Uber-backed study touts benefits of downtown tolling in Seattle as ride-share industry pushes for congestion pricing

Seattle traffic along 2nd Avenue. (Flickr Photo / Oran Viri) The concept of downtown tolling to reduce congestion is gaining momentum. Cities like Singapore and Stokholm have implemented congestion pricing and significantly increased transit ridership in their urban cores. New York City will become the first in the U.S. to launch a similar program. Could… Continue reading Uber-backed study touts benefits of downtown tolling in Seattle as ride-share industry pushes for congestion pricing

New York City can ban ads inside Uber, Lyft vehicles–US appeals court

FILE PHOTO: Uber and Lyft signs are seen on a car in Redondo Beach, California, U.S., March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson NEW YORK (Reuters) – A federal appeals court on Tuesday said New York City can ban advertising inside vehicles for companies such as Uber and Lyft. Reversing a lower court ruling, the 2nd U.S.… Continue reading New York City can ban ads inside Uber, Lyft vehicles–US appeals court

Late Night Cleanups for Passenger Messes

A sick passenger or spilled drink shouldn’t keep you off the road during busy weekend nights. We’ve partnered with on-demand car care provider Spiffy to find better ways to deal with messy passengers.  Starting now, drivers in LA can get reimbursed interior car cleaning on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights from 10 PM to 6… Continue reading Late Night Cleanups for Passenger Messes

Tracking Your Personal Miles

Personal miles are the miles you drive when you’re offline — when you’re not waiting for requests or giving rides —  such as when you’re running personal errands. Your Express Drive rental has built-in mileage tracking. It’s connected to your Lyft app so you can always see how many personal miles you’ve driven and how… Continue reading Tracking Your Personal Miles

Why Lyft investor Autotech Ventures won’t touch scooter companies – Business Insider

Autotech Ventures, a San Francisco-based firm with a portfolio valued at nearly $200 million, has made investments in almost every segment of the red-hot transportation space. The fund invested in Lyft three years before its initial public offering this year and has other bets in everything from electric-vehicle charging networks, self-driving-car sensors, and apps that… Continue reading Why Lyft investor Autotech Ventures won’t touch scooter companies – Business Insider

Alphabet’s self-driving car company tests free Wi-Fi and music to entice riders – CNBC

Students use the Waymo driverless vehicles to get to school. Source: Waymo Waymo is rolling out amenities to entice riders to use its self-driving taxis, creating a potential route to profitability in a money-losing industry. The Alphabet subsidiary is testing complimentary Wi-Fi in its robotaxis in greater Phoenix, where hundreds of the company’s identical, driverless… Continue reading Alphabet’s self-driving car company tests free Wi-Fi and music to entice riders – CNBC

Ridecell expands funding round for autonomous ride-hailing platform to $60 million – VentureBeat

Car-sharing, ride-sharing, and ride-hailing companies have something in common: They rely on fairly sophisticated backends to keep fleets up and running on time. Ridecell, which offers one such software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution, has attracted the attention of investors like LG and Sony. The San Francisco startup today announced an extension of the $28 million Series B round… Continue reading Ridecell expands funding round for autonomous ride-hailing platform to $60 million – VentureBeat

Uber rival Bolt has closed another tranche of funding at a $1B+ valuation

Uber and Lyft going public may have put closer public scrutiny on the economics of ridesharing, but it hasn’t had a chilling effect on the level of competition in the space. In the latest development, TechCrunch has learned and confirmed that Bolt, the Estonian ride-sharing, scooter and food delivery company that operates across Europe —… Continue reading Uber rival Bolt has closed another tranche of funding at a $1B+ valuation

FOCUS-Waymo tests Wi-Fi in driverless taxis hoping perks can route it past rivals

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Waymo is rolling out amenities to entice riders to use its self-driving taxis, creating a potential route to profitability in a money-losing industry. A Jaguar I-PACE self-driving car is pictured during its unveiling by Waymo in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., March 27, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid The Alphabet… Continue reading FOCUS-Waymo tests Wi-Fi in driverless taxis hoping perks can route it past rivals

Ola gets a taxi license in London and plans to launch services in September

London is one of the world’s biggest markets for consumers that travel using ride-hailing services. Is it now also becoming one of the most crowded when it comes to the companies offering the transportation, too? Today, India’s Ola confirmed that it is the latest of the wave of app-based ride-hailing providers to receive a license… Continue reading Ola gets a taxi license in London and plans to launch services in September