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 [...]
Is Uber planning an on-demand service for luxury shopping deliveries? April 29, 2015 Uber could be delivering more than just people from A to B: the controversial taxi app is said to be eyeing a move into shopping deliveries. Not just any kind of delivery, though – Uber doesn't want to be the next Ocado. It wants to deliver luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Tiffany's, Hugo Boss [...]
Uber’s increasing fares in the UK for UberExec and UberLux customers April 20, 2015 The price of taking an Uber taxi is going up from today – but only for anyone travelling in its executive cars. Fares for two of its services aimed at corporate users – UberExec and UberLux – are increasing, calculated by the per mile and per minute costs of journeys. The cost of taking an executive [...]
“Uber for marijuana” startup raises $75m from Snoop Dogg and other investors April 15, 2015 A marijuana delivery start-up has raised $10m (£6.8m) in a funding round which included investments from Snoop Dogg's Casa Verde Capital and Silicon Valley firm DCM Ventures among others. Eaze, which has been dubbed the "Uber for weed", does not directly supply marijuana, but instead connects California medical marijuana card-carriers with local dispensaries, claiming it can [...]
London should embrace new technology to make car ownership pointless April 8, 2015 London could lead a revolution in car use and car ownership over the next decade, by divorcing the two. It may soon be unnecessary to own a car to secure the full benefits of car ownership, due to a combination of continued improvement in public transport, the surge in app-based car hire services, and the [...]
This morning I rode to work in a Metrocab, London’s first electric taxi – is this black cabbies’ Uber-killer? April 8, 2015 Since taxi app Uber launched in London two years ago, the capital's traditional cabbies have developed something of an image problem. With various strikes and lawsuits on the go, the Licensed Taxi Drivers' Association (LTDA) has lost the sympathy of many of its passengers by appearing stubborn, protectionist and out of date. But now cabbies [...]