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Author: Davey Alba.
Business
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Date of Publication: 01.26.16.
01.26.16 -
Time of Publication: 5:09 pm.
5:09 pm
Paris Cabbies and Uber Are Clashing—Again
French taxi unions and Uber are clashing again.
Taxi drivers in France have once more gone on strike—shutting down roads, demonstrating across Paris, and blocking access to major airports and railway stations, according to French media reports. At least 2,000 drivers took part in the protests, and police have arrested 20 so far.
The latest demonstrations coincided with a broader nationwide demonstration against France’s government, including a walkout by air traffic controllers that disrupted flights and a protest by teachers during the school day.
But according to journalists on the ground, the taxi protests were by far the most volatile: Security forces reportedly fired teargas at crowds to try to maintain order, and television footage in western Paris showed demonstrators burning tires and blocking several lanes of traffic.
Taxi unions say Uber and other ride-hailing apps create unfair competition and are not adequately policed. “Unfortunately, the governments are weak and as unemployment is pressuring them, they give in,” Karim Asnoun, head of the CGT taxi union, told The Guardian. “They think they are creating jobs, whereas for every created job there is one that’s destroyed.”
Uber, meanwhile, reportedly emailed its French users, describing the strike as an attack on the market for ride-hailing apps in France and asked its users to lend their support to help ease regulations in the country.
Uber France spokesman Thomas Meister told The Verge that, unlike previous strikes, today’s demonstration isn’t specifically aimed at Uber but rather targets “the general organization and structure of the industry.”
But as Uber well knows, its strategy to make its way in France—and other parts of the world—hasn’t gone over smoothly in the past. If the problem truly is cultural, as it increasingly appears to be, Uber would do well to figure out how to run its business on France’s terms—or risk facing a bumpier road than ever when it comes to trying to take over the world.
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Paris Cabbies and Uber Are Clashing—Again
French taxi unions and Uber are clashing again.
Taxi drivers in France have once more gone on strike—shutting down roads, demonstrating across Paris, and blocking access to major airports and railway stations, according to French media reports. At least 2,000 drivers took part in the protests, and police have arrested 20 so far.
The latest demonstrations coincided with a broader nationwide demonstration against France’s government, including a walkout by air traffic controllers that disrupted flights and a protest by teachers during the school day.
But according to journalists on the ground, the taxi protests were by far the most volatile: Security forces reportedly fired teargas at crowds to try to maintain order, and television footage in western Paris showed demonstrators burning tires and blocking several lanes of traffic.
Taxi unions say Uber and other ride-hailing apps create unfair competition and are not adequately policed. “Unfortunately, the governments are weak and as unemployment is pressuring them, they give in,” Karim Asnoun, head of the CGT taxi union, told The Guardian. “They think they are creating jobs, whereas for every created job there is one that’s destroyed.”
Uber, meanwhile, reportedly emailed its French users, describing the strike as an attack on the market for ride-hailing apps in France and asked its users to lend their support to help ease regulations in the country.
Uber France spokesman Thomas Meister told The Verge that, unlike previous strikes, today’s demonstration isn’t specifically aimed at Uber but rather targets “the general organization and structure of the industry.”
But as Uber well knows, its strategy to make its way in France—and other parts of the world—hasn’t gone over smoothly in the past. If the problem truly is cultural, as it increasingly appears to be, Uber would do well to figure out how to run its business on France’s terms—or risk facing a bumpier road than ever when it comes to trying to take over the world.
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Author: Davey Alba.
Business
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Date of Publication: 01.26.16.
01.26.16 -
Time of Publication: 1:52 pm.
1:52 pm
Uber Using Phone Data To Track How Fast Drivers Are Going
Ride-hailing giant Uber says it’s using smartphone gyrometer data to double-check if drivers on its platform are speeding.
At least, it does for a portion of its drivers on a new pilot program. Joe Sullivan, Uber’s chief security officer, explained that the tactic is meant to corroborate whether a low “star rating” from a passenger may have stemmed from how fast their Uber driver was going.
“If the rating is low, we ask why,” Sullivan said. “We need to check what actually happened. Mostly it’s about talking to both sides. But increasingly technology can help get to the truth.”
Sullivan says the measure is part of a mix of methods to address road safety. In North Carolina, the company has provided Bop It toys in the backs of drivers’ cars to keep drunk passengers entertained, according to the company—though some have pointed out that the strategy of treating passengers like children could come off as insulting.
Some drivers in Seattle, meanwhile, are using color-coded lights to help riders find the right car at night. In the future Sullivan says Uber could use gyrometer data to verify whether drivers were constantly messing with their phones and offer them smartphone mounts.
There’s no doubt that safety is important. But to Uber’s critics, all that monitoring might seem to give Uber more control over its drivers than it ought to have, given the company’s stance that its drivers are independent contractors, not employees. Some drivers have already alleged that anything below a 4.6 average rating can get them deactivated from the system. Now, it seems, Uber is looking to have even greater oversight.
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Uber Using Phone Data To Track How Fast Drivers Are Going
Ride-hailing giant Uber says it’s using smartphone gyrometer data to double-check if drivers on its platform are speeding.
At least, it does for a portion of its drivers on a new pilot program. Joe Sullivan, Uber’s chief security officer, explained that the tactic is meant to corroborate whether a low “star rating” from a passenger may have stemmed from how fast their Uber driver was going.
“If the rating is low, we ask why,” Sullivan said. “We need to check what actually happened. Mostly it’s about talking to both sides. But increasingly technology can help get to the truth.”
Sullivan says the measure is part of a mix of methods to address road safety. In North Carolina, the company has provided Bop It toys in the backs of drivers’ cars to keep drunk passengers entertained, according to the company—though some have pointed out that the strategy of treating passengers like children could come off as insulting.
Some drivers in Seattle, meanwhile, are using color-coded lights to help riders find the right car at night. In the future Sullivan says Uber could use gyrometer data to verify whether drivers were constantly messing with their phones and offer them smartphone mounts.
There’s no doubt that safety is important. But to Uber’s critics, all that monitoring might seem to give Uber more control over its drivers than it ought to have, given the company’s stance that its drivers are independent contractors, not employees. Some drivers have already alleged that anything below a 4.6 average rating can get them deactivated from the system. Now, it seems, Uber is looking to have even greater oversight.
