Uber banned in Berlin in latest taxi app crackdown August 14, 2014 Uber has been banned in Berlin, according to a press release from the State Office for Public Order of affairs. The press release, issued on Wednesday, said the app-enabled service was in violation of the Passenger Transport Act. The headline of the press release was titled "prohibition order to protect the public". The company has [...]
Uber vs Lyft: Battle over false order claims escalates August 13, 2014 The bitter battle between ridesharing apps Uber and Lyft has been driven to new levels of intensity with both sides accusing the other of foul play. The gloves came off last week when San Francisco start-up Lyft, famous for its eccentric pink moustaches on car bonnets and recommendation that passengers greet their driver with a [...]
Why the sharing economy could live up to the hype August 11, 2014 This was the summer the sharing economy truly hit London. First, we had black cabs bring Whitehall to a standstill with protests over the introduction of Uber, an app that allows you to call a cab wherever you are. Next, plans were announced to remove laws controlling short-term rentals, opening up the door for Airbnb [...]
BuzzFeed valued at $850m as company plans international expansion August 11, 2014 BuzzFeed, the viral news and content website famed for its "listicles", has been valued at $850m after it secured $50m of investment from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. The online media company currently reaches 150m people a month, has expanded from its New York base to offices in Los Angeles and London, and now [...]
Boris Johnson dismisses Uber as “excessively bumptious” August 5, 2014 London Mayor Boris Johnson has criticised the attitude of San-Fransico based firm Uber as "excessively bumptious." Johnson, speaking on LBC, added that he didn't like the way Uber were "moving into London and claiming they could take all this business away from black cabs." The company's rapid growth and penchant for innovation have clearly not conformed [...]
Uber blamed for slump in cab sales August 1, 2014 The supplier of the licensed Mercedes Vito taxi Eco City Vehicles has attributed its slump in revenues to the "uncertainty caused in the London licensed taxi trade by the emergence of Uber". The company's revenues for the six months to July fell by 33 per cent to £11.4m. However, Mayor of London Boris Johnson's proposed [...]
Uber’s tax status slammed by Labour MP August 1, 2014 Chair of the Public Accounts Committee and Labour MP Margaret Hodge has condemned the tax arrangements of the popular taxi app service Uber in a letter to London Mayor Boris Johnson. According to Hodge, Uber has “unfairly undercut London operators by opting out of the UK tax regime". The Labour MP is unhappy that the [...]
Uber for Business is coming to London as sharing economy eyes corporate travel expansion July 29, 2014 Business travel looks like the next big market to be disrupted by the sharing economy as its poster children Uber and Airbnb unveiled plans to grow the number of business travellers using its services. Uber has launched Uber for Business, available initially in the US and Canada but with trials taking place in the UK [...]
Uber finally launches native Windows Phone app July 24, 2014 Uber has at last re-launched its Windows Phone app after it was pulled last year. In 2013, the official Uber app was withdrawn from the Windows Phone Store after customers realised the app simply offered access to Uber's mobile site. The San-Francisco based firm said: "Previously, Windows Phone users accessed Uber through our mobile site, but [...]
German city of Hamburg is the latest to try and ban taxi app Uber July 23, 2014 Yet another city that doesn't like Uber. The German city of Hamburg has become the latest to try and ban the smartphone taxi app service, further indication of the increasing pressure the US company is facing from local regulators and cab drivers. The San-Francisco based firm, which operates in more than 149 cities in 42 [...]