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Uber driver allegedly bashed passenger in the head with a hammer
Not all Uber rides are safe. Patrick Karajah, a 26-year-old Uber X driver, has been accused of attacking a passenger with a hammer and leaving him by the side of the road in San Francisco's Bernal Heights district. SF Gate reports that the victim and a couple of friends were picked up at a bar around 2 a.m., and along the way they got into a fight over the route Karajah was taking. Karajah then allegedly kicked them out of the car and proceeded to repeatedly bash the victim in the head with a hammer. The victim is currently in recovery but is suffering serious injuries and head trauma. Karajah pled not guilty to the charge of assault and is currently free on $125,000 bail.
Not so fast: Uber facing bans in Germany once again
Just when you thought Uber's legal battle in Germany was settled once and for all, Bloomberg is now writing about the company having to deal with new challenges in that country. According to the report, Uber has been ordered to bring its UberPop and UberBlack services to a halt, yet again, in two of Germany's biggest cities, Berlin and Hamburg. Local authorities there argued that Uber clearly violates German laws, claiming the ridesharing firm doesn't have the appropriate license to operate legally, which was enough for courts in those cities to rule in favor of a ban. "The services violate multiple rules for transporting people that serve to protect customers," a spokesperson for the Berlin court told Bloomberg. "The ban serves to protect the viability and functioning of the taxi services, in which the public has an important interest."
Lyft snaps up company that makes carpooling with strangers more efficient
Lyft, it seems, is going to be getting a bit bigger and, perhaps, a touch better. The not-a-cab outfit has recently acquired a stranger-based carpooling company by the name of Hitch. The service itself will shut down, but TechCrunch says that the startup's founders will be putting "some of what" they had built for their own company into Lyft Line's brand of ride-sharing. So long as the tech (a proprietary rider-matching engine, from the sounds of it) means that Line can be a viable alternative to Uber's surge pricing, it should work out pretty well for everyone involved. Just remember: the Golden Rule applies to strangers regardless of venue -- no matter how, ahem, unique they might be. [Image credit: Getty Images]
German court lifts the temporary ban on Uber
You can now hail an Uber car in Germany with a clear conscience... at least, for a while. Frankfurt's Regional Court has lifted a temporary ban on Uber in the country, rejecting the taxi industry's claim that urgent action was needed to stop the ridesharing outfit in its tracks. Uber isn't suddenly in the clear, mind you. It's still facing legal action for operating without a commercial license, and the taxi business is appealing the decision in hopes of getting its competition off the road. In the meantime, though, you won't have to take an old-school cab the next time you're visiting Berlin. [Image credit: Adam Berry/Getty Images]
Toyota tests ride-sharing with its adorable electric vehicles
"The sharing economy" is a buzzword that's thrown around to talk about services like AirBnB and Lyft, and now it looks as if Toyota wants in on the trend. The automaker is putting 70 electric cars into commission in France, half of them being i-Road EVs, as spotted by Gizmodo. Instead of competing with the existing public transit system that's in place, however, Toyota says this will work alongside the city of Grenoble's infrastructure making the likes of one-way trips, among other things, easier. So long as there's a drop-off station near your destination, there's no need to worry about parking or a return trip, either, apparently. Reserving a ride can be handled with a smartphone app and rental fees start at €3 (about $4) -- cheaper than minimum fare on Uber. In the land of baguette and interested? Service starts in October.
Daimler nabs two taxi apps, but wants no part of an Uber-like uproar
While Daimler, Mercedes-Benz parent company, announced that it had acquired two ride-hailing apps today, it was clear that it wanted no part of disrupting the taxi industry. The oufit grabbed mytaxi and RideScout to boost its efforts to serve folks who don't have cars with its limousines, according to Reuters. If you need a quick introduction, mytaxi is a German-based service that hails, tracks and pays for taxis while RideScout is a tool for folks to find both public and private options for arriving on time with offices in Austin, Texas. What the company made perfectly clear is that it wants no part of ruffling the feathers Uber has; however, it does plan to work with taxi operators to get customers where they need to go. Deals were made through a subsidiary Moovel GmbH, and with that outfit, Daimler owns the car2go car-sharing option and the Park2gether service for finding empty spots to stop. [Photo credit: Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images]
Uber's new services bring ridesharing to wheelchair users
If you rely on a wheelchair, you've largely been left on the sidelines of the ridesharing phenomenon. While plans have been in the works for some time, there hasn't really been a concrete accessibility strategy. Uber is improving that state of affairs, though, by launching new programs to accommodate disabled passengers. UberAssist, which is launching in Houston today, lets you hail an UberX driver who's trained in accessibility and can accommodate folding wheelchairs. A follow-up coming in a few weeks, UberAccess, lets you order a vehicle with a wheelchair-friendly ramp. There's no mention of expansion to other cities so far.
