Budget 2016: Uber drivers can use the new digital tax break aimed at occasional Airbnb and eBay users – but here’s why they won’t March 16, 2016 A new scheme designed to offer occasional users of the sharing economy renting out a room on Airbnb tax breaks, could be used by Uber drivers. The new tax breaks, on earnings of up to £2,000 and announced by George Osborne in today's Budget, has angered black cab drivers. However, the Treasury told City A.M. that while Uber drivers would [...]
Google Maps update integrates black cab ordering option via Gett and Hailo alongside Uber in iOS and Android app March 15, 2016 Anyone searching for journey information on Google will now be offered fares in one of London's black cabs in map search results, giving the traditional industry a leg up in its battle with Uber. The latest Google update for iPhone and Android phone users will include integration with Gett and Hailo, the London-based apps for ordering a [...]
The inflation basket of goods: As coffee pods are in and nightclubs out, here’s a short history of nearly seven decades of shopping basket shake-ups March 15, 2016 The party's over. Nightclub entry fees have been dropped from the official measure of prices in the UK, the ONS basket of goods, while our love affair with leggings and nail varnish have gained access to the list. (Find out what else was dropped and the latest items added here.) The yearly review is a barometer of changing [...]
Uber drivers are more productive than taxi drivers – National Bureau of Economic Research March 14, 2016 Uber drivers are more productive than taxi drivers, according to a new paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research in the US. However, this conclusion has been made based on figures from five US cities – Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Seattle – so London's black cab drivers should not feel [...]
Sophia Genetics’ co-founder Jurgi Camblong talks about how to build a global genetic medicine firm March 14, 2016 I was asked recently to present to a group of entrepreneurs about my experience. And I ended up saying to them ‘it’s just like Rocky – you take your chance, you focus and you go’. The mistake as an entrepreneur is thinking too much.” Jurgi Camblong co-founded data-driven medical startup Sophia Genetics in 2011. “I’m [...]
General Motors accelerates in driverless car race as it buys Cruise Automation March 11, 2016 General Motors (GM), owner of such marques as Vauxhall, Cadillac and Chevrolet, has just come closer to taking pole position in the race to develop a driverless car, after it bought San Francisco-based startup Cruise Automation. The company, which is developing autonomous vehicle software, was founded in 2013. It has tested its technology "in San Francisco's [...]
Taxi protest is shutting down roads around Whitehall (again) as campaigners demonstrate against Uber and other PHVs March 9, 2016 Bad news if you're hoping to drive through parts of central London today. Taxi drivers holding a protest around Whitehall are causing major disruption to local roads – but this time the campaigners are actually on foot. Protesters boasted that roads around the seat of government – including Parliament Square, Westminster Bridge, Victoria Street, Charing [...]
Car sharing, science and brewing: The UK’s fastest-growing industries revealed March 9, 2016 Thinking of starting a business? You could do a lot worse than going into car rental , a new report suggests. Figures by O2 Business and the Centre of Economic and Business Research suggests the UK's "leasing and rental" sector is one of the fastest-growing industries – driven in part by sharing economy businesses, such as [...]
Can the sharing economy solve the UK’s productivity puzzle? We need to properly crunch the numbers to see how beneficial it could be March 8, 2016 If you want to get better at something, you first need to understand how you are presently performing. Without a starting reference, you can’t plan how best to move forward. In the UK right now, we face a measurement problem. Digital technology and the rise of the sharing economy has so quickly reshaped how we [...]
Private jet mobile revolution drives sales: Meet Clive Jackson, the man behind Victor, the Uber of the skies March 7, 2016 Mobile apps have become the latest driver of growth for private jet hire, opening up a whole new market of corporate and private customers. Just as Uber has changed the way taxis operate, mobile app booking is absorbing market share from private jet brokers who have traditionally matched customers to companies. Founded in London in 2011, [...]