New York City Ebola patient used Uber and the subway before he was admitted to hospital October 24, 2014 New York City doctor Craig Spencer, who has tested positive for Ebola after returning from Guinea, took a ride in an Uber cab and used the subway on Thursday before developing symptoms of the disease. Uber issued a statement on its blog: We reviewed our records and were able to confirm that one of our [...]
Uber taxi app heads to Leeds as Unite union cabbies protest October 22, 2014 Uber is set to make its presence felt in the North of England with a planned launch in Leeds: the taxi app has filed an application with Leeds City Council to become a private hire operator. But even before the company had the opportunity to make its mark on Leeds transportation, a group of demonstrators [...]
This stunning map visualises how Uber taxis travel through London in a single day October 21, 2014 A stunning map of London visualises how Uber taxis zip through the city's crowded streets showing how people move around the capital in just a single day. Created by Uber using anonymous data on Uber passenger's journeys on a single day in July, the map shows London never sleeps- or at least those getting cabs [...]
Techcrunch Disrupt: Let the (tech startup) battle commence October 20, 2014 European tech startups, including two teams from London, went head-to-head yesterday in the first round of a battle at Disrupt, one of Silicon Valley’s biggest annual tech conferences, which is currently in London for the first time. London startups Lobster – an online marketplace for regular people to licence their photos and videos – [...]
London is no Silicon Valley – here’s why that may be a good thing October 20, 2014 Geeks and startup types are again gathering today in Billingsgate for TechCrunch’s Disrupt conference, a celebration of London’s tech sector. There’s a lot to celebrate: the sector hasn’t been this hot since the days of the dot-com boom. Investors are toasting two billion-dollar exits this year: games designers Natural Motion and artificial intelligence wizards Deep [...]
Taxi app Uber referred to HMRC by TfL over tax complaint by Margaret Hodge October 15, 2014 Uber, the smartphone taxi app, has been referred to HM Revenue & Customers by London’s taxi and minicab regulator Transport for London (TfL). The referral follows a complaint by Labour MP Margaret Hodge that Uber’s Dutch operating firm Uber BV does not pay tax in the UK and was “opting out of the UK tax [...]
Hailo app says goodbye to US October 14, 2014 LONDON-based taxi app Hailo will pull out of the North American market as competition between rivals such as Uber and Lyft intensifies in the region. The company, which partners with local taxi firms as opposed to competing with them like Uber, confirmed last night it would instead focus its expansion on new cities in Europe [...]
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 [...]