Uber's anti-Lyft 'shave the stache' recruitment revealed
We've already heard reports that Uber was allegedly ordering and canceling Lyft rides in an attempt to sabotage the competition. Well, it turns out that was just the tip of the iceberg -- Uber apparently has a whole secret plan in place to take down its pink mustachioed rival. The Verge has uncovered evidence that Uber has hired a full-on team of independent contractors and provided them with burner phones and credit cards to recruit existing Lyft drivers away and join the Uber clan. Known as "Operation SLOG," these so-called brand ambassadors would call up a Lyft ride, get in the car and then go into their recruiting spiel -- they even have driver kits so they'd be able to sign up the Lyft driver there and then. The SLOG team also took care to not get caught -- The Verge found emails that warned the ambassadors to not request calls from the same place, and there's even a GroupMe account where they can compare Lyft driver profiles so they don't accidentally recruit the same person.
Uber drivers reportedly dealing with robberies in Los Angeles
For Uber, its rise to the top hasn't always gone smoothly. From facing legal challenges across different parts of the world, to battling it out verbally with competitors, the ridesharing company has had to fight hard to make a name for itself. And now things have apparently taken a turn for the worse, at least for some of its drivers. According to PandoDaily, a number of Uber drivers in Los Angeles say they have been suffering from serious attacks, such as robberies at gunpoint, in recent months. The report, which cites three drivers who spoke on condition of anonymity, claims that people with bad intentions are using the Uber app to locate drivers on a map in order to rob them. While, in most cases, these criminals are looking to steal the Uber-provided phones carried by operators, PandoDaily was told someone was, at one point, the victim of a carjacking situation. Either way, the main concern here shouldn't be the iPhones or vehicles at stake, but rather every driver's safety. We've reached out to Uber for comment and will update this story if we hear back.
Uber's back on the road in Berlin
Last week, regulators in the city of Berlin parked Uber's ride-sharing service, citing the risk to passenger safety and the need to protect taxi operators. However, today a judge in the Berlin Administrative Court suspended the ban imposed by State Department of Civil and Regulatory Affairs just a few days ago. This means that the UberPOP and UberBlack are back in action until another decision says otherwise, because as you might expect, the local taxi industry won't be too pleased with the decision.
Pilots banned from acting like Uber drivers in the sky
"You're going to Napa in your Cessna? Me too! If you let me hop in, I'll pay my share of the gas!" That arrangement is legal, but the FAA has declared that connecting brave passengers with amateur pilots for a fee is definitely a no-no. The ruling came from a request for clarification by a company called Airpooler, a small plane equivalent of UberX. That service and others like FlyteNow let private pilots post listings for flight dates and destinations, along with a corresponding fee. Thanks to a 1963 decision, such sharing is legal if done by word of mouth or a notice board, provided the pilot only asks for a fair share of the expenses. However, in a rather confusing letter, the regulator told Airpooler that its service violates the spirit of that ruling. Instead of offering a bonafide "joint venture with a common purpose," participating pilots are "holding out to transport passengers for compensation." That means unless you have a commercial ATP or CPL license, using those services is DOA. [Credit: Brianc/Flickr]
Berlin bans Uber to protect passengers and its taxis
It's safe to say that Uber has become a victim of its own success, provoking the ire of the global taxi industry and also its fellow ridesharing competitors. While it's enjoyed some leniency in the US, European regulators have put the boot into the app, with Berlin becoming the latest city to ban Uber cars from its roads. In a statement, Berlin's State Department of Civil and Regulatory Affairs said that Uber puts passenger safety at risk by using "unverified drivers in unlicensed vehicles," and threatened to levy a €25,000 ($33,400) fine each time it violates the ban. Drivers won't escape action either, receiving €20,000 ($26,750) fine if they're caught pursuing passengers.
