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Black cab feud with Uber will be decided by London's High Court
It's safe to say that London's black cabbies don't like Uber, or anything like it. While it could simply be that they're bothered by the new-style competition, traditional taxi drivers also argue Uber's use of smartphones to calculate fares is illegal, since private cars aren't allowed taximeters. Transport for London (TfL) doesn't believe they're the same thing, and it has long said it's happy that Uber complies fully with regulations (as the company itself has pointed out). To add more legal weight to its stance, TfL has now asked the High Court to step in. All interested parties will have a chance to say their piece before the court gives a definitive ruling on whether Uber acts within the law. The decision isn't expected for several months at the earliest, but in the meantime black cabbies are planning a protest against Uber in London on June 11th. [Image credit: sjiong / Flickr]
Uber shows defiance following pressure from London's black cabs
Uber's used to taking heat from traditional taxi organizations that'd rather the new breed not muscle in on their turf; including in London, where black cabbies are expected to protest against the car service next month. Even Hailo, which for years has given the capital's iconic cabs an app-based platform for finding customers, suffered backlash last week after announcing its intention to include private hire services in the future. Without referring to either of these events specifically, Uber's taken to its blog today to "clarify a few things," or rather, tell black cabbies where to go.
London's black cabs plan 'severe chaos' on city streets in protest of Uber
Uber's no stranger to disputes with traditional taxi firms in Europe; it's already been banned in Belgium and French lawmakers want to take its tracking tech and hand it over to regular cab firms. Discontent has been growing the other side of the Channel too, as drivers of London's iconic black cabs appear set to cause "severe chaos and congestion" by blockading many of the city's streets in June. For the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) the issue is simple: it says Uber's drivers are using smartphone apps to calculate fares, which they believe is illegal because private vehicles are not permitted to be fitted with taximeters. Uber's apps actually use GPS data to work out the distance travelled and time taken, which isn't illegal, despite the LTDA's groans. Transport for London doesn't want to get involved as it doesn't believe the law has been broken, but that won't stop the LTDA from seeking a judicial review. Although TfL appears to back Uber's presence in London, it says no final decisions have been made and the company's model is "still under investigation."
France is plotting to take Uber's car-tracking tech and hand it over to taxis
While taxi services like Uber may be flat-out unwelcome in Belgium, neighboring France is still trying to figure out how to manage them. Under pressure from traditional cab drivers in the country, a new law was introduced that required the likes of Uber, LeCab and SnapCar to wait 15 minutes before picking people up, giving normal cabs a better shot at landing the business. It didn't survive very long, not that it did much to calm some old-school cabbies anyway. Now, a new report, due to be presented to the French Prime Minister today, suggests disarming the newer services of one of their greatest weapons, and turning it over to regular taxis.
Uber still offering rides in Belgium despite court order
Despite seized vehicles, a court order and possible €10,000 fine (per pickup!), Uber says its UberPOP ride-sharing service remains available in Brussels. In its blog, the company complained that the original lawsuit was filed by Brussels radio taxi companies trying to limit choice, and that "if anyone should be filing lawsuits, it's Brussels consumers." Concluding the truculent post, Uber said it would "continue to provide our car-sharing platform," which we assume means that it'll carry on operations. We'll have to see if it sticks to its guns considering the looming fines, and what its opponents' next move will be. [Image credit: Uber]
Uber working on push notifications to let you know when surge pricing ends
Love Uber, but hate surge pricing? We get you, and so does Uber. During the LAUNCH conference in San Francisco Monday, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick says he wants to take the sting out of surge pricing -- by letting you know when it's over. If you get hit with a case of sticker shock, the company is working on a new feature that will notify you via push notification when prices are back down to normal. Kalanick says that sometimes surge pricing can last just a few minutes. All told, that means if you're willing to wait an extra 15 to head to the club, you could potentially save enough cash to buy a round of drinks once you get there.
