Anyone who's visited Hong Kong within the last few years has probably experienced the city's thick soupy smog. Sure, things aren't as bad as they are in Beijing, but pollution from the mainland often wraps the metropolis in a humid haze -- and we're not sure an all-electric taxi rollout is going to do anything to alleviate that. Just 45 of the BYD e6 cabs are now on the road, so the release is mainly symbolic -- only a few dozen lucky drivers will be cruising up to 300 kilometers (186 miles) of city streets between charge breaks at one of nine area stations. Private citizens, for their part, can take ownership of the e6 Premier sedan -- the civilian version just began shipping as well.

Filed under: Transportation

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Source: BYD (Business Wire)

Just a few days after receiving the nod from New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC), UberTAXI has officially returned to the Big Apple -- with some limitations. For starters, automatic fare billing is not yet available, so passengers will have to pay drivers directly via cash or credit card. Uber warns that ride availability will be limited as the company is working on adding more cabbies to its system. Also, while New Yorkers can use a mobile app to call for a ride, drivers cannot be requested by SMS. Finally, the TLC's e-hail pilot program prohibits UberTAXIs from making trips to both JFK and LaGuardia airports along with accepting fares going outside of New York's five boroughs. Restrictive? Yes, but at least it's a start.

Filed under: Software, Mobile

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Via: The Next Web

Source: Uber

Car service Uber and New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) have had a rocky relationship, as the Commission banned Uber from Gotham's taxicabs last year. Susequently, the TLC greenlit a trial to test cab hailing apps and after a brief legal delay, the pilot program is back in action, and Valleywag reports that Uber is the first app approved to participate in it. Uber's co-founder Travis Kalanick is, quite naturally, excited to be back in NYC taxis with the commission's tacit explicit approval, and stated that the app will be ready for use across the city "monetarily." So, it's official, good people of Gotham, you can now legally go forth and get your Uber on.

Filed under: Transportation, Software, Mobile

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Via: The Verge

Source: Valleywag

Taxi hailing apps have had a rough time getting started in the Big Apple. After the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) put the kibosh on Uber and subsequently blessed e-hailing apps with a 12-month test, the TLC faced a setback of its own: a lawsuit. Filed in March by 10 livery (black car) service outfits against the TLC and New York City, the suit packed seven complaints and temporarily put the pilot on hold. Among the claims were concerns that the program clouds the legal distinction between black cars and yellow medallion taxis, that it puts the elderly at a disadvantage and would enable cab drivers to discriminate by refusing service to certain passengers. Today, a judge dismissed the suit and lifted the order, clearing the way for the year-long trial to progress. There's no word on just when Uber and the likes of other e-hailing apps will be allowed to operate, but with legal hurdles out of the way, that should happen fairly soon.

Filed under: Transportation, Mobile

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Via: The Washington Post

Source: City of New York