How Google’s driverless cars could save your life – and make you money May 28, 2014 WHEN the man behind the Segway, the battery-powered personal mobility scooter, died after riding one of his products off a cliff, it seemed like a grim end to yet another transport fad. After the Sinclair C5, the hovercraft, the poweriser and the Segway, it’s easy to be sceptical about the next sci-fi “leap” in transportation. [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 23 May 2014 May 22, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Corrupt companies face higher fines British companies that bribe foreign officials to win contracts, commit fraud, or launder money, face fines of up to 400 per cent of their illicit profits, under new penalty guidelines. In the most serious cases companies will pay fines comparable with those meted out in the US, where [...]
Uber app joins $10bn club with new fundraising May 15, 2014 Innovative car hire app Uber is set to hit a valuation of $10bn (£6bn) in its latest round of funding as the company looks to raise less than $1bn from new private equity investors. The San Francisco-based startup, whose iOS and Android app offers smartphone users the ability to book a car in 113 cities [...]
Britain needs a monetary policy fit for a booming economy May 11, 2014 SO what, exactly, is going on? Why does the UK still have crisis-level interest rates at a time when growth is roaring ahead? When will the penny finally drop? Check out the evidence; it is pretty conclusive. The Confederation of British Industry believes that the economy will grow by three per cent this year and [...]
City & Gild: Build, don€’t block the sharing economy May 9, 2014 I travel to New York on business a lot and have in the past paid a small fortune to stay in hotel rooms which have the good grace to just about let you walk around the bed, carefully watching out for your shins. And then along came Airbnb. Not only could I rent a whole [...]
London faces chaos as black cabs go head to head with Uber May 8, 2014 London’s black cabs are on the war path against innovative taxi app service Uber, promising to cause widespread disruption across the capital in early June. The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) argue that Uber’s drivers are using an app to calculate fares. It is currently illegal for private vehicles to be equipped with taximeters. However, [...]
London faces chaos as black cabs go head to head with Uber May 8, 2014 London's black cabs are on the war path against innovative taxi app service Uber, promising to cause widespread disruption across the capital in early June. The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) argue that Uber's drivers are using an app to calculate fares. It is currently illegal for private vehicles to be equipped with taximeters. However, [...]
The super-duper Uber app April 30, 2014 Alex Dymoke on the minicab app that helped Londoners through the strikes THIS is my second day on Uber. I went for my test day and they said I was ready to start right away,” Omar my minicab driver tells me excitedly. He is polite and chatty, reminiscing about the days before sat-nav and waxing [...]
How tech can offer Tube strike relief April 29, 2014 New “sharing economy” apps could help commuters survive future union action MANY are extolling the virtues of the “sharing economy” – where people rent out underutilised assets from each other through the internet. Despite concerns over regulation and security (sharing companies Lyft and Uber have both recently faced lawsuits), collaborative consumption is catching on. Forbes [...]
Gatwick Obviously didn’t Bank on a week of major Tube strikes April 28, 2014 THERE are plenty of Londoners hoping that TfL could still cut a deal with union leaders and halt the current Tube strikes, but Gatwick’s ad men might well be crossing their fingers more tightly than most. The airport has staged a week-long advertising takeover in both Bank and Westminster Tube stations but with the Tube [...]