Didi Kuaidi Announces 1.43 Billion Rides in Challenge to Uber
Uber wants you to believe it’s emerged as the global leader in the world of on-demand rides. To be sure, some signs do already point to that: it’s raised more than $10 billion in venture funding, and the company’s worth a reported $62.5 billion. Still, it would be shortsighted to assume Uber has the edge in every aspect of the fight, especially in one of the biggest battlegrounds for ride-hailing thus far: China.
Last December, Uber announced a metric seemingly designed to let everyone know that it was absolutely killing it: it had hit 1 billion rides worldwide since the company launched in 2009. Not to be outdone, today Didi Kuaidi—Uber’s biggest rival in China—announced that it booked 1.43 billion rides—in 2015 alone.
That figure, first reported by tech news blog Re/code, is certainly enormous. Didi Kuaidi further claims that it completed 200 million rides in December, and added that Uber’s billion rides came only after six years of maturation and an aggressive global expansion—while Didi Kuaidi operated only in China in 2015.
On the other hand, though, Didi Kuaidi admits it tallied its rides from seven different services it offers, including private cars, taxis, carpooling, buses, and corporate services, among others. So it’s not quite fair to compare those reported numbers directly with Uber’s tally.
But the announcement speaks to the overarching message Didi Kuaidi badly wants to project: that it’s far ahead of everyone else in China. Period. According to research from the China Internet Network Information Center, Didi Kuaidi holds 87.2 percent of the private car-hailing market in the world’s most populated country. Its user base in the country exceeds 250 million people. And it holds this majority in spite of the fact that five of Uber’s top 10 cities by ride volume are in China. Uber, for its part, has long made it clear that it considers the country to be a central piece of its strategy for growing its ride-hailing business globally. Just today The Wall Street Journal reported that the company poured fresh new funds into its China unit that would value it at $7 billion.
Didi Kuaidi isn’t retreating from its ambitions to capture a meaningful share of the worldwide ride-hailing market, either. Last fall, the company announced a partnership with Lyft that would link the companies’ apps and let Didi users traveling to the US to hail rides on Lyft’s platform, and vice versa. In December, Didi Kuaidi and Lyft’s alliance expanded to include the ride-hailing leaders in India and Southeast Asia, Ola and GrabTaxi. Together, that global coalition will reach nearly 50 percent of the world’s population, according to the companies. Joint partner projects are scheduled to start rolling out in the first quarter of 2016.
So yes, it’s true that Didi Kuaidi’s 1.43 billion rides is yet another boastful metric and an incremental development among many others as ride-hailing companies fight to come out on top all over the world. But with the winds of favor constantly shifting for these companies, one thing’s for sure: no one player can—or should—take its dominance in the market for granted.
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Author: Davey Alba.
Business
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Date of Publication: 12.03.15.
12.03.15 -
Time of Publication: 5:46 pm.
5:46 pm
More of Uber’s Enemies Are Now Officially Allies
The global anti-Uber alliance is growing.
Today US-based Lyft said it was allying itself with Asia-based ride-hailing companies Didi Kuaidi, GrabTaxi, and Ola. Together, the alliance will reach nearly 50 percent of the world’s population, Lyft said.
“We’re excited to join with Didi, Grab, and Ola to make global travel simpler for passengers,” Lyft co-founder and president John Zimmer said. “This isn’t solely a partnership of four companies, but also an opportunity to have a greater impact on the future of our cities worldwide.”
The massive global coalition has been a long time coming. Back in September, Lyft and Didi Kuaidi, China’s biggest homegrown Uber rival, joined to allow Lyft users visiting China to book Didi drivers from the Lyft app, and vice versa. Now, users of any of these apps will be able to order rides where the other ride-hailing partners are based. (Each company will still handle mapping, routing, and payments in the countries in which they operate.)
Ola is the leading ride-hail company in India. GrabTaxi, meanwhile, offers services in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand. Each of the companies says it receives more than a million booking requests a day. Together, they make a seemingly formidable force. Each provides the other an apparently easy way to make inroads in new countries where a preferred service already exists, and quickly achieve scale.
In doing so, the alliance would also seem to help these startups go up against the global juggernaut that is Uber. The world’s largest ride-hailing company operates in 67 countries, and it’s still growing at a rapid clip thanks to billions in funding from optimistic investors.
Though no financial details have been divulged in the announcement, the companies revealed their plan to leverage the partnership in other ways. Joint partner products—which might include courier services, food delivery, and other logistics services—will start rolling out in the first quarter of 2016, the group said.
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More of Uber’s Enemies Are Now Officially Allies
The global anti-Uber alliance is growing.
Today US-based Lyft said it was allying itself with Asia-based ride-hailing companies Didi Kuaidi, GrabTaxi, and Ola. Together, the alliance will reach nearly 50 percent of the world’s population, Lyft said.
“We’re excited to join with Didi, Grab, and Ola to make global travel simpler for passengers,” Lyft co-founder and president John Zimmer said. “This isn’t solely a partnership of four companies, but also an opportunity to have a greater impact on the future of our cities worldwide.”
The massive global coalition has been a long time coming. Back in September, Lyft and Didi Kuaidi, China’s biggest homegrown Uber rival, joined to allow Lyft users visiting China to book Didi drivers from the Lyft app, and vice versa. Now, users of any of these apps will be able to order rides where the other ride-hailing partners are based. (Each company will still handle mapping, routing, and payments in the countries in which they operate.)
Ola is the leading ride-hail company in India. GrabTaxi, meanwhile, offers services in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand. Each of the companies says it receives more than a million booking requests a day. Together, they make a seemingly formidable force. Each provides the other an apparently easy way to make inroads in new countries where a preferred service already exists, and quickly achieve scale.
In doing so, the alliance would also seem to help these startups go up against the global juggernaut that is Uber. The world’s largest ride-hailing company operates in 67 countries, and it’s still growing at a rapid clip thanks to billions in funding from optimistic investors.
