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Rolls-Royce is the latest to develop a flying taxi
The flying taxis from Airbus and Uber may have some fresh competition, albeit not quite in the way they might have expected. Rolls-Royce has unveiled an EVTOL (Electric Vertical Take Off and Landing) concept that could carry four to five passengers to virtually any large-enough landing spot thanks to wings that can rotate 90 degrees. It wouldn't be purely electric, despite the name (gas turbines would produce the 500kW of power needed for six propellers), but it would be quiet while ferrying people up to 500 miles at a peak speed of 250MPH. Its wing propellers would fold away once at cruise height to avoid irking either passengers or people below.
Uber will test a taxi-hailing service in Japan
Ridesharing companies legally require professional drivers in Japan, which limits Uber's options. Right now, it can only offer its most familiar service in areas where there are no viable alternatives. As such, it's trying a different strategy: it's partnering with the taxi companies it normally tries to beat. Uber has told Reuters it's launching a taxi-hailing pilot on the island of Awaji (near Osaka) where customers will use its app to hail cabs from 20 local firms. The initiative will get underway in the months ahead and last through March 2019.
New York approves surcharge for Uber and Lyft rides in Manhattan
As part of the budget that New York lawmakers passed last Friday, ride-hailing services and taxis face a new fee if they drive in Manhattan. These aren't nickel-and-dime increases, either: Uber, Lyft and the like face a $2.75 charge for each ride, taxis get a $2.50 increase and group ride services like Via and uberPOOL will be charged $0.75 per customer. It's meant to combat congestion and help fund subway repair and improvements, providing an expected $400 million per year going forward for the MTA.
Sony may launch an AI-powered taxi hailing system
Sony definitely isn't the first name you think of when you're looking for a ride, but that might change soon in its native Japan. Nikkei has learned that the tech heavyweight is leading an alliance of taxi companies (Checker Cab, Daiwa Motor Transportation, Green Cab, Hinomaru Kotsu and Kokusai Motorcars) in the creation of an AI-powered hailing platform. The algorithmic system would dispatch taxis more effectively by studying a host of conditions like traffic, weather and events. It might send a horde of drivers near the end of a concert, for instance.
Mercedes and Bosch will test self-driving taxis in a few months
Mercedes (or rather, its parent Daimler) and Bosch aren't far off from making their self-driving taxis a practical reality... in a manner of speaking. Bosch chief Volkmar Denner has informed Automobilwoche that the two companies will put test vehicles on the road within a few months. He didn't supply other details, but the mention provided a more definitive timetable for their ambitions. Until now, the two had only promised to have fully autonomous vehicles ready by the start of the next decade.
London’s new electric taxis scuppered by faulty sensor
London's new electric taxis have been delayed. The "TX" cabs developed by LEVC were supposed to arrive in the capital late last year. But there's a problem with the system that tracks time and distance — recorded as electric "pulses" — for the all-important fare meter. It's forced the company to push back its delivery schedule while a fix is developed and approved by Transport for London (TfL). "Deliveries are subject to a short delay as a result of an unexpected issue with compatibility with the taxi meters and the taxi," an LEVC spokesperson said. "The problem is understood, and it involves the pulse messages sent between the vehicle and the meter."
Nissan will test its self-driving taxi service in Japan next year
Nissan wants to have its fully-automated ride service on the road in Japan by the early 2020s. The plan is to start with a "public field test" for the Easy Ride service in Yokohama. Nissan has partnered with technology company DeNa for the venture, and the hope is to have everything from pick-up to payment and drop-off handled via mobile app. If you'd rather take the scenic route to your destination, options will be available for that as well.
Uber says 2016 hack affected 2.7 million UK customers and drivers
As Uber prepares to defend itself following news that it suffered -- and subsequently hid -- a massive data breach in 2016, the company has begun shedding light on how many people it affected locally. At first count, 57 million global users were implicated in the attack, but the ride-hailing service today revealed that as many as 2.7 million UK customers and drivers had their names, email addresses and mobile phone numbers stolen.
Mytaxi offers London cabbies free medical training
A taxi-hailing app is offering London cabbies free training to deal with health-related emergencies, including acid attacks and terrorist incidents. Mytaxi's "Knowledge+" course covers first-aid techniques including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and how to use a defibrillator. Drivers are also given advice for handling crisis situations and basic psychology, such as reading body language and de-escalating aggressive behaviour. It's being marketed as a progression of "The Knowledge," with backing from St John Ambulance, a first aid charity, and Chris Phillips, the former head of the UK's National Counter Terrorism Security Office.
Waymo’s driverless taxi service will open to the public soon
Waymo is working on an autonomous taxi fleet, modeled after the pilot program it currently offers outside of Phoenix. The big difference here is that once fully launched, Waymo's service won't have a driver behind the wheel. Additionally, the company will up its fleet of self-driving Chrysler Pacifica minivans from 100 to 500. As you'd imagine, the entire ride-hailing process will be handled via a mobile app. While the initial service area will be limited to the Phoenix metro area, in a post on Medium, the company says eventually it will "cover a region that's larger than the size of Greater London." Waymo says that the public will be able to start taking autonomous rides "over the next few months" in the agricultural suburb, Chandler, Arizona.
