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Via's personal ride-hailing will shut down next week
Via is shutting down its ride-hailing services after December 20th to shift its attention to mass transit.
Keychron's Q1 keyboard is its most customizable yet
Customizable keyboards can get expensive, fast. The Q1 from Keychron proves that it doesn't always have to be a choice between price and quality.
Via's largest on-demand transit service to date launches in Sacramento
Via just launched one of its most ambitious on-demand public transportation projects yet. The company has teamed up with Sacramento Regional Transit to roll out an expanded version of SmaRT Ride, billed as the "largest on-demand microtransit system" in the US. A total of 42 shuttle buses ferry passengers in nine zones across Sacramento, supplementing the existing bus and rail coverage. Like Via's other services, you just need to use an app or call a number to hail a ride and wait at a virtual bus stop for a shared vehicle.
Via now provides veterans with free rides in the DC area
Veterans in the DC area can now book up to four free rides per month through the ride-sharing company Via. The new VetRides program could help veterans get to medical appointments, classes and job interviews.
Hyundai will offer free self-driving rides in Irvine, California
A handful of Californians are about to experience self-driving cars first-hand. Hyundai, Via and (appropriately enough) Pony.ai are debuting a driverless ride hailing BotRide service in Irvine on November 4th. A group of "several hundred" residents, including college students, will have free access to autonomous Kona Electric SUVs that will take them between multiple points of interest, using Via's algorithms to optimize the number of passengers without making them walk too far at either end of the trip. Pony.ai will supply the sensor hardware and software to help navigate city streets.
Via's on-demand van service comes to Apple's backyard
Via's on-demand vans have been available in a handful of cities, but now the company is aiming for a particularly obvious market: Silicon Valley commuters. The city of Cupertino and Via are launching an alternative public transportation network on October 29th that will let locals hail a Mercedes shuttle van to travel within the city, including to and from Apple Park -- helpful for staff who want a relatively inexpensive ride to work. You'll also find a "satellite zone" of service around the Sunnyvale CalTrain station to help commuters complete their trips.
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.
A sixth of ridesharing cars have unfixed safety recalls
It's not just ridesharing drivers that merit some safety concerns -- the car might be a risk as well. Consumer Reports has conducted a study indicating that 16.2 percent of the nearly 94,000 ride hailing cars it identified in New York City and King County (including Uber, Lyft and smaller outfits like Juno), Washington had at least one unaddressed safety recall. About 1.4 percent of total rides had Takata's faulty airbags, while 25 had "at least" five open recalls.
Via ride-sharing connects LA passengers to three Metro stations
In an effort to entice residents to ride public transportation again, LA has launched a pilot program designed to shuttle residents to and from three of the busiest Metro stations in the city. LA's local government first announced its team-up with ride-sharing platform Via back in 2017. Now, the pilot is live and has started offering shared, on-demand rides to serve the Artesia, El Monte and North Hollywood stations.
NYC passes minimum pay wage for Uber and Lyft drivers
New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission voted today to establish a minimum wage for drivers working for companies like Uber, Lyft, Juno and Via. The city is the first in the US to set a minimum pay rate for app-based drivers. Going forward, the minimum pay will be set at $17.22 per hour after expenses, bringing it in line with the city's $15 per hour minimum wage for typical employees, which will take effect at the end of the year. The additional $2.22 takes into account contract drivers' payroll taxes and paid time off.
Uber and Lyft hoped 'rainy day' fund would relax NYC regulations
Ridesharing companies really, really don't like the thought of New York City capping their services and otherwise instituting new regulations. To that end, they recently tried a drastic measure: making a charity offer in return for concessions. Lyft's Joe Okpaku informed The Verge that his company, Uber and carpooling service Via unsuccessfully proposed a $100 million "hardship fund" that would have compensated individual taxi medallion owners to the tune of "tens of thousands of dollars." Some would get payments immediately, while further payments would take place over the course of five years. In exchange, however, NYC's City Council would have needed to drop its proposed cap and minimum wage requirements -- not surprisingly, the city turned it down as a result.
Texas city drops its bus service in favor of ridesharing vans
Ridesharing companies often dream of changing the face of public transportation, but one of them is going a step further -- it's becoming the only option for public transportation in one community. Arlington, Texas is replacing its bus service with Via's ridesharing platform. Pay $3 per trip ($10 for a weekly pass) and you can hop in a Mercedes van that will take you where you need to go, whether your hail it through a smartphone app or a phone call.
Los Angeles taps a shuttle service to get riders to Metro stops
Most people find a short walk to and from a public transportation stop pretty reasonable, but the further away that stop is from their home or their destination, the less convenient it becomes. Well the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) wants to close that first mile/last mile gap and it's doing so in partnership with Via.
Daimler and Via to launch ride-sharing shuttle service in Europe
Minivans, while not the most exciting form of transportation, could have a role to play in society's shift away from car ownership. Daimler, the company behind Mercedes-Benz, is teaming up with Via to launch a new ride-sharing service across Europe. Like UberPool, it will be an on-demand system that allows passengers to set their own pick-up points and destinations through a smartphone app. Mercedes-Benz will supply the minivans, while Via — which already runs a similar service in New York City, Chicago and Washington DC — manages the software. It's basically a bus service, but with dynamic routes and no predetermined stops.