Though no financial details have been divulged in the announcement, the companies revealed their plan to leverage the partnership in other ways. Joint partner products—which might include courier services, food delivery, and other logistics services—will start rolling out in the first quarter of 2016, the group said.
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Author: Jessi Hempel.
Business
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Date of Publication: 12.03.15.
12.03.15 -
Time of Publication: 3:40 pm.
3:40 pm
Uber’s Raising Billions More, So Why Bother Going Public?
Bloomberg is reporting that Uber is attempting to raise as much as $2.1 billion in a financing round that would value the car company at $62.5 billion. It cites sources who shared paperwork filed privately in Delaware. If true, the move comes just months after a private funding round that valued the company at more than $50 billion, and it propels the company into the position of the world’s most valuable privately held startup. It will bring Uber’s total venture funding to $12 billion.
In its final funding round, 17 months before going public, Facebook was valued at $50 billion. At the time, that figure was considered eye-popping. Despite the massive valuation, founder and CEO Travis Kalanick has no immediate plans for an initial public offering. Speaking at a tech conference in October, he said Uber was still in its “junior high” stage of development. He said talk of going public now is like “telling us to go to the prom.”
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Uber’s Raising Billions More, So Why Bother Going Public?
Bloomberg is reporting that Uber is attempting to raise as much as $2.1 billion in a financing round that would value the car company at $62.5 billion. It cites sources who shared paperwork filed privately in Delaware. If true, the move comes just months after a private funding round that valued the company at more than $50 billion, and it propels the company into the position of the world’s most valuable privately held startup. It will bring Uber’s total venture funding to $12 billion.
In its final funding round, 17 months before going public, Facebook was valued at $50 billion. At the time, that figure was considered eye-popping. Despite the massive valuation, founder and CEO Travis Kalanick has no immediate plans for an initial public offering. Speaking at a tech conference in October, he said Uber was still in its “junior high” stage of development. He said talk of going public now is like “telling us to go to the prom.”
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Author: Davey Alba.
Business
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Date of Publication: 10.01.15.
10.01.15 -
Time of Publication: 6:20 pm.
6:20 pm
Florida Says Uber Driver Isn’t An Employee After All
A Florida state agency that had earlier ruled that an ex-Uber driver was an employee has reversed its decision after Uber appealed the case.
In May, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity found that former Uber driver Darrin McGillis was an employee, not an independent contractor, when he drove for the ride-hailing company for seven months until April 2015. The state agency resolves claims on unemployment benefits, and in siding with McGillis, allowed him to claim them. Independent contractors don’t usually get such benefits—in exchange for the flexibility of choosing their own shifts, the independent classification means they don’t receive Social Security, Medicare, or workers’ compensation, along with unemployment insurance.
Uber appealed the May decision; after a telephone hearing in August, the agency published a new 9-page finding in Uber’s favor.
It’s worth noting that this is yet another isolated decision by a single state agency; it only applies to the claimant either way. Florida’s ruling in May was the first time a state agency sided with an ex-Uber driver, and others have followed suit in California. Agencies in nine other states, meanwhile, have sided with Uber that drivers were independent contractors, not employees. But none of these individual decisions carry the weight of court precedent.
Uber’s more important battle is a federal class-action lawsuit currently under way in California, in which thousands of California Uber drivers are seeking recognition as employees of the company. Shannon Liss-Riordan, the labor lawyer who is representing the Uber drivers, has mentioned the state agency decisions in her arguments in court in the past, saying the rulings strengthen her side’s stance. But now it seems, there’s one less decision she’ll be able to cite.
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Florida Says Uber Driver Isn’t An Employee After All
A Florida state agency that had earlier ruled that an ex-Uber driver was an employee has reversed its decision after Uber appealed the case.
In May, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity found that former Uber driver Darrin McGillis was an employee, not an independent contractor, when he drove for the ride-hailing company for seven months until April 2015. The state agency resolves claims on unemployment benefits, and in siding with McGillis, allowed him to claim them. Independent contractors don’t usually get such benefits—in exchange for the flexibility of choosing their own shifts, the independent classification means they don’t receive Social Security, Medicare, or workers’ compensation, along with unemployment insurance.
Uber appealed the May decision; after a telephone hearing in August, the agency published a new 9-page finding in Uber’s favor.
It’s worth noting that this is yet another isolated decision by a single state agency; it only applies to the claimant either way. Florida’s ruling in May was the first time a state agency sided with an ex-Uber driver, and others have followed suit in California. Agencies in nine other states, meanwhile, have sided with Uber that drivers were independent contractors, not employees. But none of these individual decisions carry the weight of court precedent.
Uber’s more important battle is a federal class-action lawsuit currently under way in California, in which thousands of California Uber drivers are seeking recognition as employees of the company. Shannon Liss-Riordan, the labor lawyer who is representing the Uber drivers, has mentioned the state agency decisions in her arguments in court in the past, saying the rulings strengthen her side’s stance. But now it seems, there’s one less decision she’ll be able to cite.
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Author: Davey Alba.
Business
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Date of Publication: 09.28.15.
09.28.15 -
Time of Publication: 12:50 pm.
12:50 pm
Rivals Are Banding Together to Fight Uber’s Global Surge
Uber is the world’s most valuable startup—now valued at close to $51 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal—and the undisputed king of the ride-hailing industry. At least at the moment. But outside the US, where Uber is most aggressively seeking growth, its overseas rivals are increasingly banding together in a bid to hamper its rapid expansion.
On Monday, Reuters reported that Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Kuaidi had invested in Ola, the biggest ride-summoning app in India. The amount was not disclosed, though the Times of India, citing unnamed sources, previously reported that Didi Kuaidi’s stake in the company would be around $30 million. Ola confirmed the investment to WIRED but not the amount. Didi Kuaidi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Didi Kuaidi’s investment comes right on the heels of the announcement of its partnership with US-based Lyft. Earlier in the month in New York, the two companies revealed they would link their apps. Lyft users traveling in China could hail Didi Kuaidi drivers from their Lyft app, and vice versa. The feature is set to go live by early 2017. But the partnership appears to go beyond apps. Didi Kuaidi also reportedly invested $100 million in Lyft earlier this year. It has also invested in the Singapore-based ride-hailing company GrabTaxi.
