Uber loses appeal over driver rights

Uber has lost an appeal against a ruling that its drivers should be treated as workers rather than self-employed. In 2016 a tribunal ruled drivers James Farrar and Yaseen Aslam were Uber staff and entitled to holiday pay, paid rest breaks and the minimum wage. That ruling has now been upheld by the Court of… Continue reading Uber loses appeal over driver rights

Did unicorns like Lyft and Uber wait too long?

It was several years ago, at a tech conference in Laguna Beach, Ca., that the venture capitalist Bill Gurley issued one of what would become repeated warnings that startups were staying private too long. Comparing companies that refuse to go public to undergrads whose college careers extend several years past the point that they should,… Continue reading Did unicorns like Lyft and Uber wait too long?

Uber’s new Jump electric bicycles just fixed everything wrong with shared e-bikes

Jump, an electric bicycle sharing service, was scooped up by Uber last year. The ride-sharing giant used Jump as its first foray into the booming micro-mobility industry. Now Jump has released a totally redesigned electric bicycle that focuses on usability, reliability and user interface upgrades. This new model could change the way people think about… Continue reading Uber’s new Jump electric bicycles just fixed everything wrong with shared e-bikes

Uber loses another appeal against drivers’ rights in UK

Uber has lost another appeal against a landmark 2016 UK employment tribunal ruling that found a group of drivers to be workers, rather than self-employed, meaning they’re entitled to benefits such as holiday pay and the National Minimum Wage. The court of appeal today upheld previous decisions classifying the drivers as workers. Although the ruling… Continue reading Uber loses another appeal against drivers’ rights in UK

The future of urban mobility will be shaped by these six issues 

Stand at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 90th Street for a couple minutes and you’ll notice that, like many other New York City street corners, it’s loud. Cars and buses zoom by and horns blare. The occasional bike jockeys for space. Waves of pedestrians cross the three-lanes to enter Central Park. That same intersection… Continue reading The future of urban mobility will be shaped by these six issues 

Levandowski’s Pronto.ai plans to ship automated driving systems for trucks in 2019

Anthony Levandowski, the former Google engineer and serial entrepreneur who was at the center of a trade secrets lawsuit between Uber and Waymo, has taken his newest autonomous vehicle technology company out of stealth mode with a product aimed at the commercial trucking industry. Technically, Levandowski involvement in a self-driving trucking company was first revealed by… Continue reading Levandowski’s Pronto.ai plans to ship automated driving systems for trucks in 2019

Skip unveils scooters with cameras and locks

Under the guidance of Shalin Mantri, a former product lead at Uber for its advanced technologies group, Skip is gearing up to make its scooters smarter and improve its businesses unit economics. “When I think about opportunities to figure out our unit economics,” Mantri, who joined Skip from Uber in November, told TechCrunch. “It’s no… Continue reading Skip unveils scooters with cameras and locks

Uber looks to improve JUMP’s unit economics with next-gen bikes

As Uber continues to expand the footprint of JUMP bikes, it’s aiming to make the fleet of bikes smarter and easier to unlock, ride and charge. At Uber’s Pier 70 offices in San Francisco, JUMP Head of Product Nick Foley showed off the new bikes, which are aesthetically similar but should improve unit economics thanks to… Continue reading Uber looks to improve JUMP’s unit economics with next-gen bikes

Controversial engineer: I travelled over 3,000 miles in a self-driving car

Technology Anthony Levandowski, involved in the Uber-Waymo lawsuit, launches automated driving system with hands-free trip across US Anthony Levandowski demonstrates the capabilities of his advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) called Co-Pilot. Photograph: Mark Harris for the Guardian Anthony Levandowski, the controversial engineer at the heart of a lawsuit between Uber and Waymo, claims to have… Continue reading Controversial engineer: I travelled over 3,000 miles in a self-driving car

Ola, Uber’s India rival, invests $100M in scooter rental startup Vogo

We’re familiar with Uber cozying up to scooter startups — it has bought one and invested in another — but over in India, the U.S. firm’s key rival is hatching a major alliance of its own it invested $100 million in scooter rental startup Vogo. Ola first invested back in August when Vogo raised an undisclosed Series… Continue reading Ola, Uber’s India rival, invests $100M in scooter rental startup Vogo