Uber taxi vandalized in France despite new law favoring regular cab drivers
Though a new French law gives cabs there a 15-minute head start against private companies like Uber and LeCab, taxi drivers are far from done protesting. Things may have just taken a violent turn, as an Uber car with a pair of Eventbrite execs aboard was just attacked on its way from a Paris airport. The culprits slashed two tires, dumped glue on the car and broke windows, which cut the hands of CTO Kat Borlongan, according to her tweet. She added that the Uber driver managed to maneuver out of harm's way before the attackers could enter the vehicle. There's no proof that taxi drivers were behind the attack, but Uber believes they're responsible, and there have been vehement protests in France by traditional cabbies who have paid enormous sums for their official permits and now feel that their livelihoods are being threatened by new car services. Meanwhile, there's a good chance the new "15-minute" law will be struck down anyway, according to Rude Baguette. That's because the legislation was passed by presidential decree, meaning it's held to a higher anti-competition standard -- which it seems unlikely to meet. Update: Uber has confirmed and "strongly condemned" the attack in a statement to Venture Beat (after the break). [Image credit: Rude Baguette]
Nissan reinvents London's black cab again, will launch all-electric model in 2015
When Nissan introduced us to its modern interpretation of London's black cab more than a year ago, the compact diesel was all but ready to hit the city's streets. However, the Japanese automaker decided it wasn't quite finished with its final design, so it headed back to its London studios with feedback from the London Mayor's office to make it little more, well, iconic. Earlier today, Nissan unveiled the updated version of its NV200 Taxi for London, highlighting its new round headlights and a re-modelled grille in an attempt to mirror the black cabs of old. The new model also ditches diesel for a cleaner 1.6-liter petrol engine and uses LED lights to improve visibility of its orange-lit taxi sign. Nissan says the petrol-engine NV200 will go on sale in December, serving as a key "stepping stone" for zero emission electric version, which could become the capital's first all-electric taxi in 2015.
Daily iPhone App: Hailo is a no-fuss way to hail a cab
Trying to catch a cab in London can be a challenging feat. That's why I've started testing out the Hailo app. Instead of standing around for 20 minutes, I had a black cab respond to my e-hail via the Hailo app. It arrived five minutes after I told the app I wanted to be picked up. It's also why Hailo is today's Daily iPhone App. Hailo began in London in 2011 and helped usher in the age of e-hailing. The app is simple enough to set up. You download it from the App Store and create a free account by entering your name, email and phone number. A code is then sent to your phone via text message to confirm you are the owner. To use the app, you simply drag and drop a pin representing your location or wherever it is you want to be picked up. By default, the pin is set at your current location, but you can move it anywhere on the map. As you place the pin, the estimated time of the closet cab to you appears. If you'd like to hail the cab, simply tap the "Pick Me Up Here" button and a message will be sent to the driver, who can then accept the hail and travel to you. As the cab nears your location, you can track it in real time on the map, and when it's one minute away, Hailo will send you a push notification so you can be ready. Paying for the cab is simple enough. If you want, you can save your credit card details within the app and pay with the touch of a button. However, Hailo doesn't require you to do this. If you want to pay the driver in cash, that will work just fine. After your cab ride ends, you'll get a receipt emailed to you and have the chance to leave feedback about your driver on his Hailo profile. The app is a lifesaver in a big city like London, where trying to hail a cab can be a nightmare, and calling a cab company to come and pick you up is hit or miss as you never know if the cab will actually arrive. Though Hailo started out as London-only, it's also now in Dublin, Boston, Toronto, Chicago and trying out betas in New York City and other locales. Hailo isn't without controversy, however. There are lawsuits to try to stop the service in New York City, and in London, multiple Hailo cab drivers told me that since Hailo raised its minimum fee to £10, many users have stopped using the app. The cab drivers told me they knew this because as soon as the limit was raised from £5 to £10, the number of jobs they got through the Hailo app went down 80 percent. What's more annoying is that at busy times, Hailo sets the minimum cab fare to £15 - something London's transport authority is looking into the legality of, as the minimum fare normally hailed cabs can charge is only £2.40. Local transport laws aside, however, Hailo is a great app if you live in one of the larger cities the company operates in. Hailo is a free download in the App Store.
