Uber offices raided in Hong Kong after driver arrests in illegal taxi crackdown August 11, 2015 Uber's offices in Hong Kong have been raided by police following the arrest of five drivers in the country. An operation cracking down on illegal taxis lead to the arrests, AP reports citing a police statement. The drivers are being held on suspicion of illegally carrying passengers and driving without insurance, it said. It's just [...]
Most Londoners love taxi apps like Uber and Hailo – but think Black Cabs will still be around in 20 years August 3, 2015 As the war between Black Cabbies and taxi apps rages on, it seems the battle for Londoners' hearts has been won, after a new survey showed 55 per cent of those living in the capital are in favour of Uber and its ilk. The study, by YouGov and communications firm PLMR, found 55 per cent [...]
Uber competition is good for passengers and drivers August 2, 2015 Addison Lee’s Catherine Faiers just can’t stop talking about Uber. Twice in recent weeks, she’s written in these very pages to highlight our popularity. It’s flattering to get confirmation from others that what you do is in such demand, although we try to focus on our own business. We already know the public likes [...]
Uber’s race to the bottom: The wheels will come off this controversial business July 31, 2015 Uber causes a storm wherever it goes. First, there’s the storm of applause as passengers initially embrace what looks like an exciting, disruptive new technology. Then, there’s the storm of protest as people start to understand what the business model is really all about. Treating taxis as just another tech challenge raises all sorts [...]
Uber invests $1bn in India to battle rival Ola July 31, 2015 Uber has announced a $1bn (£640m) investment in India, the ride-hailing app’s fastest-growing market. India is already Uber’s largest market outside the US, after it expanded to 18 cities in two years, posting 40 per cent month-on-month growth. The company will use the investment to expand further, putting it in direct competition with local taxi-hailing company [...]
Uber faces UK legal action from GMB union over driver employee rights July 29, 2015 The GMB union has launched legal action against Uber over the way it treats drivers. The union claims drivers should be considered employees and has a legal duty to provide them with working rights on pay, holiday, health and safety, and grievances. Uber considers drivers as self-employed "partners". Now GMB has instructed law firm Leigh [...]
Uber’s getting sued again, and this time it’s in Canada July 24, 2015 The Canadian province of Ontario is the latest place where ride-sharing app Uber is being sued by disgruntled taxi drivers. Toronto taxi drivers have launched a class action suit seeking more than C$400m (£198m) in damages and an injunction to stop it operating. Law firm Sutts, Strosberg LLP, which is representing the taxi drivers, told Reuters [...]
Taxi wars: Black cab app Gett takes on Uber with £10 flat fare in central London (but it doesn’t go south of the river) July 10, 2015 Black cab taxi app Gett has drawn the battle lines against Uber, after it launched a £10 flat fare for rides in central London. The company, which works with licensed black cabs and Hackney carriages in 25 UK cities, said the fare will apply between 10am and 10pm on Monday to Friday for the rest [...]
TfL Tube strike 2015: Unions resume battle after strike misery paralyses London traffic July 9, 2015 Londoners were forced to resurrect the Blitz spirit yesterday as the Tube strike all but paralysed travel in the capital. As commuters faced long walks to and from work, queues for Santander bikes, gridlocked streets, taxi rates almost tripled by Uber and fights for a place on crowded buses, unions praised drivers for the [...]
TfL Tube strike 2015: Uber is profiteering from London’s Tube strike misery with surge pricing July 9, 2015 A London tube strike is pretty much guaranteed to spoil your day. But when Uber follows it up by announcing it is tripling its cab prices for the day, a difficult day can become a truly miserable one. We were genuinely shocked by the cynicism shown by our new US rival for its customers. Uber’s [...]