Friday, March 29

Tag: cab aggregator

Chinese Cab Rider Didi to Test Self-Driving Cars in California
USA

Chinese Cab Rider Didi to Test Self-Driving Cars in California

Didi Chuxing, Chinese largest cab riding company has been given the go-ahead to test autonomous driving cars in California on May 10 according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles' website. The move has come in the wake of US rival Uber being given a suspension for its driverless car programme across North America after a fatal collision accident of a pedestrian early this March. Additionally, the cab-hailing major is itself facing issues over safety concerns and has given a halt to is pooling service-Hitch for a week post-murder of one of its cab rider that created an outcry over Chinese social media. Post the go-ahead with permits, Didi will become the 53rd company to receive a permit to test autonomous vehicles in California. The Chinese cab aggregator had opened its ...
China’s Ride Aggregator Didi Halts Domestic Services for a Week
CHINA

China’s Ride Aggregator Didi Halts Domestic Services for a Week

China's Largest Ride Aggregator Service, Didi Chuxing has reported to halt one of its domestic services for over a week following a death of female passenger that sparked questions on safety this Friday. The killing of a 21-year-old flight attendant in the central province of Henan last week diverted attention leading to an intense debate over China's social media that became the most talked about topic microblog platform Weibo in no time. The case has given birth to questions over safety concerns challenging ride-sharing company, Didi as it takes on rivals such as Uber Technologies Inc. Didi is backed by Apple Inc and Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. The company has also apologised as it is about to suspend its Hitch service- a pooling service for passengers and drivers going to the ...
Ola Acquires Public Transport App to Compete With Uber
ACQUISITION

Ola Acquires Public Transport App to Compete With Uber

Ola, the Indian Ride Hailing company announced that the firm acquired public transport app, Ridlr whose software will be integrated in Ola and bring new facilities to users in helping with their commuting needs. This acquisition consolidates Ola’s efforts in digitalizing the public transport facilities in India and is undoubtedly an additional asset for the Indian ride hailing company to compete with their main competitor Uber as the competition between the two platforms intensifies week in, week out. Ridlr is an app that allows its users to search and book several public transport facilities on their smartphones. The platform’s patented Internet of Things (IoT) facilities allows digitalization of Indian public transport. Launched in 2009 by Ravi Khemani and Brijraj Vaghani, the plat...
Ola Shutting Down its Bus Unit ‘Shuttle’
News

Ola Shutting Down its Bus Unit ‘Shuttle’

Indian cab aggregator Ola has announced that it is shutting down its bus unit Ola Shuttle, as a part of a "re-balancing" of its mobility portfolio, reported Economic Times. Ola's Shuttle bus service will now be terminated in cities of Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata,Hyderabad and Chennai. The news is surprising as the SoftBank backed Ola on the other hand has raised massive amount of funding which could have sufficed if it wanted to keep the engine running. Ola is also focusing on global expansion, starting from Australia. Ola had sent notifications to their customers in the above stated cities, informing them that the Ola Shuttle services will no longer be available starting February 3. The drivers were instructed to return their smartphones, GPS Devices and cameras later by the week ...
Ola Now Plans To Expand To Australian Market
News

Ola Now Plans To Expand To Australian Market

Indian cab aggregator Ola is set to go international with the launch of its operations in Australia in the coming weeks, a move that will further intensify its battle with US-based rival Uber. The SoftBank-backed firm is now onboarding private hire vehicle owners onto its platform in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, Ola said in a statement. Ola plans to launch its services in Australia in early 2018, it added. It will share further details of the commencement of commercial operations -- subject to necessary regulatory approvals -- later. "We are very excited about launching Ola in Australia and see immense potential for the ride-sharing ecosystem which embraces new technology and innovation," Ola co-founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal said. He added that the company aims to "create...
Ride-Hailing Firm Grab Launches Services In Cambodia
News

Ride-Hailing Firm Grab Launches Services In Cambodia

Ride-hailing firm Grab, the biggest Southeast Asian rival of Uber Technologies Inc, on Tuesday said it has launched services in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, expanding its presence to an eighth country in the region. The Singapore-headquartered firm said it signed a memorandum of understanding with Cambodia’s Ministry of Public Works and Transport to support infrastructure development. The launch marks the latest development in a quick-moving industry, coming just three months after Uber likewise began services in what the World Bank ranks as the sixth-fastest expanding economy. In October, Grab secured $700 million in debt financing to expand its fleet and signed an exclusive partnership with Singapore public transport operator SMRT. Earlier this month, Singapore taxi firm ComfortDelG...
Uber Hacking Cover-Up Collides With SoftBank Deal, Triggers Probes Worldwide
USA

Uber Hacking Cover-Up Collides With SoftBank Deal, Triggers Probes Worldwide

A newspaper advertisement for an Uber Technologies Inc stock sale was juxtaposed on Wednesday with a report that the ride-service provider had covered up a data hack – something of a metaphor for Uber, a company with boundless investor interest, but whose penchant for rule-breaking has led to a series of scandals. The stock sale advertised in the New York Times will enable Uber investors to sell their shares to Japanese investor SoftBank, a critical deal for the company whose problems included building software to spy on competitors and to evade regulators and being investigated in Asia for paying bribes. Uber on Tuesday said that it had paid hackers $100,000 to destroy data on more than 57 million customers and drivers that was stolen from the company – and decided under the previou...
Uber Paid Hackers $100,000, Concealed Data Stolen From 57 Million Accounts
News

Uber Paid Hackers $100,000, Concealed Data Stolen From 57 Million Accounts

Uber Technologies Inc paid hackers $100,000 to keep secret a massive breach last year that exposed the data of some 57 million accounts of the ride-service provider, the company said on Tuesday. Discovery of the company’s cover-up of the incident resulted in the firing of two employees who led Uber’s response to the hack, said Dara Khosrowshahi, who was named CEO in August following the departure of founder Travis Kalanick. Khosrowshahi said he had only recently learned of the breach, which happened in October 2016.  "None of this should have happened, and I will not make excuses for it," Khosrowshahi said in a blog post on the company website. The company’s admission that it failed to disclose the breach comes as Uber seeks to recover from sexual harassment allegations and mul...
Will SoftBank Ditch Uber And Invest In Rival Lyft?
BUSINESS

Will SoftBank Ditch Uber And Invest In Rival Lyft?

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son on Monday said he could still walk away from the deal between SoftBank Group Corp and Uber, after the negotiations for stake in the cab aggregator platform. He also added that perhaps the company may even invest in Uber's rival Lyft. “Depending on the price and conditions, it is wholly possible we could shift our investment to the other main company Lyft. It is wholly possible,” Son said at a press conference following SoftBank’s second-quarter earnings. “We won’t know until the very end.” The negotiations are on regarding the price of the stakes in Uber, half of which will come from existing Uber shareholders, and if arriving at a price becomes difficult, he will invest in Lyft Inc. He also mentioned about the conditions such as the number of board members, th...
Uber’s European Policy Chief Christopher Burghardt Quits
News

Uber’s European Policy Chief Christopher Burghardt Quits

Uber’s European policy chief Christopher Burghardt has quit to join the electric vehicle charging network company Chargepoint, the latest senior figure to leave the taxi app, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. Burghardt, the head of policy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, departs after less than two years with the group, and will become managing director for Chargepoint in Europe in November, the FT said. No one was immediately available from Uber to comment. RELATED Now Uber’s Chief Legal Officer Set To Leave The Company Earlier this month, Uber’s top boss in Britain also quit the Silicon Valley company, which was told last month by London’s transport regulator (TfL) that its license to operate in the British capital would not be renewed. It is appealing t...