All of this cooperation among Uber’s rivals signals the emergence of consolidation as the key strategy for challenging the global juggernaut that is Uber. As Uber’s most formidable competitor in China—the company’s most coveted market—Didi Kuaidi is in a prime position to lead this charge, and it’s not shying away from the task. Consolidation is also in the interest of Uber rivals’ deep-pocketed investors. Chinese tech giants Alibaba and Tencent, for instance, have a stake in Didi Kuaidi and Lyft, and Japan-based SoftBank has investments in Ola and Didi Kuaidi.
Uber has made no secret of wanting to own the Chinese market, recently raising $1.2 billion in fresh funding to pour into its China operations. It has also expressed a special interest in India, now the world’s fastest growing major economy. But its rivals are determined to create at least a few bumps along Uber’s road to global dominance.
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Rivals Are Banding Together to Fight Uber’s Global Surge
Uber is the world’s most valuable startup—now valued at close to $51 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal—and the undisputed king of the ride-hailing industry. At least at the moment. But outside the US, where Uber is most aggressively seeking growth, its overseas rivals are increasingly banding together in a bid to hamper its rapid expansion.
On Monday, Reuters reported that Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Kuaidi had invested in Ola, the biggest ride-summoning app in India. The amount was not disclosed, though the Times of India, citing unnamed sources, previously reported that Didi Kuaidi’s stake in the company would be around $30 million. Ola confirmed the investment to WIRED but not the amount. Didi Kuaidi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Didi Kuaidi’s investment comes right on the heels of the announcement of its partnership with US-based Lyft. Earlier in the month in New York, the two companies revealed they would link their apps. Lyft users traveling in China could hail Didi Kuaidi drivers from their Lyft app, and vice versa. The feature is set to go live by early 2017. But the partnership appears to go beyond apps. Didi Kuaidi also reportedly invested $100 million in Lyft earlier this year. It has also invested in the Singapore-based ride-hailing company GrabTaxi.
All of this cooperation among Uber’s rivals signals the emergence of consolidation as the key strategy for challenging the global juggernaut that is Uber. As Uber’s most formidable competitor in China—the company’s most coveted market—Didi Kuaidi is in a prime position to lead this charge, and it’s not shying away from the task. Consolidation is also in the interest of Uber rivals’ deep-pocketed investors. Chinese tech giants Alibaba and Tencent, for instance, have a stake in Didi Kuaidi and Lyft, and Japan-based SoftBank has investments in Ola and Didi Kuaidi.
Uber has made no secret of wanting to own the Chinese market, recently raising $1.2 billion in fresh funding to pour into its China operations. It has also expressed a special interest in India, now the world’s fastest growing major economy. But its rivals are determined to create at least a few bumps along Uber’s road to global dominance.
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Author: Davey Alba.
Business
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Date of Publication: 09.24.15.
09.24.15 -
Time of Publication: 12:36 pm.
12:36 pm
Even More Labor Complaints Filed Against On-Demand Companies
The slew of worker misclassification lawsuits filed against on-demand companies just won’t stop.
On Wednesday, class-action complaints were filed against on-demand food delivery companies DoorDash and GrubHub in California state court, alleging that the drivers should not be considered independent contractors, as their companies have deemed them, but official employees.
Shannon Liss-Riordan, a Boston-based labor lawyer, filed the suits against the two companies, seeking class action status. She also brought forward a complaint in arbitration against Caviar, a curated food delivery service owned by Jack Dorsey’s company Square. The Caviar complaint is a little different in that Liss-Riordan represents only one San Francisco driver. After filing a class action complaint against Caviar earlier this year, Liss-Riordan explains, the court ruled that the arbitration clause in Caviar’s written agreement was enforceable, requiring workers to resolve their disputes through an arbitration process, per complaint, rather than lumping the cases together in a class-action suit.
“There’s a lot of commonality among these cases,” Liss-Riordan tells WIRED. “Companies basically hope to massively save on labor costs by classifying their workers as independent contractors rather than employees.”
That brings the tally of companies Liss-Riordan has brought complaints against to 11, which includes on-demand ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft, laundry service Washio, home services Homejoy and Handy, grocery delivery service Instacart, and on-demand delivery services Postmates and Shyp, in addition to DoorDash, GrubHub and Caviar. So far, only the case against Uber has been certified as a class action. Of these companies, a couple—Instacart and Shyp—have reclassified part of its workforce in what looks to be a reaction to pressure from these filings. One company, Homejoy, shut down, citing the suits as a “deciding factor” in the decision.
The class-action suits against on-demand ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft are the furthest along in the process. On September 1, a federal judge in San Francisco granted class-action status to a lawsuit brought by three Uber drivers against the on-demand ride company. (Uber is appealing that decision.) Lyft, meanwhile, faces a similar suit, with its class certification hearing in December.
“All of these companies seem to be watching what other companies are doing,” Liss-Riordan says, “and thinking they can get away with it.”
You can read the complaints filed against DoorDash, GrubHub and Caviar below.
Doordash Grubhub Caviar Complaints (PDF)
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Even More Labor Complaints Filed Against On-Demand Companies
The slew of worker misclassification lawsuits filed against on-demand companies just won’t stop.
On Wednesday, class-action complaints were filed against on-demand food delivery companies DoorDash and GrubHub in California state court, alleging that the drivers should not be considered independent contractors, as their companies have deemed them, but official employees.
Shannon Liss-Riordan, a Boston-based labor lawyer, filed the suits against the two companies, seeking class action status. She also brought forward a complaint in arbitration against Caviar, a curated food delivery service owned by Jack Dorsey’s company Square. The Caviar complaint is a little different in that Liss-Riordan represents only one San Francisco driver. After filing a class action complaint against Caviar earlier this year, Liss-Riordan explains, the court ruled that the arbitration clause in Caviar’s written agreement was enforceable, requiring workers to resolve their disputes through an arbitration process, per complaint, rather than lumping the cases together in a class-action suit.
“There’s a lot of commonality among these cases,” Liss-Riordan tells WIRED. “Companies basically hope to massively save on labor costs by classifying their workers as independent contractors rather than employees.”
