Uber launches same-day parcel delivery service pilot February 11, 2021 Uber has today launched a new same-day delivery service which will allow users to have their parcels chaffeur-driven to their destination. The service, which is called Uber Connect, will cost the same as ordering a regular Uber X journey. An initial pilot of the programme will begin in Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham. Jamie Heywood, regional [...]
Twitter, Uber and Disney: What to expect in the latest round of tech earnings February 9, 2021 Twitter, Uber and Disney will all be under the spotlight as they report fourth-quarter earnings this week. Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google (known as the FAANGs) all closed the year with bumper results as the tech titans continued to cash in on the pandemic. But it will be a more complicated picture for Twitter, [...]
Uber shares fizz on $1.1bn takeover of alcohol delivery firm Drizly February 2, 2021 Shares in Uber moved up a gear this afternoon after it announced a $1.1bn (£806m) deal to acquire alcohol delivery service Drizly. The deal, which is Uber’s biggest acquisition since it bought rival Postmates last year, will be paid more than 90 per cent through stock, with the remainder paid in cash. Once the transaction [...]
Watchdog opens competition probe into Uber’s Autocab takeover January 29, 2021 The competition watchdog has opened an investigation into Uber’s planned takeover of taxi tech firm Autocab. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) today said it had launched a probe and was inviting views on how the deal could impact the private hire vehicle market in the UK. Stockport-based Autocab sells booking and dispatch software to [...]
Uber offers money off trips to mass-vaccination centres January 18, 2021 Uber will cover up to £15 worth of passengers’ trips to seven mass-vaccination centres in England, including to the Nightingale hospital in London. Customers can book the service by entering the correct promotion code for the mass-vaccination hub they are travelling to in the app ahead of booking their journey. Uber has become the [...]
Uber sells off flying taxi division in drive for profit December 9, 2020 Uber has sold off its loss-making flying taxi division to California-based firm Joby Aviation, the second such disposal the ride-hailing firm has made in two days. In a statement released late last night, Joby said that Uber would invest an extra $75m into the company as part of the acquisition of Elevate. That takes Uber’s [...]
Uber pulls plug on own self-driving car programme December 7, 2020 Uber has abandoned plans to create its own self-driving car, and will instead take a minority stake in Aurora, a driverless vehicle start-up backed by Amazon and Sequoia, an American venture capital firm. Uber will transfer its 1,200-employee self-driving unit to Aurora, which at present has 600 staff, and will invest $400m into the project, [...]
Prop 22: Uber and Lyft win California bid to class drivers as contractors November 4, 2020 Uber and Lyft have secured a major victory today after winning a vote in California that allows the ride-hailing apps to continue classing their drivers as contractors rather than employees. Voters in California yesterday passed Proposition 22, a state ballot measure that will enable companies in the gig economy to bypass labour laws. Roughly 58 [...]
Uber’s back and its rivals will just have to deal with it September 30, 2020 Having scraped by on short-term “emergency licences” for about two years, Uber, the California-based ride-sharing app provider, has been given a “proper” licence to operate in London again, after winning in a crucial appeals case this week. For now, this marks the end of two years of legal limbo. In 2017, Transport for London (TfL) [...]
Uber wins bid to regain London operating licence September 28, 2020 Uber has won its legal bid to regain its licence to operate in London after a long-running court battle. Deputy senior district judge Tan Ikram said that despite its previous failings, the firm was now “fit and proper” to hold a licence. Ikram decided to give the firm a licence to operate for 18 months, [...]