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Uber rival Karhoo back from the dead thanks to Renault
Make no mistake, it's hard going up against Uber. Traditional taxi companies have been forced to evolve or die, while other startups like Hailo have found it difficult to compete the ride-hailing service's incredible growth. Karhoo, a price comparison service for hailing black cabs and the like, also found this out the hard way. Despite raising tens of millions of pounds and enjoying a splashy launch last May, the company quickly burned through its investment and closed in November as it looked "at the next steps for the business." Administrators got involved and employees suddenly found themselves without a job. However, two months later, Karhoo is making a return, thanks to the financial arm of French car giant Renault.
ICYMI: Virtually globetrot in Google Earth
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Google Earth just released an update that supports virtual reality, letting users teleport all around the globe, easily. So far it's free in Steam so anyone with an HTC Vive: Get going. Meanwhile Urban Aeronautics took its first pre-routed flight with a autonomous flying machine meant to be the air taxi first foretold in The Fifth Element. The 'ticking a GoPro on things' video from Sam and Niko is here, 'Quick, Draw!' is here (and God have mercy on your self-esteem if you ever play it). As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
UK Uber-rival Karhoo is dead
Sometimes when you're late to the party, there aren't enough chicken nuggets and cocktail sausages left to go around. It's a lesson taxi-hailing app Karhoo has learned the hard way, today announcing the closure of its service as it looks "at the next steps for the business." Launched in London in May, Karhoo aimed to take on Uber, as well as black cab equivalents Gett and Hailo, with an all-encompassing platform covering black cabs, minicabs and executive cars -- it also boasted a pre-booking option, which Uber didn't have at the time.
Singapore's self-driving taxi service has its first accident
That didn't take long: One of Singapore's nuTonomy self-driving taxis has already been in an at-fault collision. Less than a month after the service launched, a slow-moving taxi hit a lorry (translation: a truck) while changing lanes, according to a Facebook post from Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA). Thankfully no one was injured in the accident, but that isn't stopping the LTA and local police from investigating the matter anyway.
Uber wants to be New York's L train shutdown savior
New York commuters are bracing for the 18 month closure of the L train that will disrupt the daily commute of 225,000 people. Scheduled to shut down in 2019, the artery between Manhattan and Brooklyn will be undergoing repairs for damage done by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Yeah, it's going to suck.
Massachusetts will tax ridesharing services to compensate taxis
State and city governments have been trying to protect the taxi industry from ridesharing services for a while, but Massachusetts is taking an unusual route. Its governor recently enacted a law (the first known in the US) that will charge ridesharing services a 20-cent fee for subsidizing transportation infrastructure, 5 cents of which will go to the taxi industry. Yes, every Lyft or Uber you hail will directly fund the taxis they're competing against. Officials still have to hash out the finer details, such as how they'll collect the fee and spend it, but the legislation prevents companies from tacking it on to your fare.
Uber takes legal action against TfL over new taxi rules
It's safe to say that Uber isn't particularly happy with the changes to London's private hire regulations. The Transport for London (TfL) board approved new measures earlier this year, but only recently did the authority publish the finer details, which paint them as more stringent than first thought. Last week, Uber kicked up a fuss over what it deemed to be a threat to "the livelihood of thousands of drivers," also asking users to lobby London's Mayor to revisit the new regulations. This conflict has taken a much more serious turn today, however, with Uber launching formal legal action against the transport authority.
Hailo gets help from car giant Daimler to take on Uber
With ridesharing services becoming more popular by the day, car makers are starting to take notice. General Motors has already sunk $500 million into Lyft, Volkswagen ploughed $300 million into Gett and Daimler quietly boosted its portfolio when it nabbed MyTaxi and RideScout in 2014. In a bid to expand its presence in Europe, Daimler -- owner of Mercedes-Benz -- today announced a merger between MyTaxi and Hailo as part of a new strategic investment designed to take on Uber.
Karhoo takes its taxi-comparison app to more UK cities
Six weeks after its launch in London, Karhoo is taking on the rest of the UK. The ride-hailing app, which lets you compare different taxi companies simultaneously, is yet another alternative to Uber, Hailo and Kabbee. The difference is that Karhoo wants to be an open platform, presenting a range of prices, vehicles and estimated arrival times so that you can make an informed decision. Any company, aside from Uber, can theoretically sign up and have its fleet listed inside Karhoo's iOS and Android apps. That includes black cab, minicab and executive car hire providers.
There's more money in on-demand taxis than going to Mars
NASA's annual budget for the 2015 fiscal year is $18.5 billion, a figure that you should bear in mind when we talk about the ride-hailing app business. It's because Didi Chuxing, more commonly known as the Uber of China, is now worth $28 billion, or 1.5 2016 NASAs. The ride-hailing service you only know about because Apple invested in it has recently closed yet another funding round. This time, it's convinced investors to pump a further $7.3 billion into its war chest, setting itself up nicely for the transportation arms race that's to come.
Volkswagen ponders a luxury Uber rival with Porsche cars
Last week, the Volkswagen group dumped $300 million into Gett, a taxi hailing-cum-ride sharing app that's big outside of the US. Now, the company has revealed that it's pondering a rival to Uber Black by offering private drivers access to its higher-end vehicles. Details are scarce since it's a single line reference in a very long press release, but VW says that it's looking at a "special chauffeur service" that features "premium brands, such as Audi and Porsche." What that looks like in reality is anyone's guess, although the idea of getting ferried around in an Audi RS 7 does have some appeal.
