Uber launches hailing of Motional robotaxis in Las Vegas

Uber users in Las Vegas can now hail Motional’s robotaxis for autonomous trips around Sin City.

“Today, Motional becomes the first AV company to conduct all-electric autonomous rides on the Uber network for public passengers,” said Akshay Jaising, Motional’s VP of Commercialisation. 

The vehicles used for the rides will be adapted Hyundai IONIQ 5 electric cars. Motional, it’s worth noting, is a joint venture between Hyundai and...

7 December 2022 | Connected Vehicles

Uber begins testing bus and train bookings in the UK

Uber has begun testing a feature that allows UK citizens to book rail and bus transport.

By allowing users to book alternative transport types at the same time as their traditional car rides, Uber hopes to become a one-stop shop for journeys.

"We’re excited to launch our new travel offering this summer, allowing a seamless door-to-door travel experience across the UK," said Andrew Brem, GM of Uber UK, in a statement.

For the feature, Uber has teamed up with...

3 August 2022 | Applications

Uber partners with Arrival to create a purpose-built electric ride-hailing vehicle

Uber is partnering with UK-based zero-emissions mobility solutions provider Arrival to create a purpose-built electric vehicle for ride-hailing.

The “affordable” Arrival Car will be designed in collaboration with Uber drivers to ensure that it meets their needs. It is expected to enter production in Q3 2023.

Tom Elvidge, SVP of Arrival Mobility UK, said:

“We are confident that electrifying ride-hailing vehicles will have an outsized impact on cities, and...

4 May 2021 | Connected Vehicles

Proposition 22 was the big vote this week for Uber and Lyft

All eyes are on the presidential election, but the big vote for Uber and Lyft this week was on Proposition 22 in California.

Proposition 22 exempts gig companies from AB5, a labour law passed in 2019 which extended employee protections to gig workers like Uber and Lyft drivers.

Voters in California passed the law with around 58% of ballots in favour after intense campaign efforts from not just the ridesharing giants but also companies like Instacart and DoorDash which...

4 November 2020 | Connected Vehicles

Uber and Lyft lose appeal to avoid classifying drivers as employees

Uber and Lyft have been ordered to classify their drivers as employees by a Californian court after losing an appeal.

The ride-hailing giants classify their drivers as contractors which means they can avoid giving many of the usual rights and benefits afforded to employees. Uber and Lyft argue most drivers prefer the flexibility of so-called gig economy work.

Most groups representing drivers for the companies appear to be in favour of them being classed as employees....

23 October 2020 | Connected Vehicles

Ex-Google engineer sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing autonomous car secrets

Former Google engineer Anthony Levandowski has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing autonomous car secrets.

Levandowski was employed by Google’s self-driving car division Waymo when he transferred over 14,000 secret files to his laptop before leaving the company.

The stolen files were taken to Uber, where Levandowski led the firm’s own robotaxi project. US District Judge William Alsup called Levandowski’s actions the "biggest trade secret crime I have...

5 August 2020 | Connected Vehicles

Uber hit with lawsuit to reveal how its algorithm works

Uber has been hit with a lawsuit by two British drivers in a bid to reveal how the company’s algorithm works.

The headquarters for Uber in Europe is in Amsterdam, so the drivers have taken their case to a Dutch court.

Uber’s drivers want to know what data is being collected about them – and how it’s being used. The drivers are concerned that Uber’s algorithm isn’t entirely neutral in how it decides who to allocate rides to.

"They want to prove that...

20 July 2020 | AI

Uber is purchasing food delivery service Postmates for $2.65 billion

Uber is acquiring food delivery service Postmates as it seeks to bolster UberEats after missing out on GrubHub.

The deal, which is expected to close by the start of 2021, will see Uber purchase Postmates for $2.65 billion in stock.

Bastian Lehmann, Co-Founder and CEO of Postmates, said:

“Over the past eight years we have been focused on a single mission: enable anyone to have anything delivered to them on-demand. Joining forces with Uber will continue that...

6 July 2020 | Connected Vehicles

Uber is laying off 14% of staff due to COVID-19, Lyft says its biz is down 70%

COVID-19 is having an obvious negative impact on the ride-hailing industry, with Uber and Lyft reporting huge losses.

Uber has announced it's being forced to cut 3,700 employees amid the crisis, accounting for around 14 percent of its workforce. The redundancies will predominantly hit Uber's recruiting and CommOps teams. 

“With people taking fewer trips, the unfortunate reality is that there isn’t enough work for many of our front-line customer support...

7 May 2020 | Connected Vehicles

Uber turns its drivers into couriers to assist during the pandemic

Uber has launched two new services which turn the company's drivers into couriers to help ensure people get what they need during the pandemic.

The first of the services, Uber Direct, is essentially an expansion of Uber Eats and opens up the ability for drivers to deliver items that aren’t from restaurants including prescriptions, pet food, and more.

With Amazon now prioritising items considered more essential, Uber has the ability to help ensure people can get what...

21 April 2020 | Connected Vehicles