]
Uber Halts Self-Driving Car Tests After Arizona Crash
By 3.27.17
Days after one of Uber’s self-driving test vehicles was involved in a crash in Arizona, the ride-hailing company says it will halt its autonomous experiment, at least for now. [More]
Uber’s Plan To Let Drivers Ask For Tips May Be Illegal In Some States
By 3.22.17
Unlike traditional taxis, Uber passengers aren’t expected to tip; you can’t even add a tip on the app. However, Uber did recently settle a class-action lawsuit by allowing drivers to solicit and receive tips, but only in cash. One big problem: This policy appears to be illegal in multiple states. [More]
Uber President Leaving Company After Just Six Months
By 3.20.17
It’s been a rough couple of months for Uber, with the brief-but-viral #DeleteUber campaign, and the company’s CEO being caught on camera berating one of his own drivers. Now comes news that Uber President Jeff Jones is exiting the company after less than a year on the job. [More]
Uber Promises To Stop Using No-Longer-Secret Tool To Avoid The Law
By 3.9.17
After being outed for using a tool, dubbed “Greyball,” to avoid being caught by police and taxi regulators in cities where it wasn’t authorized to operate, Uber has promised to put an end to the controversial practice. [More]
Uber Used Secret Tool To Avoid Regulators & Law Enforcement Worldwide
By 3.3.17
Uber has had this habit of deploying its app and drivers cities where, strictly speaking, using Uber may not yet be legal. You’d think it would be easy for law enforcement in those cities to nab rogue Ubers: Just use the app to hail a car and arrest or cite whoever shows up. However, it looks like Uber figured out how to sidestep these snares. [More]
Uber Wants To Make Up With California, Give Self-Driving Cars Another Shot
By 3.3.17
Last December, the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the registration of 16 self-driving Uber cars that were operating in San Francisco, because Uber had not sought the proper permissions from the state to operate these autonomous vehicles. The ridesharing company quickly picked up and headed south to Arizona, but it may be ready to give the Golden State another try. [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]
Uber CEO Says He Has To “Grow Up” After Being Caught On Video Arguing With Driver
By 3.1.17
You’ve probably heard by now how Uber CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick was caught on video berating one of his own drivers after that driver complained that he had lost money because of the company’s fickle pricing and policy changes. Now Kalanick is doing damage control, telling employees and users that he needs “leadership help” after the incident. [More]
Google’s Waymo Sues Uber For Stealing Trade Secrets About Self-Driving Cars
By 2.24.17
It’s no secret that self-driving car tech is a growing, multi-billion-dollar, highly competitive new space. What is supposed to be secret, however, are confidential design documents about how each company makes their autonomous cars work. Google, however, says that roughly 10 GB of those secrets — in the form of 14,000 files — walked out the door with a former employee who took them with him to Uber, swiping Google’s work and designs for the competition. [More]