Uber brings wheelchair-accessible rides to London
In its bid to provide more services for disabled passengers, Uber finally brought UberASSIST to the capital at the end of last year. The service provides passengers with a "top rated" Uber driver who has passed an equality course. Today, it's expanding its platform with the launch of UberWAV (Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle), a new option in the Uber app that was developed with help from Scope, Whizz-Kidz and Transport for All that goes live at 4pm today.
Karhoo takes on Uber with a price-comparing taxi app
Since Uber launched, taxi-booking companies have scrambled to create their own mobile-first services that give customers plenty of options, but ultimately lock customers to their fleet of drivers. A new entrant, Karhoo, launches as yet another of those types of apps, but it's playing things a little differently from Uber and its rivals. It's signed up 80,000 drivers of licensed black cabs, minicabs and executive cars (a third of which are in London) to provide a price comparison service for taxis across the UK.
Lyft Line expanding to six more cities
Today, Lyft announced that its Line shared ride feature will launch in six new cities. The service will roll out in Denver, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Jose, Seattle and Newark starting April 11.
Google Maps makes it easier to hail a ride that isn't Uber
For almost two years now you've been able to open up the Google Maps app, type in a destination and see how much an Uber would cost. If you like the price, you can tap the button, instantly pop into the Uber app and request a car. It's a neat addition, but one that can also be a little unhelpful if you prefer other ride-hailing and taxi-booking apps. To help, Google is teaming up with a bunch of new providers and integrating their services into Google Maps. These are 99Taxis in Brazil, Ola Cabs in India, Hailo in the UK and Spain, mytaxi in Germany and Spain, and Gett in the UK.
Uber waives fees to get London taxi drivers using its app
Many London cabbies think of Uber as a threat to their livelihood and professional reputation, nimbly side-stepping legislation and driver qualifications like the "Knowledge." Uber wants the pair to coexist, going so far as to launch an UberTAXI option in its app to help cabbies find new passengers. Today, it's going a step further by waiving the fee it would normally take for each Uber-sourced passenger. Well, at least for the first 12 months anyway. The company normally takes a 5 percent cut, which is already half of what its cab-friendly rival Hailo demands in the city. "For Londoners it means they can order a traditional black cab at the push of a button and pay electronically through their phone, rather than worrying about cash," Jo Bertram, Uber's regional general manager for the UK said. "For taxi drivers it's a chance to get a fare when there are no passengers on the street or they're waiting in a long queue at a rank." Some taxi drivers aren't impressed, however. Steve McNamara, general secretary for the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) said: "With over 15,000 cabbies registered with specific taxi-hailing apps like Gett and Hailo, we would be amazed if any drivers decide to take up Uber's offer. Licensed taxis in London offer the best service in the world and as a membership group the LTDA doesn't like the way Uber treats its drivers and customers or its dodgy tax arrangements." Of course, there could be taxi drivers that think differently. If they're keeping every penny from a passenger's fare -- for the next 12 months, anyway -- Uber's app could be a useful backup for when business is a little slow. Instead, the decision to use the app will probably be a matter of principle. Uber represents the competition and supporting the company in any way will ultimately support their strategy. If drivers embrace UberTAXI, it'll encourage people to use the app to call their next ride, rather than dialling a phone number or hailing a cab on the street. That could force drivers into using the app -- if that's where the passengers are, that's where you've got to be -- and paying Uber's regular fees in the future. Furthermore, if the Uber app is their go-to, Londoners will be more likely to consider the service's other transport options -- especially those that are cheaper. So while this deal might benefit cabbies in the short-term, its long-term ramifications are still unclear. In short, taxi drivers will have to think carefully about whether Uber is their friend or enemy here.
London taxis must accept contactless payments from October
It's official: London's entire black cab fleet will be required to accept card and contactless payments from October this year. The new regulation received final approval from the Transport for London (TfL) Board today, after the authority and Mayor Boris Johnson championed the proposal late last year. Some of the capital's Hackney carriages already take cards, of course, and apps like Hailo and Gett can simplify the payment process further where they're supported. But, for a decent proportion of black cabs, cash is still king.
Uber's safe after TfL softens new private hire regulations
In a bid to clear up controversy surrounding Uber's operations in London, the city's transport authority, Transport for London (TfL), opened a public consultation to drastically overhaul private hire regulations. A cap on the number of unregistered vehicles in the capital was mooted, as was a Knowledge-like test that would ensure private hire drivers have a better understanding of London's backstreets. Those proposals, and many others, were soon shot down by the government's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and more than 200,000 Uber supporters signed a petition rallying against the changes. It appears those voices were recognised, because Transport for London has finally published its review and concluded that Uber can largely operate as it always has done.
San Francisco's biggest Taxi company to file for bankruptcy
If the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's word isn't enough, take it directly from taxi companies: ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft are taking business from traditional cab drivers. According to a report from the San Francisco Examiner, Yellow Cab Co-op, the biggest taxi company in the city, is on the verge of filing for bankruptcy.
California approves Flywheel's attempt at modernizing taxis
Flywheel's plan to bring taxis into the 21st century just got the all clear. California regulators have approved TaxiOS, the smartphone-based Flywheel platform that lets cabbies ditch their clunky conventional meters in favor of GPS and other modern luxuries. While the company had been limited to trying out its software in just 70 San Francisco cabs, this lets it expand to virtually everywhere in the state. All 200-plus Flywheel-badged San Francisco cabs will be using TaxiOS by February, and it won't be surprising if its other Californian coverage areas (currently Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Diego) follow suit.
