ride-hailing
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Yandex begins public tests of its self-driving cars in Russia
Russia's Yandex has taken its self-driving efforts one step further, launching an autonomous ride-hailing service in the university city of Innopolis, Russia. The company claims it's the first such service to launch in Europe. For now, there will be two self-driving vehicles in operation and they'll provide rides to specific locations, such as the university, the stadium and residential blocks, for free. A safety engineer will ride in the passenger seat and around 100 people have agreed to test the service.
Indian ride-hailing giant Ola launches in the UK
Uber may not want to get too comfy as it rebuilds its London presence -- it's about to get stiff competition. Indian ride-hailing giant Ola has unveiled plans to launch in the UK. The company is recruiting drivers in Cardiff, Newport and Vale of Glamorgan as of today, and expects to be available "nationwide" by the end of 2018. And unlike some bids to crack the UK market, it promises to both provide a few competitive advantages and avoid regulatory trouble.
Waymo drove 2 million autonomous miles in 2017
Waymo's vehicles drove 2 million miles in self-driving mode across 25 cities in 2017, putting its total autonomous miles to 4 million. It accelerated its testing to prepare for its ride-hailing fleet's launch this year, allowing it to "gather as much data as possible in order to improve [its] technology." According to its annual report submitted to the government of California, Waymo drove 352,545 of those miles in The Golden State from December 2016 to November 2017. Within that period, the company reported a total of 63 disengagements (instances wherein the human test driver had to step in), which means its vehicles drove an average of 5,595 miles for every disengagement.
India's Uber rival Ola expands into Australia
While Uber is distracted with lawsuits and a London ban, its ride-hailing rivals are expanding. First it was China's Didi arriving in Brazil and Taiwan, and now its Ola's turn. The Indian company, which shares common investors Softbank and Didi with Uber, is heading to Australia. Ola said it's started adding private hire vehicle drivers in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth in its first move outside of its native India.
Waymo orders thousands of Chrysler vans for self-driving taxi service
Waymo already turned 600 Chrysler Pacifica minivans into self-driving vehicles, but apparently, those aren't enough for the company's upcoming taxi service. FCA US has revealed that it's supplying the former Google self-driving division with thousands of Chrysler Pacific minivans and that delivery will begin in late 2018. Waymo will use the vehicles it's already testing to launch its ride-hailing service in Phoenix this year -- the additional driverless minivans will be deployed to other cities when the service expands its reach.
Waymo inches closer to driverless car launch with repair deal
Google's spin-off company Waymo has hired AutoNation, America's largest auto retailer, to maintain and repair its fleeting of driverless vehicles around the country, AutoNation said in a press release. That represents a very positive step for Waymo toward its driverless car and possible ride-sharing launch. "AutoNation will help assure that Waymo vehicles are always in top condition as we bring fully self-driving cars to the public," Waymo CEO John Krafcik said.
Brazil softens ride-hailing bill after talks with Uber
It sounds like Dara Khosrowshahi's willingness to compromise with local authorities worked for Uber in Brazil. The ride-hailing firm's new chief has successfully convinced Brazilian officials to get rid of the strictest rules in the country's proposed legislation for ride-hailing services. Brazil originally wanted to require Uber drivers to apply for licenses with local municipalities to be able to use red number plates meant for public transport vehicles in country. In addition, authorities wanted to require Uber drivers to own the car they're driving. The drivers are still subject to local authorities' licensing and tax rules, but lawmakers ended up approving a more lenient version of the bill without the stipulations mentioned above.
Ford joins Lyft's expanding group of self-driving partners
Lyft has welcomed one more powerful ally to help it achieve its dreams of adding self-driving cars to its ride-hailing network: Ford. In his announcement post on Medium, Ford Autonomous Vehicle VP Sherif Marakby says the partnership will help them figure out how to tweak their autonomous AI platform to be able to seamlessly connect with the ride-hailing network's. By sharing data with each other, they hope to figure out the best cities to launch a ride-hailing fleet full of autonomous vehicles, as well as to conjure up the framework necessary to maintain that fleet. Their end goal is to give passengers a way to hail self-driving cars as easily as they would a normal one.
Uber says it had nothing to do with stolen Waymo data
Uber has denied conspiring with Anthony Levandowski to steal Waymo's self-driving tech in its latest court filing. According to Bloomberg and Reuters, Uber refuted Waymo's accusation that it colluded with Levandowski to steal 14,000 files before the engineer left Google's former autonomous car division in 2015. The company vehemently denied that it hired him on the condition that he brings those files with him, or that it even knew about about the theft at all.
Uber board member resigns after making a sexist remark
Are you familiar with David Bonderman? If not, you might now remember him as the Uber board member who resigned because he made a sexist remark during a meeting meant to address the company's toxic, misogynistic culture. At the meeting, board member Ariana Huffington said that one woman on the board often leads to another, and Bonderman apparently replied that "it's much more likely to be more talking." He apologized after seeing his fellow board members' horrified reactions but ultimately decided to leave as he does "not want [his] comments to create distraction."
Uber must leave Italy in 10 days after nationwide ban
Trouble seems to follow Uber wherever it goes. A court in Rome has just banned the ride-hailing service in Italy for contributing to what it says is "unfair competition" faced by the local taxi industry. Uber must now stop promoting its services and cease all operations in the country within 10 days, unless it's willing to pay a $10,600 fine for each day it remains active after that grace period. While Uber's $70 billion valuation makes that amount sound like chump change, it hasn't exactly been profitable and actually bled billions in 2016.
Lyft is doing great despite losing hundreds of millions in 2016
Lyft lost a lot of money last year, but it's doing better than ever. The ride-hailing company doesn't disclose its earnings, but according to The Information, it lost around $600 million in 2016 after generating $700 million in revenue. Sure, that loss is no joke, but its $700 million revenue is 250 percent higher than the $200.6 million the service generated in 2015. That's when it also also lost $412 million, which is twice the money it made. No wonder a spokesperson told the publication that they "have never been more optimistic about [their] future."
Ride-hailing apps like Uber will be legal in China soon
Considering how much business Uber does in China, it's kind of hard to imagine that ride-hailing apps aren't exactly legal in the country. Well, they weren't, but they're about to be. Chinese regulators have passed a new law that clears up the legal grey area companies like Uber and Didi Chuxing operate in. Starting on November 1st, ride-hailing apps will be legal, so long as they follow a few rules.