NYC's Taxi of Tomorrow hits a roadblock, judge rules city overreached its authority
Mayor Bloomberg, New York's Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) and Nissan have been working to bring the NV200 "Taxi of Tomorrow" to the Big Apple since 2011, but it looks like its planned October 28th launch won't go without a hitch. In a lawsuit brought by Evgeny Freidman and the Greater New York Taxi Association against the TLC, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Schlomo Hagler ruled that the agency can't force taxi owners to buy the Japanese manufacturers' autos. "Simply stated, the power to contract and compel medallion owners to purchase the Nissan NV200 from Nissan for ten years does not exist in the City Charter," Hagler's decision reads, according to the Wall Street Journal. While this certainly complicates things for Bloomberg and Co., it doesn't mean that the Taxi of Tomorrow's fate is sealed. Naturally, NYC is bent on appealing the decision. "We believe the Court's decision is fundamentally wrong, and we intend to appeal immediately," wrote the city's corporation counsel Michael Cardozo in a statement. If an appeal doesn't change the ruling however, Gotham could be on the hook for a sum in the neighborhood of $50 million or more, which would cover the car maker's design and production costs. According to the WSJ, a city official says they may not have to pony up the cash, as the contract would be rendered void by the court, not New York City's whim. Despite the setback, Nissan says its plan to fill the taxi fleet with new autos hasn't been derailed. "We are disappointed in the court's decision, but it will not prevent our plan to start upgrading the NYC taxi fleet with the Nissan Taxi of Tomorrow at the end of the month," a Nissan spokesperson told Autoblog in an email. Something tells us this will be a long legal road, so don't get used to the idea of shiny new rides just yet.
Uber embraces impatience with ETA feature for iOS and Android
Uber's latest update tackles that age old question: are we there yet? The company's offering up an ETA feature that'll let you share your estimated arrival time with friends and family via text message. Enable the feature in the app, enter your destination and once your driver starts his or her trip, you can text your real-time ETA along with map link to concerned parties. The latest version of the app is available now for iOS and Android. No word on how time traveling DeLorean rides are expected to impact the app's estimates.
Tokyo cab company's backseat cams notice forgotten gear if you don't
Soon enough, if you leave something in one of Kokusai Motorcars Co.'s Tokyo taxis, you'll know it before the cabbie drives away. Cameras under the front seats, in the trunk and on the ceiling record what the passenger and cargo area look like before a fare gets in. If the cams notice an item that wasn't there when they get out, an alarm sounds so you get your stuff back sooner rather than later. Handy, right? If you're worried about privacy, this apparently won't capture clear facial images and the equipped cabs will have signs denoting the system's presence, according to The Wall Street Journal. At ¥50,000 (roughly $500) this relatively cheap idea could keep you from losing a cellphone to a cab ever again. Kokusai hopes to have its fleet of 3,100 cars outfitted by next spring, but we can't help but wish it was in place before this month's Tokyo Game Show. [Image credit: Wikimedia Commons]
VeriFone's Way2ride app lets New Yorkers pay for a cab by tapping their phone, sans NFC
VeriFone this week launched a new service for NYC taxi passengers, letting customers pay for a cab by tapping any compatible smartphone. Way2ride utilizes Zoosh ultrasound technology, enabling secure payments using the speaker and mic in your device and the payment terminal on the other end. The app, available for Android and iOS devices, lets you pre-select payment info and even a tip amount. To initiate a transaction, you'll simply tap your phone anytime during the ride, then hop out right when you reach your destination -- a receipt will appear within the app. You can even use the app to hail a cab, estimate your fare and report a lost item. Download it now at the source links below.
Uber plans expansion into China, India and other Asian countries
Folks in cities like Singapore and Sydney are already enjoying Uber's online private car hire service, but the company doesn't intend to just stop its expansion in that corner of the globe. According to job postings and newly minted Twitter accounts, Uber is planning to extend its coverage to Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangalore, Seoul, Taipei and Auckland. We haven't heard any official details on availability, but it appears that at least one city (Taipei) should be ready to go in just a few weeks. This wouldn't be the first time these municipalities have enjoyed similar services, but Uber certainly has a lot of weight and momentum behind its growth; besides, who doesn't love a little competition?
NY court lifts temporary ban on cab-hailing apps, pilot program to continue
The on-again-off-again status of NYC's e-hail pilot program is now, well, back on. A New York state court has just lifted a temporary restraining order brought on by the city's livery cab companies that halted the year-long trial of taxi-hailing apps like Uber, Hailo and Taxi Magic. They argued that using the apps to book cabs counts as pre-arranging a service, which is strictly their territory. After weeks of deliberation, judges sided with the city, which contended the software is just another way to hail a cab.
