Does Uber really deserve an F grade from the Better Business Bureau? October 10, 2014 Uber received some bad news on Thursday, receiving an F grade from the 100-year-old Better Business Bureau. The US nonprofit gave the taxi app its lowest possible grade, primarily because of the company's price surging policy. Surge pricing means the price can shoot up when demand rises sharply, such as New Year's eve or during [...]
Ukip must show it can scale like Uber – Editor’s Letter October 9, 2014 In Silicon Valley, tiny businesses with big ambitions get a surprising piece of advice: start things that don’t scale. The journey to grow a disruptive giant such as AirBnB begins in a small market, doing things that baffle the outside world, winning customers with strategies that could never work across a whole country. The trick [...]
Uber suffers fresh blow in Europe as Madrid prepares to fine drivers October 7, 2014 Uber drivers in Madrid could receive fines up to £14,000 and have their cars taken away for three months thanks to Spanish transport regulations. The restrictions are a fresh blow to Uber, which has been under attack from the Spanish taxi industry for some time. Borja Carabante vice-councillor of Transport, Infrastructure and Housing, said: We [...]
Uber taxi app: Founder Travis Kalanick’s plan to rid London of a million cars October 5, 2014 London will be less congested and less polluted, app founder tells Oliver Smith Travis Kalanick outlined what might be his most ambitious goal yet on Friday. Speaking to more than 2,000 business delegates at the Institute of Directors annual convention in the Royal Albert Hall, Kalanick said his four-year-old startup would aim to take a [...]
Uber vs Maaxi: Race is on but Nat Rothschild’s taxi app rival is laps ahead – Bottom Line October 5, 2014 Nat Rothschild, the 43-year-old from an extensive lineage of financiers, certainly has a bold and strategic approach to spotting business opportunities. His adventure with Indonesia’s Bakrie family may have had an unhappy ending, yet even this was based on a reasonable theory. The plan was to connect a mining giant in the booming continent of [...]
Uber taxi app is no threat to London’s black cab says TfL commissioner October 2, 2014 Uber does not pose an imminent danger to London's iconic black cab. So says Transport for London (TfL) commissioner Sir Peter Hendy. Speaking at the Guardian's transport debate held during the Conservative party conference, Hendy argued the fury directed toward the San Francisco-based company had been largely "misplaced". In fact, Hendy was optimistic that there [...]
Uber makes peace with German taxi drivers September 30, 2014 Uber has launched its UberTaxi service in Berlin and Hamburg after a series of struggles with German courts. UberTaxi, which operates in London and New York, allows users to hail a licensed cab. Furthermore, Uber will be changing its UberBlack service to comply with Berlin regulations. The prices are, usually, lower than those of traditional [...]
Rothschild hails his Uber rival September 29, 2014 Finance family heir Nat Rothschild branched out into the tech scene yesterday, putting the finishing touches to his new black cab sharing app Maaxi at Millwall’s New Den ground. Aiming to rival car hire service Uber and taxi locator Hailo, Rothschild’s start-up lets customers share rides when they are heading in the same direction. He [...]
Is Uber about to give in to European regulators? September 25, 2014 Uber is willing to consider a dialogue over the regulation of the company's services in Europe, according to Uber's vice president for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Africa Niall Wass. Uber has faced angry opposition across Europe from regulators, politicians and taxi unions, with demonstrators across the continent voicing their displeasure at the company's regulatory [...]
London taxi protest: Uber invites black cab drivers to join up before today’s strike September 24, 2014 London cabbies are set to wreak traffic havoc across central London as they prepare to protest against illegal minicabs. The action means up to 4,000 black cabs will drive slowly around Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square. The London Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) which organised the protest, said: TFL’s inability to deal with the growing threat [...]