ridehailing
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Lyft follows Uber in adding temporary fuel surcharge
Riders will soon have to pay a bit more to offset the cost of soaring gas prices.
Uber's Explore tab aims to create new excuses to go out
You can make dinner reservations, get concert tickets and find places to visit.
Uber users in the UK can reserve a premium ride a month in advance
Uber Reserve is initially available in London, Manchester, Bristol and Bath.
India's new ride hailing rules cap driver hours and limit surge pricing
India has instituted its first rules for ride hailing apps like Uber and Ola, and they set limits on driver hours and surge pricing while hiking pay rates.
Massachusetts sues Uber and Lyft for identifying drivers as contractors
It follows a similar lawsuit in California.
Senator urges Uber and Lyft to run fingerprint background checks
A senator has called on Uber and Lyft to share details with each other about contractors they've banned to clamp down on dangerous drivers who've been kicked off one platform signing up to the other. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) has also urged them to conduct fingerprint background checks on drivers.
Via shares its ride-pooling technology with NYC public schools
Modern-day ride-hailing technology will soon be used to improve the New York City school bus system. Fast Company reported today that transportation company Via -- which offers on-demand ride-sharing in select cities -- will license its technology to the New York City Department of Education. Via's algorithm, which pools passengers from nearby areas and creates an efficient route for drivers to deliver them to their destination, will now do the same for school buses. Parents and students will also be able to access real-time GPS tracking and updates.
Uber has a solution for chatty drivers
We've all been there. You've had a long, tiring day, and you hail a ride to get home. Your driver is nice, but they're perhaps a little too eager for some chit-chat and to play their favorite radio station, when you'd like a modicum of peace and quiet. Sure, you can ask them to turn down the volume and hold the small talk, but that's invariably awkward. So, if you're riding in an Uber Black or Uber Black SUV, you'll be able to request a silent ride using a Quiet Mode option in the Uber app.
Uber and Lyft stop accepting new drivers in NYC
Uber and Lyft have stopped hiring new drivers in New York City, due to a newly-passed law aimed to tamp down on an already oversaturated rideshare market. Politico reported that Uber stopped accepting new driver applications on April 1, with Lyft following suit on April 19th. The decision comes after the city put in place a new wage floor for rideshare drivers strongly opposed by both companies.
Sony becomes Uber's newest rival in Japan
Uber's fledgling cab-hailing service in Japan has a new competitor, and it's not by one of its usual rivals. It's called S.Ride, and it's a taxi-hailing app created by Sony in partnership with not one, but five Japanese taxi companies. Since the types of ride-hailing services you're probably used to are banned in the country, companies like Uber that want a piece of the Japanese economy -- especially since the Tokyo Olympics are coming up -- are compromising and teaming up with taxi providers.
Lyft adds the option to request EVs or hybrids
After committing last year to making rides and the company itself totally carbon neutral, Lyft plans to add thousands more electric vehicles to its network in 2019. What's more, you can specifically request an EV or hybrid when hailing a ride through the new green mode.
Lyft is suing over New York's minimum pay for drivers law
Lyft is planning to file a lawsuit today against the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) in an attempt to block a new law that would require ride-hailing guarantee a minimum wage floor for drivers. The company confirmed to Engadget that it is filing the suit Wednesday. Lesser known ridesharing service Juno is filing its own lawsuit over the matter.
Here's ride-hailing app focuses on shared rides
Most ride hailing apps are strictly focused on getting you from A to B. That's rather important, but they don't really acknowledge why you're going out -- you're heading to a party, a business meeting, a family get-together. Here Mobility thinks it can add that social element with its SoMo app. At its heart, it's a multi-service hailing app with group planning. You can create one-time or recurring events, invite people and help them find the best way to get around, whether it's a ridesharing car, a taxi or the bus.
Ride-hailing use in the US has more than doubled in three years
The Pew Research Center has released the results of a new study showing how the usage of ride-hailing services has grown over recent years. In 2015, just 15 percent of surveyed US adults said they used services like Lyft or Uber, but in a survey conducted last year, 36 percent of those who responded said they had used such services at some point. Additionally, those saying they had never heard of ride-hailing decreased from 33 percent to just three percent between 2015 and 2018.
California issues its first approval for an autonomous ride service
Which company did you think would be most likely to offer an autonomous ride service in California? A heavyweight like Waymo or Uber? No -- it's an up-and-comer. The state's Public Utilities Commission has revealed that self-driving car startup Zoox will be the first to transport the public. It's joining a pilot program where it will offer free rides with a backup driver in the front. It's not certain when the pilot will start, although Zoox has already stated plans to launch paid service in late 2020.
US regulators approve BMW-Daimler services merger
BMW and Daimler's plan to combine their transportation services, including car sharing, ride hailing and electric vehicle charging, is a step closer to reality after US antitrust officials approved the partnership. The companies hope to close the deal by January 31st, and plan to reveal more details of their joint venture by the end of March.
Just like Lyft, Uber has confidentially filed for its IPO
On Thursday we learned Lyft filed papers for an initial public offering set to take place in 2019, and Friday evening some "people familiar with its plans" said the same to the Wall Street Journal about ride-hailing rival Uber. According to the New York Times, Uber also filed its paperwork with the SEC on Thursday, setting the stage for both companies to compete over who can get their shares on the market first. Ever since replacing Travis Kalanick last year, getting the company through its IPO has been a major consideration for CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, and this news means it could happen sooner than previously-anticipated, moving it from mid- or late 2019 to the first quarter of the year. These transportation apps have seen some of the biggest growth lately, but they're not the only tech companies preparing to go public, with others like Slack and Airbnb potentially in line. The companies have similar incentives with employees and investors alike waiting to cash in, amid worries of a possible recession and the issue that both are reportedly unprofitable. Bankers have apparently estimated Uber's IPO value at $120 billion, well above the $72 billion estimate from its last round of funding so you can see why they would want to strike.
Uber puts self-driving cars back on the road in scaled-down test
Eight months after one of Uber's self-driving cars fatally struck a pedestrian, the company is getting ready to resume testing of its autonomous vehicles on public roads. However, according to internal sources, there are concerns about the program's safety, with some employees claiming corners are being cut in a bid to reach milestones and keep up with competitors.
BMW will be the first foreign car maker to offer ride-hailing in China
If BMW is going to be a giant in mobility services, it'll need to make inroads into some major markets... and it's doing just that. The company now plans to launch a ride-hailing service in China in December, becoming the first international automaker to obtain a license in the country. Daimler had announced plans for a joint-venture service with Volvo parent Geely back in October, but BMW could be faster to actual service.
Google: Southeast Asia’s digital economy is surging
Google has begun looking beyond India to Southeast Asia for its "next billion" users. And its annual report on the region's internet economy gives us an insight as to why it's so crucial to the web giant. Home to 650 million people, Google projects Southeast Asia's digital economy will triple in size to $240 billion in the next seven years. So sharp has been its rise that Google has revised its growth expectations for the region (made in collaboration with Singapore sovereign fund Temasek) for the third year on the go.