BYD e6 all-electric taxis, Premier sedan launch in Hong Kong
Anyone who's visited Hong Kong within the last few years has probably experienced the city's thick soupy smog. Sure, things aren't as bad as they are in Beijing, but pollution from the mainland often wraps the metropolis in a humid haze -- and we're not sure an all-electric taxi rollout is going to do anything to alleviate that. Just 45 of the BYD e6 cabs are now on the road, so the release is mainly symbolic -- only a few dozen lucky drivers will be cruising up to 300 kilometers (186 miles) of city streets between charge breaks at one of nine area stations. Private citizens, for their part, can take ownership of the e6 Premier sedan -- the civilian version just began shipping as well.
UberTAXI returns to NYC in a limited capacity
Just a few days after receiving the nod from New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC), UberTAXI has officially returned to the Big Apple -- with some limitations. For starters, automatic fare billing is not yet available, so passengers will have to pay drivers directly via cash or credit card. Uber warns that ride availability will be limited as the company is working on adding more cabbies to its system. Also, while New Yorkers can use a mobile app to call for a ride, drivers cannot be requested by SMS. Finally, the TLC's e-hail pilot program prohibits UberTAXIs from making trips to both JFK and LaGuardia airports along with accepting fares going outside of New York's five boroughs. Restrictive? Yes, but at least it's a start.
Uber gets go-ahead for New York City e-hail service
Talk about magical and revolutionary: the manual and unpredictable task of hailing a taxi is being completely overturned by mobile devices. In many American cities, app vendors like Uber are disrupting the livery and taxi business by providing quick and predictable service at the tap of a button. The roster of cities with e-hailing service is missing a major entry, however; the Big Apple. With the largest US fleet of yellow taxis plus some arcane service regulations, New York's market is a huge prize for the app vendor that establishes early dominance. Several rounds of testing and potential rule changes later, the city is ready to start piloting e-hail services at last. Valleywag reports that the legal challenges to NYC e-hails have been cleared, and Uber is the first out of the gate. The popular service is now approved to provide e-hail service during the 12-month pilot program on New York streets. Unlike some other cities where Uber provides coverage, payment to taxi drivers is not yet included in the service; you have to pay the driver directly. (Uber's other classes of service, covering livery cars, "black cars" and SUVs, all include integrated payment.) Of course, Uber's not the only app vendor aiming at the country's biggest taxi fleet. Competitors like iTaxi, Taxi Magic and Hailo all would like a piece of the pie. Competing service Hailo actually sent out a beta e-hail announcement to potential users of its service in New York, but there's a slight hitch: the TLC's pilot has no provision for beta or soft launches. Either you're approved or you're not, and right now Uber is; Hailo is not.
Uber's back in Gotham: NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission approves cab-hailing app
Car service Uber and New York City's Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) have had a rocky relationship, as the Commission banned Uber from Gotham's taxicabs last year. Susequently, the TLC greenlit a trial to test cab hailing apps and after a brief legal delay, the pilot program is back in action, and Valleywag reports that Uber is the first app approved to participate in it. Uber's co-founder Travis Kalanick is, quite naturally, excited to be back in NYC taxis with the commission's tacit explicit approval, and stated that the app will be ready for use across the city "monetarily." So, it's official, good people of Gotham, you can now legally go forth and get your Uber on.
Judge dismisses lawsuit against NYC taxi-hailing app pilot
Taxi hailing apps have had a rough time getting started in the Big Apple. After the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) put the kibosh on Uber and subsequently blessed e-hailing apps with a 12-month test, the TLC faced a setback of its own: a lawsuit. Filed in March by 10 livery (black car) service outfits against the TLC and New York City, the suit packed seven complaints and temporarily put the pilot on hold. Among the claims were concerns that the program clouds the legal distinction between black cars and yellow medallion taxis, that it puts the elderly at a disadvantage and would enable cab drivers to discriminate by refusing service to certain passengers. Today, a judge dismissed the suit and lifted the order, clearing the way for the year-long trial to progress. There's no word on just when Uber and the likes of other e-hailing apps will be allowed to operate, but with legal hurdles out of the way, that should happen fairly soon.
