London’s black cabs could be made to offer contactless payments June 19, 2015 Black cabs could be legally obliged to accept contactless credit cards, as a new set of proposals are opened up to consultation. Transport for London has put forward the idea – that contactless payments be accepted in all London taxis – as part of a move to modernise the industry and make it easier [...]
London mayor Boris Johnson told black cab driver to “f*** off and die” June 17, 2015 London mayor Boris Johnson has been filmed telling a London black cab driver to "f*** off and die" before adding "and not in that order". The Tory MP was cycling home when he became involved with the cabbie who appears to gesticulate at him and say "you're one of them mate" in footage obtained by [...]
Londoners pay more than people in any other city to use Uber June 11, 2015 Customers in the UK pay more for Uber journey’s than clients in other countries. According to research by The Times, UK users of the taxi hailing app pay £6.56 on average for a three-mile, 10-minute journey, compared to £5.18 for US users and £5.94 in the Eurozone. Read more: After banning Uber in Guangzhou, the Chinese government [...]
Inside Uber’s huge new San Francisco HQ: Concept design pictures reveal plans for 420,000 sq ft Mission Bay office May 30, 2015 When you're one of the most highly valued startups in the world with millions of dollars of venture capital backing, there's a few things you could splash some of that cash on. For Uber, as well as expanding its global empire, that means building a huge new headquarters from which to mastermind that world domination. Plans [...]
Black cab protest: Police close Victoria Street, Buckingham Gate as United Cabbies Group rails against TfL’s lack of support May 26, 2015 Central London roads were gridlocked this afternoon as the black cab protest caused chaos around Parliament Square, Whitehall, Embankment and Lambeth Palace Road. Campaigners are directing the protest, scheduled to take place between 2pm and 4pm today, against Transport for London, which they claim are not doing enough to keep on top of regulation [...]
London’s cabbies are taking on Uber, and TfL in high stakes fight for capital’s streets May 25, 2015 Transport for London’s (TfL) headquarters will be the scene of a protest by black cab drivers today. The action is a demonstration of the simmering tensions between traditional cabbies and modern firms like Uber, which show no sign of dying down. Black cab drivers are represented by the London Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA), Unite [...]
After banning Uber in Guangzhou, the Chinese government is starting its own online taxi service in the city May 25, 2015 The Chinese city of Guangzhou may have banned Uber, but that hasn’t stopped its municipal government setting up its own, strikingly similar, online taxi company. The new company will be named Ruyue, which means “by appointment”. Uber was shut down in the city a matter of weeks ago, after authorities raided its offices, murmuring about [...]
Uber fundraising: Here’s one chart showing how fast its valuation has grown May 11, 2015 Another day, another Uber funding round – this time the cab app is looking to raise between $1.5bn and $2bn, a report has suggested. If it does raise that much (and let's be honest – it almost certainly will), Uber will be valued at $50bn, setting it on a course to become the most valuable [...]
The world’s most valuable start up? Uber eyes $50bn valuation from next fundraising round May 10, 2015 Uber is aiming to become the world's most valuable startup in a new fundraising effort. The disruptive taxi-hailing app, already valued over $40bn, is aiming to raise between $1.5bn and $2bn in a private funding round according to report in the Wall Street Journal. Such a valuation would set Uber on course to become the most [...]
Uber teams up with peer-to-peer lender Zopa to help drivers buy their own cars May 6, 2015 Uber is aiming to make it easier for its drivers to buy their own cars by teaming up with peer-to-peer (P2P) lender Zopa. The taxi-hailing app's partnership with the world's first P2P marketplace will give drivers renting a licensed vehicle access to a loan agreement with one of Zopa's institutional lenders, allowing them to swap [...]