BlaBlaCar partners with scooter startup Voi to launch new BlaBla Ride app

Long-distance ridesharing startup BlaBlaCar announced that it is expanding to scooter sharing. But the company isn’t going to operate its own fleet of scooters. Instead, BlaBlaCar is partnering with Voi, a European e-scooter service that has raised $136 million over multiple rounds. Voi operates in dozens of European cities, including Paris, Marseille and Lyon. Over… Continue reading BlaBlaCar partners with scooter startup Voi to launch new BlaBla Ride app

Bolt, the European on-demand transport company, raises $109M on a $1.9B valuation

Bolt, a rival to Uber and others providing on-demand ridesharing, scooters and other transportation services across some 150 cities in Europe and Africa, is today announcing another capital raise as it weathers a difficult market climate where, because of COVID-19, many are staying in place and avoiding modes of transport that put them into contact… Continue reading Bolt, the European on-demand transport company, raises $109M on a $1.9B valuation

Car rental firm Hertz files for bankruptcy protection in US

The 102-year-old car rental firm Hertz has filed for bankruptcy protection after its business all but vanished during the coronavirus pandemic. Hertz said in a US court filing on Friday that it had voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 reorganisation. Its international operating regions including Europe, Australia and New Zealand were not included in the US… Continue reading Car rental firm Hertz files for bankruptcy protection in US

US survey: autonomous driving is not yet there

The organization PAVE carried out a survey on autonomous driving in the USA. PAVE is an abbreviation for Partners for Automated Vehicle Education and consists of representatives from industry, research and non-profit organizations. The organization’s survey was aimed at around 1,200 people in the United States and had that Autonomous driving on the subject. Autonomous… Continue reading US survey: autonomous driving is not yet there

Indian ride-hailing firm Ola cuts 1,400 jobs

Ola said on Wednesday it is cutting 1,400 jobs in India, or 35% of its workforce in the home market, as the ride-hailing firm works to reduce its expense to steer through the coronavirus pandemic that has severely impacted mobility companies in the country. Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder and chief executive of Ola, shared the job… Continue reading Indian ride-hailing firm Ola cuts 1,400 jobs

China’s Didi will begin using AI to run virus monitoring in Latin America

BEIJING, May 20 (Reuters) – China ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing said on Wednesday that it will start using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to verify if drivers in its Latin American markets wear masks and disinfect cars to keep rides safe amid the coronavirus pandemic. Didi, which is in eight countries across Latin America, Australia and… Continue reading China’s Didi will begin using AI to run virus monitoring in Latin America

Uber to cut 3,000 more jobs amid COVID-19 pandemic

SAN FRANCISCO, May 18 (Xinhua) — Uber said on Monday that the company is cutting about 3,000 more jobs amid COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have made the incredibly difficult decision to reduce our workforce by around 3,000 people, and to reduce investments in several non-core projects,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi wrote in a letter to employees.
Along with the 3,700 jobs the company announced to cut earlier this month, the San Francisco-based ride-hailing company is laying off 25 percent of its staff.
Uber is also closing or consolidating some 45 offices globally, including its Pier 70 office in San Francisco, a branch responsible for its experimental projects like self-driving cars. Over the next 12 months, it will begin the process of moving its Asia-Pacific headquarters out of Singapore to a new location “in a market where we operate our services,” according to the company.
Uber will reduce its costs by over 1 billion U.S. dollars a year by these actions, the company said.
“We began 2020 on..