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Taxify halts operations following Transport for London investigation
When you're a ride-hailing company, a lot can happen in a week. Just three days after it brought its private hire app to London, Taxify has suspended all rides as it seeks to clarify its standing with the capital's transport authority. Transport for London (TfL) confirmed yesterday that it was "urgently investigating" the Uber rival because it isn't a "licensed private hire operator" and was performing its services without the necessary clearance.
Uber rival Taxify is being investigated by Transport for London
Unlike other world cities, London is a pretty supportive place when it comes to transport innovation. Transport for London (TfL) has attempted to keep the peace as traditional taxi companies battle it out with private hire challengers like Uber, imposing new rules that ensure service levels remain high no matter what vehicle members of the public choose to ride in. Earlier this week, Uber's London division found itself in new company thanks to Taxify, a private hire firm that has already made waves across Europe. It promised lower fares and higher payments for drivers, but its arrival has been marred by controversy. City A.M reports that TfL is now "urgently investigating" Taxify because it isn't a "licensed private hire operator" and could be operating in London without the necessary clearance.
Uber has a new London rival in Taxify
In the US, Uber has an arch rival in Lyft. In the UK, however, Uber doesn't have such an obvious competitor. Sure, there's Mytaxi (formerly Hailo), Gett and Taxiapp for hailing black cabs, or Kabbee for booking minicabs, but no service that quite matches Uber blow for blow. That changes today with the London launch of Taxify -- an Uber clone that already operates in numerous cities around the world, including many in Europe. But how exactly does Taxify hope to compete with Uber, which has over 40,000 drivers roaming the capital? By giving drivers a bigger cut of the fare, and passengers a cheaper ride.
London is now awash with bike-sharing schemes
How many bike-sharing schemes does London need exactly? Well, at least five if you ask the companies behind such services. Today, Ofo comes to the capital, following a limited trial in Cambridge that began earlier this year and a launch in Oxford last month. Initially, the Chinese firm has dotted 200 bikes around the London Borough of Hackney. Yesterday, European outfit Urbo announced it was also arriving in London this month, putting 250 bikes on the streets of the Borough of Waltham Forest.
Everyone could soon have the powers of Doctor Octopus
Doctor Otto Octavius may have been a power-mad scientist bent on world domination and the utter ruin of his nemesis, Spider-Man, but the guy had some surprisingly cogent thoughts on prosthetics development. And although mind-controlled supernumerary robotic limbs like Doc Oc's still only exist in the realm of the Marvel Universe, researchers here in reality are getting pretty darn close to creating their own. And in the near future, we'll be strapping on extra appendages whenever we need a helping hand -- or supplemental third thumb.
Uber rolls out in-app driver tipping in the UK
Uber can only be successful if it has a growing fleet of drivers willing to ferry people around their local town or city. With this in mind, the company has announced a slew of changes today aimed at appeasing the biggest complaints of UK drivers. Following the US, the app will support rider tipping from tomorrow, making it easier for passengers to reward good service. In addition, Uber will charge riders who force drivers to wait at their agreed pick-up point. From August 22nd, passengers will have to pay 20 pence per minute if they fail to turn up after two minutes.
Mayor of London promises public 4G on the Tube by 2019
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has vowed to bring proper mobile connectivity to the London Underground, including platforms and tunnels, by 2019. It's a promise that we've heard many times before, but this time it might actually happen because it's tied to a crucial network upgrade for the emergency services. A trunked radio system called Airwave, owned by Motorola Solutions, is due to be switched off before 2020. It'll be replaced by the Emergency Services Network (ESN), a 4G and 5G-ready service managed by EE. Khan's hope is that the new infrastructure required for ESN can also be offered to commuter and tourists on the Underground.
Overwatch League adds new teams from Rams, Cloud9 owners
Blizzard's official professional esports league for Overwatch continues to round into shape, and today announced two more franchises have been purchased. That puts the count at nine teams total, including the two announced today with one in Los Angeles established by Stan and Josh Kroenke (a family that already holds ownership stakes in the LA Rams, Arsenal Football Club, Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche). The other goes to Cloud9 owner Jack Etienne, whose company already operates ten esports teams, including one for Overwatch.
Why take in great views of London when you can stare at a screen?
If you took a whirl on the Coca-Cola™ London Eye but didn't stream it on Facebook Live, did it even happen? We needn't concern ourselves with that philosophical question any longer, because O2 has announced that its free WiFi network, which reaches into all of the giant Ferris wheel's 32 capsules, is here to stay. The network was already live, but today has moved from "trial" status to become a permanent fixture, because we can't possibly spend the 30-minute revolution not glued to our smartphones now, can we?
London is getting another dockless bike rental service
Competition over putting bums on the seats of rental bikes is hotting up in London, with Mobike today announcing an expansion of its dockless service into the capital in September. The company will start by parking 750 bikes around the London Borough of Ealing, primarily in Acton, and will add more as demand grows. This follows the launch of oBike in London, which operates an identical dockless bike rental scheme, just a few weeks ago.