That brings the tally of companies Liss-Riordan has brought complaints against to 11, which includes on-demand ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft, laundry service Washio, home services Homejoy and Handy, grocery delivery service Instacart, and on-demand delivery services Postmates and Shyp, in addition to DoorDash, GrubHub and Caviar. So far, only the case against Uber has been certified as a class action. Of these companies, a couple—Instacart and Shyp—have reclassified part of its workforce in what looks to be a reaction to pressure from these filings. One company, Homejoy, shut down, citing the suits as a “deciding factor” in the decision.
The class-action suits against on-demand ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft are the furthest along in the process. On September 1, a federal judge in San Francisco granted class-action status to a lawsuit brought by three Uber drivers against the on-demand ride company. (Uber is appealing that decision.) Lyft, meanwhile, faces a similar suit, with its class certification hearing in December.
“All of these companies seem to be watching what other companies are doing,” Liss-Riordan says, “and thinking they can get away with it.”
You can read the complaints filed against DoorDash, GrubHub and Caviar below.
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Author: Davey Alba.
Business
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Date of Publication: 09.16.15.
09.16.15 -
Time of Publication: 12:29 pm.
12:29 pm
How Uber Plans to Fight a Looming Class-Action Suit
Uber on Tuesday filed to appeal a ruling by a federal judge in San Francisco to grant class-action status to a lawsuit brought by three Uber drivers against the on-demand ride company.
On September 1, US District Judge Edward Chen decided that Uber drivers in California could join the case seeking mileage and tip reimbursement from the company. The drivers can also collectively challenge the company on the main issue of worker misclassification—whether they should be considered employees of Uber under the law, rather than independent contractors—which could have far-reaching implications for the on-demand economy’s basic business model.
The lawsuit against Uber is the furthest along of a slew of recent cases against on-demand companies, including Lyft, Caviar, Postmates and Homejoy, among others. These startups employ freelance contractors, or 1099 contract workers, instead of employees, arguing that this can make the work more flexible than a structured, 9-to-5 job. But as of late, critics have been calling for better protection for these workers, who lack benefits such as Social Security, Medicare, and workers’ compensation. Others, meanwhile, also point out that companies who employ this business model stand to save on payroll taxes, undercutting other on-demand tech firms who do make an effort to classify their workers as employees.
Uber has largely stuck to the same arguments it used in court. It is “manifestly erroneous” that the suit has been certified as a class, the company says, because there is no such thing as a typical Uber driver. That lumps the issues of thousands of drivers into a single suit, Uber argues, whereas there are substantial differences in how drivers use its platform. Beyond that, the company insists, converting Uber drivers to employees would cost the drivers the flexibility they love, because it upends Uber’s business model.
The appeal (see below) is worth perusing in full. But in case you’d like to skip to the juiciest parts, we’ve added comments to the document for extra context.
2015 09 15 as Filed O’Connor Rule 23(F) Petition (PDF)
2015 09 15 as Filed O’Connor Rule 23(F) Petition (Text)
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How Uber Plans to Fight a Looming Class-Action Suit
Uber on Tuesday filed to appeal a ruling by a federal judge in San Francisco to grant class-action status to a lawsuit brought by three Uber drivers against the on-demand ride company.
On September 1, US District Judge Edward Chen decided that Uber drivers in California could join the case seeking mileage and tip reimbursement from the company. The drivers can also collectively challenge the company on the main issue of worker misclassification—whether they should be considered employees of Uber under the law, rather than independent contractors—which could have far-reaching implications for the on-demand economy’s basic business model.
The lawsuit against Uber is the furthest along of a slew of recent cases against on-demand companies, including Lyft, Caviar, Postmates and Homejoy, among others. These startups employ freelance contractors, or 1099 contract workers, instead of employees, arguing that this can make the work more flexible than a structured, 9-to-5 job. But as of late, critics have been calling for better protection for these workers, who lack benefits such as Social Security, Medicare, and workers’ compensation. Others, meanwhile, also point out that companies who employ this business model stand to save on payroll taxes, undercutting other on-demand tech firms who do make an effort to classify their workers as employees.
Uber has largely stuck to the same arguments it used in court. It is “manifestly erroneous” that the suit has been certified as a class, the company says, because there is no such thing as a typical Uber driver. That lumps the issues of thousands of drivers into a single suit, Uber argues, whereas there are substantial differences in how drivers use its platform. Beyond that, the company insists, converting Uber drivers to employees would cost the drivers the flexibility they love, because it upends Uber’s business model.
The appeal (see below) is worth perusing in full. But in case you’d like to skip to the juiciest parts, we’ve added comments to the document for extra context.
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Author: Davey Alba.
Business
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Date of Publication: 09.10.15.
09.10.15 -
Time of Publication: 7:13 pm.
7:13 pm
In California, Uber Loses Another Round in Driver Debate
Ride-hailing giant Uber has lost another battle in the incendiary debate over whether or not its drivers should be considered employees.
Officials at California’s Employment Development Department (EDD) recently determined that an ex-Uber driver qualified as an employee of the company, not an independent contractor, and as such was entitled to unemployment benefits. To be sure, it’s one decision by one state agency and only applies to one individual. But an administrative law judge backed the decision on appeal, and Uber ultimately decided not to fight further.
“We disagreed with the decision, but since it only affects one person …we decided to focus on the bigger picture,” an Uber spokesperson tells WIRED. That bigger picture is a federal lawsuit filed against Uber that was granted class-action status earlier this month seeking to gain Uber drivers recognition as employees of the company, not independent contractors.
Not the First Time
This latest decision is not the first time a state agency has determined an Uber driver was an employee. In May, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity found that Uber driver Darrin McGillis was an Uber employee and thus eligible for unemployment insurance. In June, the California Labor Commission, which investigates wage claims, decided that ex-Uber driver Barbara Ann Berwick was entitled to unpaid wages and reimbursement for business expenses in the nine weeks she worked as an Uber driver last year.
Shannon Liss-Riordan, the Boston lawyer who is representing the Uber drivers in the class-action suit against the company, has cited the California Labor Commission’s decision in her arguments in court. She says this and other decisions by state agencies solidify her side’s stance. “This California decision supports our argument that when a fact-finder sits down to look at the facts, and applies California laws, Uber drivers are employees,” Liss-Riordan says.
