Cruise opens robotaxi service in Houston

GM’s self-driving car subsidiary Cruise has opened its robotaxi service to users in Houston — an expansion that comes amid increasing criticism of the company’s operations in San Francisco, it’s first launch city. Cruise said it will operate seven days a week from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. in about 11 square miles of sprawling… Continue reading Cruise opens robotaxi service in Houston

Waymo expands in San Francisco while Cruise feels the heat

Alphabet subsidiary Waymo is expanding its service area in San Francisco despite protests against robotaxis, while rival Cruise grapples with crashes and other incidents. Waymo riders can now access the service across the vast majority of SF, Waymo announced on Monday on social media site X. The company had limited rides in many of the… Continue reading Waymo expands in San Francisco while Cruise feels the heat

Waymo-Zeekr robotaxi poised for US testing by end of 2023

Nearly two years after Waymo and Geely struck a deal to develop robotaxis for the U.S. market, we are seeing concrete progress in the collaboration. According to a job post posted on LinkedIn, Zeekr, the young electric car brand started by Chinese auto giant Geely, is hiring a logistics manager in the U.S. A spokesperson for… Continue reading Waymo-Zeekr robotaxi poised for US testing by end of 2023

Uber couriers will now drop your package off at the post office

Uber is expanding its peer-to-peer package delivery service, Uber Connect. Now, customers who don’t want to schlep a package to the post office can request an Uber courier to do it for them with the new ‘Return a Package’ feature. Uber couriers can pick up five packages at a time to be delivered at your… Continue reading Uber couriers will now drop your package off at the post office

Judge upholds $18 minimum pay for NYC delivery workers

In a blow to Uber, DoorDash and Grubhub, a New York judge on Thursday ruled to allow the implementation of the minimum pay rate of $18 per hour for New York City’s food delivery workers. The delivery apps sued the city in July, when the city’s 65,000 delivery workers would have begun seeing hourly payments,… Continue reading Judge upholds $18 minimum pay for NYC delivery workers

Uber is getting tighter with taxi companies

When Uber launched its ride-hailing service, the company was more pariah than partner to the taxi industry. Some 12 years later, it seems to be the latter. Uber announced Tuesday a multiyear partnership with Los Angeles Yellow Cab and its five partner taxi fleets in Southern California. Under the arrangement, taxi drivers will have access… Continue reading Uber is getting tighter with taxi companies

Navigating public-private partnerships with Uber, Cruise, and the mayor of Atlanta

Tech companies say they will help cities reach their ambitious decarbonization goals, but increasing public trust and working closely with government partners is key, panelists said during a roundtable on sustainability in cities at TechCrunch Disrupt 2023. These issues were thrown into sharp relief for the city of Atlanta a few years ago, when electric… Continue reading Navigating public-private partnerships with Uber, Cruise, and the mayor of Atlanta

Uber Eats to launch Google-powered chatbot in late 2023

Uber Eats has confirmed its plans to launch a chatbot function later this year to customers in the U.S., U.K., Australia and Canada. Initially, the so-called AI assistant will help users find restaurant deals and easily reorder favorites on the app. Later, the assistant will help users meal plan, find sales on grocery items and… Continue reading Uber Eats to launch Google-powered chatbot in late 2023

Lyft to pay $10M fine to SEC for failure to disclose board member’s role in pre-IPO share sale

Lyft has agreed to pay a $10 million fine over a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charge that the ride-hailing company failed to disclose a board director’s role in the sale of $424 million worth of private shares before to its initial public offering.  The SEC said Monday that prior to Lyft’s IPO in March… Continue reading Lyft to pay $10M fine to SEC for failure to disclose board member’s role in pre-IPO share sale

An autoworkers strike trifecta and another speed bump for Cruise and Waymo

Welcome back to The Station, your central hub for all past, present and future means of moving people and packages from Point A to Point B. I will be at the center of the startup universe this next week. Where is that, you say? Disrupt 2023 in San Francisco, of course. I hope to see… Continue reading An autoworkers strike trifecta and another speed bump for Cruise and Waymo