Uber wants your journey on tape as safety concerns mount May 29, 2026 Uber is turning passengers’ phones into in-car recording devices as the ride-hailing giant introduces a new feature allowing users to capture audio during journeys amid growing concerns around safety and identity verification. From Thursday, riders across the UK were able to press record before or during trips directly through the Uber app, with encrypted audio [...]
HMRC fights to close Bolt’s VAT loophole May 19, 2026 Ride-hailing platform Bolt faces the tax authorities in court today over how it calculates and pays its VAT bill. At the centre of this dispute was the question of whether Bolt could use the tour operators’ margin scheme (TOMS). Under this scheme, businesses only pay VAT on the profit margin they make between buying a [...]
Cabbies face robotaxi squeeze as Addison Lee boss warns of ‘predatory pricing’ March 23, 2026 London’s cabbies could be priced out of the market unless regulators step in to curb “predatory pricing” from deep-pocketed tech giants, the boss of Addison Lee has warned. Chief executive Liam Griffin said companies like Waymo, Wayve or Tesla risk undercutting traditional operators by subsidising fares to win market share, echoing concerns from the early [...]
Wayve raises $1.2bn as self-driving firm gears up for robotaxi launch February 25, 2026 British self-driving car company Wayve has raised $1.2bn (£950m), ticking its valuation up to $8.6bn and marking one of the largest capital raises for a UK AI startup. The funding round was led by Eclipse, Balderton and Softbank Vision Fund 2, with new backing from investors like Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Baillie Gifford, the British [...]
Allica Bank joins fintech unicorn club after £100m injection February 24, 2026 Small business lender Allica Bank will join the illustrious club of British fintech unicorns after securing a fresh funding round. The challenger bank is said to have netted $155m (£111m) in a Series D fundraise, which will take the firm’s valuation to $1.2bn and over the billion pound mark to declare unicorn status. The round [...]
Waymo accelerates London rollout despite US safety probe January 26, 2026 Waymo is stepping up preparations for its UK rollout after its driverless vehicles were spotted on the streets of London, as the Alphabet-owned firm faces safety scrutiny in the US. The self-driving vehicle firm has confirmed it is testing its robotaxis in the capital ahead of a planned passenger launch this year, marking its second [...]
Uber drivers plot exodus as platform swerves ‘taxi tax’ January 13, 2026 Uber is staring down the barrel of a potential driver exodus as members of its fleet threaten to jump ship to rival apps or return to black cabs, following a new year contractual overhaul designed to swerve a huge VAT bill. Documents seen by Morning Wire show a wave of fury in private messaging groups, [...]
Microsoft rides the Wayve as self driving cars hit London streets January 8, 2026 Microsoft announced its strengthened partnership with British born autonomous driving startup Wayve on Thursday, in a move set to bring the tech into commercial use. This collaboration, based largely on Microsoft Azure, provides its infrastructure to both train and operate the AV firm’s AI into complex urban environments such as London. Founded in 2017 in [...]
Robotaxis are coming – how will London respond? January 7, 2026 The planned launch of autonomous ride services, starting with Uber in 2026, marks a major shift for London’s streets, repositioning mobility as a software-governed infrastructure that will redistribute control over pricing, liability and data, says Paul Armstrong A structural shift is forming on London’s streets, and too many businesses are still treating it as a [...]
Uber prices set to soar as ministers introduce VAT crackdown January 2, 2026 Prices on ride hailing apps like Uber are set to soar, after the government ploughed ahead with a promise to apply VAT to online mini cab companies despite warnings from the industry that the move would worsen the cost of living. From Friday, private hire vehicle operators in London will no longer be able to [...]