Hurry, your next Uber in NYC could be all about Manchester United
Look, there aren't many things which can truly impress New Yorkers. Yet, somehow, the Mini Countryman pictured above managed to make quite a few heads turn during a drive across Manhattan. Whatever it may have been, it's safe to bet those bright red colors draping the car had something to do with it -- and the not-so-subtle branding didn't hurt its chances to impress, either. Regardless, this Manchester United-themed vehicle is part of a full fleet of 20 vehicles, one for each Premier League team, that NBC Sports and Uber will have cruising around Manhattan through this Sunday. The free rides (up to a 30-minute drive) are obviously being used as a way to promote the start of the EPL season on NBC Sports Network here in the US, which kicks off on Saturday, August 16th. Uber, for its part, isn't new to having bizarre rides hit the streets, like the time-traveling DeLorean and, of course, those beloved Ice Cream trucks. Now we can add this one to the list.
Uber makes it easier for riders, drivers to get to their destination
Even though Uber is in the middle of a ridesharing battle against competitor Lyft, that's not stopping the company from focusing to make its product better. With this in mind, Uber just announced a couple of new features that will improve the experience for riders and drivers alike, both on iOS and Android. For starters, the app now allows you to enter your destination as you're booking a ride, allowing the driver to easily see where you're going as soon as you step in the car. Drivers (who only use iPhones, by the way), on the other hand, can now see the destination you entered and use turn-by-turn navigation to get to it -- this is important to simplify the process, as it keeps every driver from having to manually input an address. More importantly, Uber says these updates bring it one step closer to its vision of "a day when there is no coordination necessary" to take a ride.
Lyft claims Uber employees ordered at least 5,000 fake rides (update)
Ridesharing company Uber is worthy $18 billion thanks to its rider-friendly practices, but rival Lyft says it hasn't been so nice to competitors. The company supplied CNNMoney with data showing that 177 Uber employees in the US booked and then cancelled some 5,560 rides since October of last year. While not technically illegal, such a scheme can make Lyft drivers head to non-existent ride pickups, letting Uber cars swoop into the vacated areas. Lyft added that Uber recruiters are sometimes ordering legit, but low-paying short rides in order to pitch its drivers on switching to Uber. As proof, the company matched phone numbers to known Uber employees or contractors -- for instance, one known recruiter has used 21 different Lyft accounts to order 1,500 cancelled rides.
Engadget Daily: Uber's legal battle, Foursquare's new identity and more!
Today, we take a few selfies, investigate Uber's legal struggles, learn about home automation with the Ninja Sphere, go hands-on with Foursquare's new app and more. Read on for Engadget's news highlights from the last 24 hours.
Lyft wants you to know it has a carpool service too
Two can play the pooled ridesharing game, it seems -- just a day after the launch of UberPool, Lyft has responded with its own offering, Lyft Line. The basic concept is virtually identical to what we saw hours ago. If you're headed in the same direction as another customer, Line lets you hop in the same car and split your fare. You may have to wait a few minutes longer, but the savings could be as much as 60 percent less than a solo ride; that's cheap enough for daily use, if you believe Lyft. The option will only be available in San Francisco through the iOS app at first, but Android support and more cities are coming.
Why Uber's ridesharing revolution could be undone by archaic laws and aging industry
Like electric cars, the decentralization of broadcast television, renewable energy and other burgeoning technologies, the world of "ridesharing" -- largely embraced by consumers -- is facing tremendous pushback from entrenched players around the world. These entrenched players take archaic laws and employ them to keep new competition out. This concept isn't new to business, or even transportation business. The fight over Uber, Lyft and other ridesharing programs is the same fight that's played out across human history time after time: A new technology threatens to upend an existing technology, and the industry supported by the existing technology stands together to push back against the inevitable. Remember buying CDs at your local music store? Exactly.
Uber's latest service has you splitting your ride fare with strangers
Uber likes to undercut conventional taxi pricing, but it can get expensive if you're by your lonesome -- just ask anyone who has had to pay surge pricing to get to the airport. You may not have to cough up the full amount the next time you're going solo, though. The company has just launched the beta for UberPool, a service that has you sharing a car with strangers. If you're a tester, Uber will try to match you up with another person who's taking a similar route; whether or not there's another rider, your fare gets cut in half. The mobile app will also tell you who's being picked up first and the name of your buddy, so you'll have a decent excuse to start a conversation.
Lyft gets the green light to operate in New York City
Nearly two weeks after New York's Attorney General, Eric T. Schneiderman, made a push to bar Lyft from offering its ridesharing service in New York City, both parties have finally come to an agreement. As a result, Lyft is now free to operate in all five boroughs of The Big Apple, after the company "agreed to operate in New York State in full compliance with existing laws and regulations." In addition, Lyft has also assured state officials it will operate with commercial drivers only. But it wasn't a complete win for the pink mustache company, as this agreement stipulates that Lyft must cease services in Buffalo and Rochester by next week, on August 1st.
