Uber sells off flying taxi division in drive for profit December 9, 2020 Uber has sold off its loss-making flying taxi division to California-based firm Joby Aviation, the second such disposal the ride-hailing firm has made in two days. In a statement released late last night, Joby said that Uber would invest an extra $75m into the company as part of the acquisition of Elevate. That takes Uber’s [...]
Uber pulls plug on own self-driving car programme December 7, 2020 Uber has abandoned plans to create its own self-driving car, and will instead take a minority stake in Aurora, a driverless vehicle start-up backed by Amazon and Sequoia, an American venture capital firm. Uber will transfer its 1,200-employee self-driving unit to Aurora, which at present has 600 staff, and will invest $400m into the project, [...]
Prop 22: Uber and Lyft win California bid to class drivers as contractors November 4, 2020 Uber and Lyft have secured a major victory today after winning a vote in California that allows the ride-hailing apps to continue classing their drivers as contractors rather than employees. Voters in California yesterday passed Proposition 22, a state ballot measure that will enable companies in the gig economy to bypass labour laws. Roughly 58 [...]
Uber’s back and its rivals will just have to deal with it September 30, 2020 Having scraped by on short-term “emergency licences” for about two years, Uber, the California-based ride-sharing app provider, has been given a “proper” licence to operate in London again, after winning in a crucial appeals case this week. For now, this marks the end of two years of legal limbo. In 2017, Transport for London (TfL) [...]
Uber wins bid to regain London operating licence September 28, 2020 Uber has won its legal bid to regain its licence to operate in London after a long-running court battle. Deputy senior district judge Tan Ikram said that despite its previous failings, the firm was now “fit and proper” to hold a licence. Ikram decided to give the firm a licence to operate for 18 months, [...]
Uber faces final Supreme Court appeal to argue drivers are not employees July 20, 2020 Uber will tomorrow begin one final attempt to overturn a ruling that means it must treat its drivers as “workers” in what could be a landmark case for UK employment rights. The ride-hailing app has already been defeated on the two previous occasions it has tried to challenge the ruling, which was first made in [...]
Uber to make face masks mandatory for all from Monday June 12, 2020 Uber has announced that it will be mandatory for all of its passengers and drivers to wear face masks from 15 June. The measures, which are in line with new public health rules over public transport use, will initially apply to London before a wider rollout across the UK. As part of the initiative, which [...]
Uber to spend $50m on safety kit as it tells drivers and passengers to wear masks May 13, 2020 Uber has set aside $50m (£41m) to buy personal protective equipment for drivers as it introduces new rules requiring all users to wear face masks. Chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi today told reporters that the ride-hailing app will roll out a string of new safety measures as it looks to address concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic. [...]
Uber leads $170m investment round in scooter startup Lime May 7, 2020 Bike and scooter-sharing startup Lime today said it has secured a $170m (£138m) in a fresh funding round led by Uber. Google owner Alphabet, its investment arm GV and Bain Capital are also among the backers taking part in the investment round, the company said. As part of the cash injection, Lime will take control [...]
Uber to cut 3,700 employees as ride-hailing demand slumps due to coronavirus May 6, 2020 Uber will cut 3,700 employees and its chief executive will forgo his salary for the rest of the year as demand for ride-hailing services collapses due to the coronavirus outbreak. The company said the job losses will include roles in its customer support and recruitment teams, with $20m in costs expected to be incurred as [...]