London's Oyster cards are getting an app for easier top-ups
Contactless payments make it so easy to get around London that the trusty ol' Oyster card isn't as convenient as it once was. You can add funds or Travelcards online, for instance, but then have to wait 24 hours and tap in at a specific station to actually bring your card up to date. Transport for London (TfL) is making the Oyster card a little more 2017-friendly today, though, cutting that processing time down to 30 minutes and removing the need to visit a nominated stop. Tapping in at any train, Tube, tram or River Bus terminal will confirm the top-up, and by the end of autumn, buses will also be on that list.
oBike arrives in London with its dockless take on Boris bikes
Already this year we've seen two Chinese companies that run novel bike rental schemes expand into the UK, and now Singaporean firm oBike is throwing its chips into the pot, too. The startup has this week put 400 of its two-wheelers to work in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, despite the capital being home to over 11,000 for-hire 'Boris bikes.' Unlike these, though, oBikes don't require docking. Through the company's mobile app, you locate the nearest available pushbike on a map, unlock it by scanning its unique QR code, then leave it wherever you want when you're done.
'Asteroid Day' is a good time to learn about the threat of space rocks
On June 30th, 1908, more than 770 square miles of remote Russian forest were obliterated from the face of the Earth when a relatively small meteor, estimated at only around 400 feet across, unleashed 15 megatons of energy above the Stony Tunguska River. One hundred and nine years later, humanity knows precious little more about the dangers that lurk within our solar system than we did in 1908. But a recently founded "global day of education" aims to bring the existential threat that space rocks pose to the forefront of our collective consciousness.
Ocado's driverless delivery van is a glimpse of the future
Filmers and photographers line the street, their fingers hovering over camera shutter buttons. "Any second now," an engineer mutters nearby, eyes glued to a smartphone screen tracking the truck's location. The group collectively takes a deep breath and then, suddenly, the CargoPod glides into view. It rounds the corner silently before drifting up an empty boulevard and into a nearby side-street. The van's arrival is, to be honest, a little anticlimactic. With its small cockpit and large, boxy back, it resembles a milk float from the early 1960s, rather than a cutting-edge piece of autonomous transportation. Still, looks can be deceiving.
London is the second city to get free gigabit WiFi kiosks
London's countless telephone boxes become more redundant with every new mobile contract signed and throwaway tourist SIM purchased. Having a mind to update these payphones for the modern age, BT -- which owns the majority of them -- announced last year it had teamed up with the same crew behind New York's LinkNYC free gigabit WiFi kiosks to make that happen. The first of these, installed along London's Camden High Street, have been switched on today, offering the fastest public WiFi around, free phone calls, USB charging, maps, directions and other local info like weather forecasts, Tube service updates and community messages.
Uber will appeal compulsory English exam for London drivers (updated)
Uber continues to fight against an upcoming rule change that would force London drivers to pass an English language exam. Today, the ride-hailing company has won the right to appeal the requirement, originally proposed by Transport for London in March 2016, that all private hire chauffeurs hold an English GCSE or, if they're from a predominantly non-English speaking country, B1-level qualification. Uber broadly supports the rule change, but thinks the written exam component is unfair. "Writing an essay has nothing to do with communicating with passengers or getting them safely from A to B," Tom Elvidge, Uber's General Manager for London said.
France wants autonomous high-speed trains by 2023
According to reports from FranceInfo, the SNCF, France's national state-owned railway company, announced on Friday that it is actively working to develop and deploy autonomous trains that will operate along its high-speed TGV lines by 2023. The so-called "drone trains" should begin initial trials some time in 2019.
Google's 'innovative' new London HQ features giant moving blinds
They've been a long time coming, but Google has finally laid out its plans for its new "innovative" £1 billion London headquarters located in Kings Cross. This week, the company submitted a detailed planning application to Camden Council, outlining its desire to build an slightly sloped 11-storey building that will sit on a "plinth" of shops and offices, and feature a three-lane 25 metre pool, multi-use games area (hosting basketball, five-a-side football or badminton), a gym and a huge landscaped roof garden.
The only thing stopping 4G on the Tube is finding someone to deliver it
Londoners' dreams of using their phone on the Tube may soon become a reality after it emerged that Transport for London (TfL) is preparing to invite bids from companies to build a public underground 4G network. According to the Financial Times, the regulator -- with backing from London Mayor Sadiq Khan -- could hold an auction after next week's general election, extending connectivity beyond Virgin Media's station-centric WiFi network.
British Airways IT failure cancels many flights out of London (updated)
Airline glitches and the ensuing pandemonium are nothing new, but they've just hit one of the world's largest travel hubs. British Airways has suffered a global IT system failure so serious that it cancelled all its flights out of London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports before 6PM local time on Saturday. Some parts of BA's website and check-in features were unavailable, too, and passengers on London-bound BA flights also faced delays. They frequently can't even book new flights to make up for the old ones.
