Bolt eyes former Zipcar customers with London car-sharing push Tech Bolt is expanding into UK car sharing through a new partnership with Hiyacar, as the ride-hailing giant looks to fill the gap left by Zipcar’s withdrawal from London. From autumn, Londoners will be able to book Hiyacar vehicles directly through the Bolt app without paying a membership fee, marking the first UK launch of Bolt [...]
Uber slams £340m London cabbie case as ‘completely unfounded’ Tech Uber slammed a court case brought against it by thousands of black cab drivers as “completely unfounded” on Monday as the £340m lawsuit headed to trial. The preliminary hearing, which took place at the High Court, marks the first major test in one of the UK’s biggest competition and damages claims, brought by the 13,000 [...]
HMRC secures £190m VAT appeal win against Bolt Tax HMRC has won an appeal against ride hailing platform Bolt over how it calculates and pays its VAT, overturning previous decisions that had ruled in favour of Bolt. This follows an appeal hearing last month brought by the tax authority, which had questioned whether Bolt could use the tour operators’ margin scheme (TOMS). Under this [...]
Lyft bets black cabs and robotaxis can share London’s streets June 16, 2026 Lyft is preparing to bring Chinese robotaxis to London and believes autonomous vehicles will grow the capital’s transport market rather than replace its drivers. The Uber rival has claimed the arrival of self-driving vehicles would create a “hybrid network” of robotaxis and human drivers, as the American mobility giant expands its presence across Britain through [...]
Uber and Wayve open waitlist for London robotaxis June 9, 2026 Uber has opened an interest list for customers keen to try autonomous minicabs in the capital, as self-driving taxis near a commercial launch in the UK. The ride-hailing giant is partnering with British autonomous driving firm Wayve, whose technology has been tested on London’s streets since 2018. Customers can now opt in through the Uber [...]
How do you teach a robotaxi London? Waymo explains June 2, 2026 Before Waymo launches a commercial robotaxi service in London, it needs to teach its vehicles more than just how to drive on the left, writes Saskia Koopman. Waymo, the Alphabet-owned autonomous driving company, has spent months testing vehicles across the capital ahead of a planned commercial launch. The robotaxi giant has been testing in London [...]
Wayve: London robotaxis will make passengers forget there’s no driver June 2, 2026 Wayve believes Londoners will stop noticing they are sitting in driverless cars within minutes of using them, as the British AI startup prepares to launch autonomous vehicles on Uber’s network in the capital. Kaity Fischer, Wayve’s vice president of commercial and operations, said the company expected passengers to move quickly from novelty to habit once [...]
Uber wants your journey on tape as safety concerns mount May 29, 2026 Uber is turning passengers’ phones into in-car recording devices as the ride-hailing giant introduces a new feature allowing users to capture audio during journeys amid growing concerns around safety and identity verification. From Thursday, riders across the UK were able to press record before or during trips directly through the Uber app, with encrypted audio [...]
HMRC fights to close Bolt’s VAT loophole May 19, 2026 Ride-hailing platform Bolt faces the tax authorities in court today over how it calculates and pays its VAT bill. At the centre of this dispute was the question of whether Bolt could use the tour operators’ margin scheme (TOMS). Under this scheme, businesses only pay VAT on the profit margin they make between buying a [...]
Cabbies face robotaxi squeeze as Addison Lee boss warns of ‘predatory pricing’ March 23, 2026 London’s cabbies could be priced out of the market unless regulators step in to curb “predatory pricing” from deep-pocketed tech giants, the boss of Addison Lee has warned. Chief executive Liam Griffin said companies like Waymo, Wayve or Tesla risk undercutting traditional operators by subsidising fares to win market share, echoing concerns from the early [...]