For its part, Uber says that other states have determined Uber drivers are independent contractors rather than employees of the company, including labor or unemployment boards in Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Indiana, Texas, New York, Illinois, and California—where at least one decision, the company says, came from the EDD itself.
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In California, Uber Loses Another Round in Driver Debate
Ride-hailing giant Uber has lost another battle in the incendiary debate over whether or not its drivers should be considered employees.
Officials at California’s Employment Development Department (EDD) recently determined that an ex-Uber driver qualified as an employee of the company, not an independent contractor, and as such was entitled to unemployment benefits. To be sure, it’s one decision by one state agency and only applies to one individual. But an administrative law judge backed the decision on appeal, and Uber ultimately decided not to fight further.
“We disagreed with the decision, but since it only affects one person …we decided to focus on the bigger picture,” an Uber spokesperson tells WIRED. That bigger picture is a federal lawsuit filed against Uber that was granted class-action status earlier this month seeking to gain Uber drivers recognition as employees of the company, not independent contractors.
Not the First Time
This latest decision is not the first time a state agency has determined an Uber driver was an employee. In May, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity found that Uber driver Darrin McGillis was an Uber employee and thus eligible for unemployment insurance. In June, the California Labor Commission, which investigates wage claims, decided that ex-Uber driver Barbara Ann Berwick was entitled to unpaid wages and reimbursement for business expenses in the nine weeks she worked as an Uber driver last year.
Shannon Liss-Riordan, the Boston lawyer who is representing the Uber drivers in the class-action suit against the company, has cited the California Labor Commission’s decision in her arguments in court. She says this and other decisions by state agencies solidify her side’s stance. “This California decision supports our argument that when a fact-finder sits down to look at the facts, and applies California laws, Uber drivers are employees,” Liss-Riordan says.
For its part, Uber says that other states have determined Uber drivers are independent contractors rather than employees of the company, including labor or unemployment boards in Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Indiana, Texas, New York, Illinois, and California—where at least one decision, the company says, came from the EDD itself.
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Author: Davey Alba.
Business
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Date of Publication: 09.09.15.
09.09.15 -
Time of Publication: 7:53 pm.
7:53 pm
Uber Gives Carnegie Mellon Millions After Poaching Profs
Back in February, Uber announced a strategic partnership with Carnegie Mellon University’s robotic research group: an initiative the ride-hailing service said was meant to help it develop driverless-car technology. Now, in an apparent move to deepen that alliance, Uber has just revealed that it is giving $5.5 million to the university to support a new robotics faculty chair as well as sponsor three graduate fellowships.
“We’re pumped to be part of a growing innovation ecosystem in Pittsburgh that includes world leading research institutions and companies, as well as an increasing number of start-ups,” Travis Kalanick, Uber’s CEO, said in a blog post announcing the endowment.
It’s an interesting move from Uber, the undisputed giant of ride-hailing apps, and a company that has gained notoriety for its obsession with growth. Even after five years, the company is still expanding rapidly; in spite of regulatory hurdles, it’s still muscling its way into new markets, both in the US and abroad.
But another reason for Uber’s outpouring of generosity could be its, ahem, unique relationship with Carnegie Mellon. Not too long after the announcement of their partnership, according to several reports, Uber hired away dozen’s of CMU’s scientists, leaving one of the world’s top robotics institutions in a crisis. Some viewed Uber luring these researchers away as a good thing, certifying the academic institution as a place of opportunity. Indeed, Uber has provided desirable jobs to researchers from other, more unconventional sources in the past, including hiring the two hackers who wirelessly hijacked an Internet-connected Jeep.
But others may see the move more as a way to make amends with Carnegie Mellon. And certainly, with competitors like Google bearing down on Uber’s as-yet-unattained dream “to make transportation as reliable as running water” (read: self-driving cars), the ride-hailing giant needs all the allies it can get.
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Uber Gives Carnegie Mellon Millions After Poaching Profs
Back in February, Uber announced a strategic partnership with Carnegie Mellon University’s robotic research group: an initiative the ride-hailing service said was meant to help it develop driverless-car technology. Now, in an apparent move to deepen that alliance, Uber has just revealed that it is giving $5.5 million to the university to support a new robotics faculty chair as well as sponsor three graduate fellowships.
“We’re pumped to be part of a growing innovation ecosystem in Pittsburgh that includes world leading research institutions and companies, as well as an increasing number of start-ups,” Travis Kalanick, Uber’s CEO, said in a blog post announcing the endowment.
It’s an interesting move from Uber, the undisputed giant of ride-hailing apps, and a company that has gained notoriety for its obsession with growth. Even after five years, the company is still expanding rapidly; in spite of regulatory hurdles, it’s still muscling its way into new markets, both in the US and abroad.
But another reason for Uber’s outpouring of generosity could be its, ahem, unique relationship with Carnegie Mellon. Not too long after the announcement of their partnership, according to several reports, Uber hired away dozen’s of CMU’s scientists, leaving one of the world’s top robotics institutions in a crisis. Some viewed Uber luring these researchers away as a good thing, certifying the academic institution as a place of opportunity. Indeed, Uber has provided desirable jobs to researchers from other, more unconventional sources in the past, including hiring the two hackers who wirelessly hijacked an Internet-connected Jeep.
But others may see the move more as a way to make amends with Carnegie Mellon. And certainly, with competitors like Google bearing down on Uber’s as-yet-unattained dream “to make transportation as reliable as running water” (read: self-driving cars), the ride-hailing giant needs all the allies it can get.
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Author: Issie Lapowsky.
Business
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Date of Publication: 07.21.15.
07.21.15 -
Time of Publication: 5:14 pm.
5:14 pm
NYC Official Says City Should Postpone Vote On Uber Limits
Uber may have finally found a friend in New York City’s government after all. Today, the city’s Comptroller, Scott Stringer, wrote in a post on Medium that the City Council should postpone its vote on a bill that would temporarily cap the number of new driver licenses available to companies like Uber and Lyft.