London's new electric black cabs hit the streets
London's new electric taxis are almost ready for the public. Six test vehicles are being introduced to the city's streets today ahead of a planned roll out later this year. Participating drivers will be collecting data about potential emissions savings and the reality of using London's charger network. "We will now be able to accurately quantify the significant improvements these vehicles will make to London's air quality," Chris Gubbey, CEO for the London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) said, "which will benefit all Londoners, regardless of whether [they] use taxis or not."
Gett is using Citymapper data to plot new ride-sharing routes
London's public transport system is pretty robust, with plenty of Tubes, buses and overground lines zig-zagging across the city. At rush hour, though, squeezing onto a crammed DLR carriage can be a total nightmare. One alternative is a taxi-hailing app like Gett, which for some time now has been pushing Gett Together, a ride-sharing service that operates on preset routes across the city. Today, the company is announcing Black Bus 1, a new route that operates between Highbury & Islington and Waterloo. The expansion is notable because it was designed using data supplied by mobile navigation app (and now bus route operator) Citymapper.
Britain's taxi industry will use Uber's playbook against it
My adopted city is pretty forward-looking, but it was still a surprise when local taxi operations, as one, began offering their own Uber-style apps. It's a phenomenon that's occurring across the UK, with smaller outfits suddenly adopting app- and cloud-based booking systems. But the company that's pushing the change isn't doing so just to make it easier for folks in far-flung cities to book a ride home. Instead, it's the first step in a plan to unite the taxi industry in building a credible, singular rival to Uber.
Ride-hailing services in NYC must now offer a tipping option
All ride-hailing services operating in NYC must make sure they offer in-app tipping, now that the city has made it a requirement. Authorities have passed a rule proposed by the Independent Driver's Guild (and backed by the Taxi and Limousine Commission) a year ago that requires a tipping option for all for-hire drivers. According to the pamphlet (PDF) distributed by IDG, it conjured up and submitted the proposal because the drivers that decided to take the ride-hailing route have lost out on hundreds of millions in tipping income.
Russian internet giant Yandex shows off its self-driving car
When Russia's Yandex revealed that it, too, was working on self-driving cars, it was hard not to be a bit skeptical. Wouldn't it be well behind American counterparts with a years-long head start, like Waymo? Clearly, it's making up for lost time: Yandex (or specifically, its on-demand service Yandex.Taxi) has unveiled a prototype self-driving car. The heavily modified Toyota Prius V touts loads of sensors, AI and "proprietary computing algorithms" that can help it navigate around traffic and tricky obstacles. The demo video below doesn't show any mind-blowing concepts, but that's really the point -- Yandex is showing that it already has a functional machine.
Cabs in Washington, DC are replacing meters with Square readers
If nothing else, Uber has permanently disrupted the ride-for-hire system that has traditionally been served by taxis. Grabbing a ride has never been easier (at least where services like Lyft and Uber are allowed to operate), and paying with a credit card number stored in an app ensures that none of the drivers or riders need to worry about cash. Taxi companies have been trying to push back, however. Square is helping the fight, too, with a partnership to process payments for cab drivers in Washington, DC.
E-volo's electric 'air taxi' picks up passengers next year
The last time we'd heard about E-Volo's 18-rotor electric helicopter was almost a year ago to the day. The latest news out of the company is that at AERO, an aviation trade show in Germany, E-Volo revealed its latest model, the Volocopter 2X. The firm says that the advantages of this version versus previous iterations (namely, the VC200) are that it's a "consequent evolution" geared toward everyday use as an autonomous urban mobility vehicle. Translation: it could be a pilot-free, or remote-flown taxi for two.
Uber plans to ditch Denmark over new taxi laws
Uber likes to think of itself as an enabler of small business, a connector of independent contractors with people who need a ride. Unfortunately for the San Francisco-based company, many places around the world disagree. The company's latest setback is in Denmark, where a new set of laws will require taxi cabs to have seat occupancy sensors and fare meters. Uber confirmed with The Guardian that it will not be able to operate unless the regulations are changed.
Drivers push NYC to require tipping option in ride-sharing apps
In New York City, some ride-sharing services offer an in-app option for riders to tip the driver. Uber doesn't, so the Independent Drivers Guild is pushing the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) to make a decision on the matter. The group has over 8,000 signatures on a petition that asks the taxi regulators in the city to require app-based transportation services to offer a tipping option. A change in policy would force Uber to add the ability to tip to its app.
Mexico City's new hybrid taxis have a 'panic' button
While President Trump continues to claim Mexico will pay for his big, beautiful wall, our neighbors south of the border are busy spending money on making their largest city safer and less polluted. The Mayor of Mexico City, Miguel Ángel Mancera, has revealed new hybrid-electric taxis that feature WiFi and a "panic" button for passengers. When activated, officials will be alerted of your location and help could be sent immediately in case of an emergency. It's similar to what Uber started offering a couple of years ago in India, with the main difference being that the ridesharing service's panic button is built into its app.