Mozilla kicks off Firefox OS tablet developer program, teases new ZTE phones
As it turns out, Mozilla's Panasonic smart TV deal is just the start of its Firefox OS plans for this year. The web pioneer has just unveiled a tablet developer program that will give dedicated contributors both reference hardware (initially from Foxconn) and other resources; they'll help create the tablet-native Firefox OS in the same communal fashion that Mozilla builds its desktop browser. The firm tells us that it wants to start the program shortly after CES, with a goal of finishing its slate interface sometime this year. The company is also providing the first details of ZTE's second-generation FFOS smartphones. The Open family is expanding to include two upgraded models, the Open C and the dual-core Open II; there isn't much more to say at this point, although we should learn more in the near future. If you're looking for something more tangible, you'll be happy to hear that VIA Technologies has released a version of its tiny APC Rock desktop PC with Mozilla's OS pre-installed. The bare system is available by itself for $59, while those who want it in a recycled case (Paper) will pay $99.
Visualized: VIA's versatile video wall signage solution (video)
VIA Technologies isn't a name that often pops up on Engadget, but its latest video wall signage solution deserves a shout-out. The idea's simple: you can output a 4K x 2K footage to an array of thin-bezel 1080p LCDs -- powered by S3 Graphics cards -- arranged in any way you like, including the orientation of each monitor. While the Taiwanese company wasn't keen to show off too much of its backend system, we were given a glimpse of its S3 MagicView software, which lets you easily fit one or multiple clips across a carefully aligned canvas corresponding to the LCDs. Check out our video after the break and you'll get the idea. (HTC and VIA are both chaired by Cher Wang, so it's no surprise to see the latter displaying HTC ads for its signage demo. Wang's husband, Wen-Chi Chen, is the President and CEO of VIA.) A complete system similar to the above two -- either with eight 46-inch panels or fifteen 42-inch panels -- could cost between NT$3 million (about US$102,000) to NT$4 million (US$136,000), and it's also available for rental. VIA said it's targeting the likes of churches, schools, cinemas and shops with its range of signage solutions, some of which can be powered by the company's Android PCs to reduce costs.
VIA Motors introduces V-TRUX range of extended-range electric trucks, vans and SUVs
If you're launching a line of extended-range electric vehicles, ala the Chevy Volt, it's hard to imagine a better person to help you with the launch than Bob Lutz, the driving force behind that very car. Now he's working with VIA Motors, which today introduced a line of electric vehicles of a rather different scale. The V-TRUX line of big boy toys includes modified GMC trucks, SUVs and vans, customized to include a Volt-like powertrain that enables up to 40 miles of electricity-only driving before switching over to the onboard 4.8 liter V8. More details after the break.
Vizio's 'extra-large' holiday HDTV lineup goes from 55- to 70-inches
While Vizio's summer has been all about PCs, set-top Google TV boxes and even the odd ultrawidescreen HDTV, it's getting back into its usual garb for the fall. As is its customs, it's rolling out a few new HDTV models ahead of the big shopping season, which range in size from 55- to 70-inches. Other than the 58-inch CinemaWide ultra widescreen model there are also three representatives from its M-Series, with a 55-inch model for $949, and a 65-inch model that's $1,699 with 3D and $1,499 without. The other two models are in its E-Series line, and are 2D only edge-lit LED sets that feature a new thin bezel / slim frame design. The 60-inch version is priced at $999, while the 70-inch goes for $1,999. They all include the Yahoo Widgets powered Vizio Internet Apps (Netflix, Vudu, Hulu, Amazon etc.) and WiFi built in and most are already popping up on store shelves near you (just ask Logitech and Sling how that works), check out a bit more information in the press release after the break.
VIA EPIA-P910 stuffs 3D display support, quad-core into a Pico-ITX size
If there's been a race in the Pico-ITX realm to catch up to full-size PCs, VIA just leapt ahead by a few bounds with the EPIA-P910. The tiny PC mates one of VIA's 1GHz QuadCore E-Series processors with a VX11H media core to handle the kinds of tasks that would break just about any other system its size: stereoscopic 3D displays and DirectX 11 3D graphics are entirely within the realm of possibility. Likewise, there's a surprising amount of expansion headroom compared to many of the P910's similarly small counterparts, such as the 8GB RAM ceiling and support for both HDMI 1.4a and USB 3.0. You'll need to get in touch with VIA if you want to find out how much it costs to work the new EPIA into an embedded PC, and it's more likely to be headed to corporate buyers than to homebrew projects. We're still looking forward to the shot of visual adrenaline, whether it's in a mini PC or a store display.
VIA Technologies APC 8750 mobo / CPU combo will go on sale today for $60
Did you get giddy at the thought of playing around with VIA Technologies APC 8750 Android-based board, but failed to get in on the pre-order action? Good news for you, as folks wanting to dig into its custom Gingerbread OS, 800Mhz ARMv6 CPU and 3D graphics engine can head on over to Newegg and get one for $59.99. Unfortunately, it's currently out of stock, but our gadget senses tell us that more APC's will be available soon, and you can head on over to the source link below and sign up to be notified when it happens. If patience isn't your thing, feel free to hit up the source and give your F5 key a workout instead. [Thanks, Anonymous]