An arbitrary cap on for-hire vehicles is not the answer – we need to think strategically about our transport networks http://t.co/QzSI8Q9yoW
— Scott M. Stringer (@scottmstringer) July 21, 2015
The city’s plan calls for studying the impact of ride-hailing services on traffic congestion before approving new licenses. But Stringer says that approach gets it all backwards. The plan, he says, “seems to ignore the fact that so many other factors — from economic growth to street design — affect congestion.”
Stringer said in a speech today he had met with David Plouffe, the political strategist who has been leading Uber’s campaign against the bill, which New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has fiercely defended. But the comptroller didn’t let Uber completely off the hook, writing that both Uber and the city need to come to the negotiating table. “We must take a close look at wage standards in the shared economy,” Stringer wrote, “and reexamine the City’s traditional cab drivers and their working conditions, which for decades have been defined by long hours, low wages, and few, if any benefits.”
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NYC Official Says City Should Postpone Vote On Uber Limits
Uber may have finally found a friend in New York City’s government after all. Today, the city’s Comptroller, Scott Stringer, wrote in a post on Medium that the City Council should postpone its vote on a bill that would temporarily cap the number of new driver licenses available to companies like Uber and Lyft.
An arbitrary cap on for-hire vehicles is not the answer – we need to think strategically about our transport networks http://t.co/QzSI8Q9yoW
— Scott M. Stringer (@scottmstringer) July 21, 2015
The city’s plan calls for studying the impact of ride-hailing services on traffic congestion before approving new licenses. But Stringer says that approach gets it all backwards. The plan, he says, “seems to ignore the fact that so many other factors — from economic growth to street design — affect congestion.”
Stringer said in a speech today he had met with David Plouffe, the political strategist who has been leading Uber’s campaign against the bill, which New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has fiercely defended. But the comptroller didn’t let Uber completely off the hook, writing that both Uber and the city need to come to the negotiating table. “We must take a close look at wage standards in the shared economy,” Stringer wrote, “and reexamine the City’s traditional cab drivers and their working conditions, which for decades have been defined by long hours, low wages, and few, if any benefits.”
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Author: Julia Greenberg.
Business
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Date of Publication: 07.21.15.
07.21.15 -
Time of Publication: 4:14 pm.
4:14 pm
Uber CEO Takes On NYC Mayor de Blasio In Retweet Storm
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick wants you to know that Uber is great. So great, in fact, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio should abandon any effort to cap the company’s growth.
The mayor has called for a limit to the number of licenses available to ride-sharing companies like Uber while the city studies the impact of the influx of car services on traffic. Uber is vociferously opposed to the idea—the company’s New York general manager even challenged de Blasio to a public live-streamed debate. (The mayor declined.)
Now, Kalanick has taken to Twitter, a time-honored tactic in his company’s frequent battles with city governments. Once a singularly outspoken tweeter, Kalanick has quieted as Uber’s value has skyrocketed. But over the past week, via a storm of retweets, he’s made sure to call out the stories and anecdotes that appear to support Uber’s side (including at least one WIRED story). Here’s a sampling:
How @Uber saved me from cabs http://t.co/0EI6Asm1Kp
— Errol Louis (@errollouis) July 21, 2015
@gawruff @hadip @coiascience I think you may be misinformed… Every NY driver is commercially licensed by the TLC as are Uber’s operations — travis kalanick (@travisk) July 21, 2015
@hadip @coiascience @deBlasioNYC Uber pays for more insurance, pays more in taxes, and uber drivers make more per hour
— travis kalanick (@travisk) July 21, 2015
Laura Washington: Uber upends problem of ‘hailing while black’: http://t.co/Xf8ywQNTV4 — Corey C Owens (@coreycowens) July 20, 2015
Is Bill de Blasio’s crusade against Uber standing in the way of social progress? @jheil weighs in: VIDEO: http://t.co/jMXMcHdRaR — Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) July 20, 2015
An army of preachers in New York defending Uber for the opportunity it provides to minorities pic.twitter.com/F5jmkPeEQD
— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) July 20, 2015
deBlasio could hedge bets by at least including his Uber referral code every time he mentions the company — Hunter Walk (@hunterwalk) July 20, 2015
On call with tech CEOs + me pre-election, Bill de Blasio said his #1 priority as mayor –> expand economic opportunity for regular people.
— Marc Andreessen (@pmarca) July 20, 2015
De Blasio is making New York look terrible for tech. Like starting a company in France. https://t.co/iEXzJBTbHj — Jd Ross (@justindross) July 19, 2015
Watch now: Mayor @BilldeBlasio, don’t leave New Yorkers stranded. https://t.co/No4ghRt4Lk
— Uber NYC (@Uber_NYC) July 17, 2015
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Uber CEO Takes On NYC Mayor de Blasio In Retweet Storm
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick wants you to know that Uber is great. So great, in fact, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio should abandon any effort to cap the company’s growth.
The mayor has called for a limit to the number of licenses available to ride-sharing companies like Uber while the city studies the impact of the influx of car services on traffic. Uber is vociferously opposed to the idea—the company’s New York general manager even challenged de Blasio to a public live-streamed debate. (The mayor declined.)
Now, Kalanick has taken to Twitter, a time-honored tactic in his company’s frequent battles with city governments. Once a singularly outspoken tweeter, Kalanick has quieted as Uber’s value has skyrocketed. But over the past week, via a storm of retweets, he’s made sure to call out the stories and anecdotes that appear to support Uber’s side (including at least one WIRED story). Here’s a sampling:
How @Uber saved me from cabs http://t.co/0EI6Asm1Kp
@gawruff @hadip @coiascience I think you may be misinformed… Every NY driver is commercially licensed by the TLC as are Uber’s operations — travis kalanick (@travisk) July 21, 2015
@hadip @coiascience @deBlasioNYC Uber pays for more insurance, pays more in taxes, and uber drivers make more per hour
— travis kalanick (@travisk) July 21, 2015
Laura Washington: Uber upends problem of ‘hailing while black’: http://t.co/Xf8ywQNTV4 — Corey C Owens (@coreycowens) July 20, 2015
Is Bill de Blasio’s crusade against Uber standing in the way of social progress? @jheil weighs in: VIDEO: http://t.co/jMXMcHdRaR — Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) July 20, 2015
An army of preachers in New York defending Uber for the opportunity it provides to minorities pic.twitter.com/F5jmkPeEQD
— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) July 20, 2015
deBlasio could hedge bets by at least including his Uber referral code every time he mentions the company — Hunter Walk (@hunterwalk) July 20, 2015
On call with tech CEOs + me pre-election, Bill de Blasio said his #1 priority as mayor –> expand economic opportunity for regular people.
