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London taxis set to accept contactless payments in 2016
London's cabbies have moved one step closer to accepting credit cards and contactless payments inside their vehicles. It's about time, right? After launching a consultation earlier this year, Transport for London (TfL) and London's Mayor Boris Johnson have agreed to move the proposals forward with a planned introduction next autumn. There's still one roadblock -- the TfL Board has to approve the plans in February -- but if they're given the go-ahead, all taxi drivers will be required to accept these payments from October.
Hailo opens mobile payments to all of London's black cabs
After ditching its private hire business and recommitting to London's black cabs, Hailo has been pulling out all of the stops to get traditional taxi services back onside. On top of campaigning "every level of government" to protect the industry and reinforcing the benefits of the Knowledge, the company today announced HailoPay, a new service that let London's 22,500 black taxis offer free mobile payments to customers.
Uber shuts down in three German cities amid driver shortage
Surprise: Uber has having trouble in Germany, again. No, the company isn't facing another nationwide ban, but the trouble does seem to stem from a previous court decision -- apparently Uber is just having a hard time finding drivers. "For many prospective Uber drivers, the process of registering an independent rental car enterprise has proved as too costly and time consuming," the company told Reuters, referring to a German court ruling that requires Uber drivers to hold a valid taxi license. The company is pulling out of Hamburg, Frankfurt and Dusseldorf as a result, leaving Berlin and Munich as the country's only cities with Uber service. The company says it plans to "intensify the dialogue" with law makers, and hopes to be able to restore wider service to the country in the near future. [Image credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Flywheel gives taxi drivers an Uber-like app of their own
Flywheel has helped drag taxis into the modern era through app-based hailing. However, that modernization usually stops in the cab itself -- your driver's gear is antiquated next to the phone-based tech in a Lyft or Uber car. Taxis are about to catch up, though. Flywheel has launched TaxiOS, a platform that replaces the dispatch, meter, navigation and payment systems with phone-based software. It not only streamlines the overall experience for both you and the driver (no matter how you're paying), but marks the first instance of GPS-based metering in licensed taxis. In theory, you're getting both a more accurate fare and fewer rude surprises.
Lyft starts operating out of Las Vegas' McCarran airport
Las Vegas' notoriously long airport taxi lines might get just a little shorter. Today, ride-sharing platform Lyft announced that it would be operating out of Sin City's McCarran airport. Both Lyft and Uber began operating within the city last month. But don't expect to see Lyft drivers lining up with cabs. Passengers looking for the pink moustache will have to journey to the parking garages across from their terminals and find the designated pick-up area. Uber on the other hand, is still working on airport access.
London's future black cabs are going green
In a few years, the familiar hum of diesel engines powering London's black cabs will begin to be replaced by the whirring motors of more efficient vehicles. The London Taxi Company, which for time immemorial has built the overwhelming majority of the capital's Hackney carriages, today unveiled its next-generation hybrid vehicle. The TX5, which takes several design cues from taxis past, marries a four-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor and "range-extended battery." The plug-in hybrid will also come with WiFi as standard and charging points for passengers, as well as six seats, more legroom and a panoramic glass roof. Currently, the TX5 is just a prototype, but the plan is to get these new vehicles on the road by the end of 2017.
Uber improves its service for disabled passengers in London
After recently seeing off a challenge from the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) at London's High Court, Uber is wasting no time in its attempt to broaden its appeal across the capital. The company today announced the launch of uberASSIST, a new service that will offer additional assistance to disabled users. It works like this: when a rider requests a car using the ASSISTUK code, a "top rated" Uber driver, who has passed an equality course developed by Transport for All and Inclusion London, will be told that their passenger may require additional assistance and be invited to contact them ahead of their pick-up.
NYC considering GPS-based meters for taxis, on top of nixing TVs
We've already heard that New York City is considering killing those annoying backseat Taxi TV screens, now it looks like the digital fare meter, along with the mechanical method for tracking ride distance, may also be on the way out. Regulators last night approved a pilot program for a new GPS-based distance tracking system for cabs, which would display fare information on a large tablet, the Wall Street Journal reports. That device would also house the cab's credit card reader and GPS system, and it could also deliver the same news and entertainment programming as the current cab TV sets. Ultimately, it would replace five separate pieces of gear cabs currently require. The year-long pilot program will only hit around 1,000 cabs, out of the city's 13,600 yellow taxis. Previously, regulators were considering testing it in around 4,000 cabs, but it scaled the program back after concerns from advocates for the visually impaired, who use the current TV sets for alerts. (Of course, that's also something a more modern tablet could eventually help with.)
London's High Court rules Uber is legal, but its troubles aren't over
Uber and other ride-hailing services like it have completely changed the way we interact with on-demand transport. But being a new, popular force in a traditional industry has its downsides. When Uber isn't taking flak from local taxi firms, it's sitting in a courtroom trying to justify the legality of its business model. This is true the world over, and it's no different in London, where the capital's High Court has just ruled that the way Uber calculates fares is legal. It's a huge win for the company, because if the decision had gone the other way, it would've effectively outlawed Uber's entire London fleet, and possibly set a precedent for other UK cities to follow suit.
