Uber’s race to the bottom: The wheels will come off this controversial business July 31, 2015 Uber causes a storm wherever it goes. First, there’s the storm of applause as passengers initially embrace what looks like an exciting, disruptive new technology. Then, there’s the storm of protest as people start to understand what the business model is really all about. Treating taxis as just another tech challenge raises all sorts [...]
Uber invests $1bn in India to battle rival Ola July 31, 2015 Uber has announced a $1bn (£640m) investment in India, the ride-hailing app’s fastest-growing market. India is already Uber’s largest market outside the US, after it expanded to 18 cities in two years, posting 40 per cent month-on-month growth. The company will use the investment to expand further, putting it in direct competition with local taxi-hailing company [...]
Uber faces UK legal action from GMB union over driver employee rights July 29, 2015 The GMB union has launched legal action against Uber over the way it treats drivers. The union claims drivers should be considered employees and has a legal duty to provide them with working rights on pay, holiday, health and safety, and grievances. Uber considers drivers as self-employed "partners". Now GMB has instructed law firm Leigh [...]
Uber’s getting sued again, and this time it’s in Canada July 24, 2015 The Canadian province of Ontario is the latest place where ride-sharing app Uber is being sued by disgruntled taxi drivers. Toronto taxi drivers have launched a class action suit seeking more than C$400m (£198m) in damages and an injunction to stop it operating. Law firm Sutts, Strosberg LLP, which is representing the taxi drivers, told Reuters [...]
Taxi wars: Black cab app Gett takes on Uber with £10 flat fare in central London (but it doesn’t go south of the river) July 10, 2015 Black cab taxi app Gett has drawn the battle lines against Uber, after it launched a £10 flat fare for rides in central London. The company, which works with licensed black cabs and Hackney carriages in 25 UK cities, said the fare will apply between 10am and 10pm on Monday to Friday for the rest [...]
TfL Tube strike 2015: Unions resume battle after strike misery paralyses London traffic July 9, 2015 Londoners were forced to resurrect the Blitz spirit yesterday as the Tube strike all but paralysed travel in the capital. As commuters faced long walks to and from work, queues for Santander bikes, gridlocked streets, taxi rates almost tripled by Uber and fights for a place on crowded buses, unions praised drivers for the [...]
TfL Tube strike 2015: Uber is profiteering from London’s Tube strike misery with surge pricing July 9, 2015 A London tube strike is pretty much guaranteed to spoil your day. But when Uber follows it up by announcing it is tripling its cab prices for the day, a difficult day can become a truly miserable one. We were genuinely shocked by the cynicism shown by our new US rival for its customers. Uber’s [...]
TfL Tube strike 2015: Uber surge pricing triples fares as travellers face transport chaos July 9, 2015 The price of getting an Uber has rocketed as London's Tube network was brought to a standstill by strike action. The ride-booking app introduces surge pricing during times of high demand, and the basic fare increased as much as 2.9 times the cost on an average day after the strike began during yesterday evening's rush [...]
Uber suspends services in France following authorities’ crackdown on controversial Uber Pop July 3, 2015 Uber has suspended its Uber Pop services in France, a week after French authorities began cracking down on the company's cab service. Thibaud Simphal, head of Uber France, has announced that the controversial service will be suspended starting 8pm tonight, Le Figaro reports. The company says the move was made in a “spirit of appeasement” [...]
Taxi protest shuts down more London roads as black cab drivers block TfL office over Uber regulation June 30, 2015 It's becoming something of a familiar site: yet another taxi protest has brought London streets to a standstill. Yet again the black cab drivers are protesting outside TfL's offices, meaning that areas around from Blackfriars Bridge, stretching as far as Waterloo, are jammed. https://twitter.com/AndrewNickolls/status/615881341821931520 Cabbies are demonstrating against what they see as [...]