— Marc Andreessen (@pmarca) July 20, 2015
De Blasio is making New York look terrible for tech. Like starting a company in France. https://t.co/iEXzJBTbHj — Jd Ross (@justindross) July 19, 2015
Watch now: Mayor @BilldeBlasio, don’t leave New Yorkers stranded. https://t.co/No4ghRt4Lk
Uber Cheaper, Faster Than Taxis in Low-Income Neighborhoods
Among the many heated debates around on-demand ride-hailing services like Uber is whether they act as an antidote to the longstanding patterns of red-lining in the traditional taxi industry.
According to one Uber-funded study released today, they do.
Research group Botec Analysis found that summoning an UberX, the company’s budget tier, took less than half as long as calling for a taxi in several low-income neighborhoods in Los Angeles. What’s more, the trips themselves cost less than half as much. Calling for an UberX was more reliable and wait times were shorter, according to the study.
“The answer was clear-cut, and consistent across neighborhoods and days,” writes study co-author Mark Kleiman.
To gather data, pairs of riders called for a taxi and an Uber along pre-planned routes. The riders recorded the time between picking up the phone or opening an app and getting in a car. They also tracked how much each ride cost, then switched off. After each ride, whoever took a taxi last time took an Uber next time.
Kleiman says the riders didn’t know Uber had funded the effort but acknowledged that Uber’s backing “makes some skepticism about our results natural and proper.”
“We would be happy to share our data and methods with other research teams for re-analysis and replication,” he says.
More independent study of the issue is a good idea. Kleiman acknowledges that his study didn’t address many of the most trenchant questions around transit: the ethnicity of riders; riders with disabilities; or the lack of access for riders who don’t have credit cards or smartphones. He says, “This study ought to be the beginning of the scientific effort rather than the end.”
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Author: Issie Lapowsky.
Business
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Date of Publication: 07.16.15.
07.16.15 -
Time of Publication: 2:55 pm.
2:55 pm
Uber’s New Fake Feature in NYC Derides Regulators
New York City’s Mayor Bill de Blasio is pushing a bill in the City Council that would put a cap on the number of driver’s licenses available to companies like Uber … and now Uber is lashing out at the Mayor in the best way it knows how: through the Uber app.
Uber has added a fake “de Blasio” feature to its app, which is visible only to New York City Uber users. Cars are plentiful in UberPOOL and UberX mode, but on de Blasio mode, the map simply says “No cars available.” Users who click on that message are greeted with another: “This is what Uber will look like in NYC if Mayor de Blasio’s Uber cap bill passes.”
The City Council is expected to vote on the bill, which the de Blasio administration argues would curb traffic congestion in the city, by next week. So it’s no surprise that Uber has also been buying up commercials on local television, with testimonies from hardworking drivers asking New Yorkers to protest the bill. Watch below:
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Uber’s New Fake Feature in NYC Derides Regulators
New York City’s Mayor Bill de Blasio is pushing a bill in the City Council that would put a cap on the number of driver’s licenses available to companies like Uber … and now Uber is lashing out at the Mayor in the best way it knows how: through the Uber app.
Uber has added a fake “de Blasio” feature to its app, which is visible only to New York City Uber users. Cars are plentiful in UberPOOL and UberX mode, but on de Blasio mode, the map simply says “No cars available.” Users who click on that message are greeted with another: “This is what Uber will look like in NYC if Mayor de Blasio’s Uber cap bill passes.”
The City Council is expected to vote on the bill, which the de Blasio administration argues would curb traffic congestion in the city, by next week. So it’s no surprise that Uber has also been buying up commercials on local television, with testimonies from hardworking drivers asking New Yorkers to protest the bill. Watch below:
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Author: Davey Alba.
Business
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Date of Publication: 07.16.15.
07.16.15 -
Time of Publication: 2:37 pm.
2:37 pm
Business Travelers Are Using Ubers More Than Taxis
During my last business trip, I skipped rental cars and cabs and took Ubers everywhere—they were just so cheap! Turns out I wasn’t the only one.
Today, expense software company Certify released its lastest data on how business travelers are spending money. Their report found that for the first time, travelers used Uber more than traditional taxis. Uber accounted for 55 percent of ground transportation receipts submitted by employees versus 43 percent for taxis. (About 1 percent of receipts were for Lyft rides and another 1 percent for other ride-hailing services.) That’s a reversal from last quarter, when Uber had 46 percent of the receipts versus 53 percent for taxis.
The spike in Uber use is also taking a chunk out of the rental car business, according to the report. In the second quarter of 2014, 55 percent of people rented a car while traveling on business; that figure dropped by 10 percent during the same period this year. The receipts don’t lie, Certify says: “Uber is fast evolving to become the preferred choice of business travelers for ground transportation.”
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Business Travelers Are Using Ubers More Than Taxis
During my last business trip, I skipped rental cars and cabs and took Ubers everywhere—they were just so cheap! Turns out I wasn’t the only one.
Today, expense software company Certify released its lastest data on how business travelers are spending money. Their report found that for the first time, travelers used Uber more than traditional taxis. Uber accounted for 55 percent of ground transportation receipts submitted by employees versus 43 percent for taxis. (About 1 percent of receipts were for Lyft rides and another 1 percent for other ride-hailing services.) That’s a reversal from last quarter, when Uber had 46 percent of the receipts versus 53 percent for taxis.
The spike in Uber use is also taking a chunk out of the rental car business, according to the report. In the second quarter of 2014, 55 percent of people rented a car while traveling on business; that figure dropped by 10 percent during the same period this year. The receipts don’t lie, Certify says: “Uber is fast evolving to become the preferred choice of business travelers for ground transportation.”
Source: www.wired.com
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