New York City may finally ditch annoying taxi TV screens
Hop into one of New York City's yellow cabs and you'll notice a Taxi TV unit. It's supposed to handle payments and give you a feel for current events, but it's mostly annoying -- especially when you're a frequent passenger watching that talk show sizzle reel for the umpteenth time. Thankfully, relief may be in sight. The city's Taxi and Limousine Commission is near voting on a trial program that would ditch Taxi TV in favor of less obnoxious tech, such as tamper-proofed phones or tablets. Only 4,000 cabs out of 13,500 would be part of the pilot, but the hope is to eventually drop Taxi TV entirely. Suffice it to say that the transition can't come soon enough for a lot of people, including the cabbies themselves. The noise can be tiresome if you're a driver, and there's not much point to the TVs when many customers are too busy with their phones to pay attention. [Image credit: AP Photo/Teru Iwasaki]
The Uber effect: government report shows London's private taxi boom
Private taxi apps like Uber and Hailo are becoming ever popular, but not everyone is happy with their UK expansion. But how widespread are they? According to new figures from the Department of Transport, the number of private hire vehicles in England has risen by 11.8 percent since 2013, with London seeing a massive 26 percent rise alone. There are now a record 62,754 private vehicles operating in the capital, up from 49,854 in 2013.
High Court to decide Uber's London fate in October
A long-running legal dispute between Uber and the UK's Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) may soon come to an end. Starting on October 5th, the High Court will hold a hearing with both parties and Transport for London (TfL) to determine whether the smartphones used by Uber drivers are technically the same as taximeters.
Gett tweaks its UK taxi app to help visually-impaired users
Thanks to smartphone apps, hailing a taxi no longer requires memorising the phone number of the local cab company or gesturing at a passing driver in the street. However, none of these options are particularly useful if someone is visually impaired. Gett, the black taxi app formerly known as GetTaxi, agreed more could be done to help its blind or partially-sighted users, so it acted on a suggestion by an Israeli teenager to overhaul its iOS and Android apps.
Arrested Uber France executives will stand trial on September 30th
The two Uber executives who were arrested yesterday will stand trial on September 30th, according to Reuters. Uber France CEO Thibaud Simphal and European GM Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty stand accused of running an illegal ride-sharing service, as well as "concealing digital documents" from the authorities. The service in question is UberPOP, which connects passengers to amateur drivers, something that's angered the nation's professional taxi drivers.
Uber France CEO taken into custody in wake of protests
After days of violent protests and defiance on the part of Uber's French management, two of the company's employees were taken into custody for "illicit activity" today. Uber France CEO Thibaut Simphal and Uber European GM Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty were arrested for running the company's ride-sharing service illegally. TechCrunch reports the pair is also being held under suspicion of "concealing digital documents." Last week, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve took legal action to shut down UberPOP, the service that employs non-professional drivers to provide rides, in response to protests that blocked key transportation hubs.
UberPOP ban proposed in France as protests block airports
In response to taxi driver's protesting UberPOP by blocking major transportation routes in France, the country's interior minister proposed a nationwide ban on the service. Taxi drivers completely plugged up access to Charles de Gaulle (CDG) and Orly airports, prompting officials to urge CDG travelers to use train service instead. Cab drivers are angry over unfair competition from the US-based service's unlicensed drivers, blocking not only airport access roads, but train hubs and other major thoroughfares as well. The protests have turned violent in some cases, with riot police being called in to handle demonstrators who were burning tires, overturning vehicles and fighting with other drivers. Uber faces backlash in nearly every European country it enters, drawing the ire of UK taxi drivers and recently agreeing to pay licensing fees in Germany to stay in business.
Gett's latest expansion takes it beyond Uber in the UK
Uber is finally starting to ramp up its operations in the UK, but it faces tough competition from taxi-booking app Gett. Formerly known as GetTaxi, the company is expanding into 18 new cities today: Oxford, Cambridge, Reading, Slough, Milton Keynes, Brighton, Bristol, Bath, Cardiff, Portsmouth, Bournemouth, Leicester, Coventry, Sheffield, Nottingham, Bradford, Hull, and Newcastle. They join London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Glasgow and Leeds, taking the app's coverage far beyond its ride-hailing rival.
A game told me I don't have what it takes to be a good Uber driver
Think you have the behind-the-wheel skills to cut it as an Uber driver? Well, the transportation company has a way for you to find out: a mobile game. UberDRIVE is an iOS title that not only offers a glimpse at a day in the life of an Uber driver, but also helps improve navigation skills. Gameplay revolves around helping riders get from one point to another by taking the safest and most efficient route possible. Opting for the best route earns a higher score, and players who grab those 5-star ratings on the regular are rewarded with new cars and access to other parts of the city. Uber created the game for current drivers to work on their navigation chops, but it's also hoping that folks interested in signing up will give it a go to see what work day could be like. UberDRIVE is available nationwide, but for now, content is limited to the streets of San Francisco. That probably explains why I was so terrible at it.
London's black cabbies launch another anti-Uber campaign
The squabble between Uber and the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA), champion of London's black cabbies, is on hiatus for the moment. The LTDA maintains Uber's fare-calculation method is illegal, and after pressuring Transport for London (TfL) to come to the same conclusion, the matter was deferred to London's High Court for a definitive ruling. Legal challenges the LTDA brought against individual Uber drivers threw a spanner in those works, though, with the High Court saying it won't be getting involved until these cases have been concluded. It's unlikely the LTDA wants public interest and scrutiny of Uber's operations to wane during drawn-out legal proceedings, and it's this worry we suspect has been the catalyst for the LTDA's latest protest. Instead of focusing on questionable regulation of the taxi service, though, the new campaign aims to discredit Uber for allegedly dodging tax.
Use Foursquare to hail your next Uber ride
Since it gave check-ins the boot, the main Foursquare app became a directory of restaurants, coffee shops, retail locations and more. Thanks to a partnership with Button, though, the mobile software is more useful. After you find a new spot for dinner, you'll be able to book a ride with Uber from inside the app. Once you select the option, you're given the choice of car and the wait time for each. If you're not familiar with Button, the company that links apps together, leveraging tools and services to enhance the experience. The new feature is already live in the Foursquare app, so if you fancy it, you can give it try right now.
