Uber expansion: Lessons on how to rapidly scale March 29, 2015 How does a business scale in five years, from operations in one city to a presence in over 280? Uber, the Silicon Valley tech firm, has done just that – in the meantime disrupting the entire private car hire industry. What lessons does it offer other ambitious firms? Uber is a local service operating on [...]
High Court ruling on taximeters could spell the end for Uber as we know it March 28, 2015 An application by Transport for London (TfL) to the High Court could put the brakes on Uber services in London, and it all comes down to taximeters. These are the small boxes with which taxi drivers calculate the fare over the course of a journey, and the law states that in London they can only [...]
Uber bets on India growth with media deal March 23, 2015 UBER has partnered with the publisher of the Times of India newspaper in a bid to shore up its position in the lucrative market – its largest outside the US. The tie up includes commercial arrangements for marketing and distribution through Times Internet, the digital arm of the Times of India Group, as the taxi [...]
Uber targets second largest market growth with Times of India partnership March 23, 2015 Uber has partnered with the publisher of the Times of India newspaper in a bid to shore up its position in the lucrative market – its largest outside the US. The tie up includes commercial arrangements for marketing and distribution through Times Internet, the digital arm of the Times of India Group, as the taxi [...]
Uber’s Paris offices “raided” by police March 18, 2015 It's been a bad week for Uber. After reports emerged this morning that several executives in its South Korean arm had been charged with running an illegal taxi firm, and being banned in Germany for a second time, now it transpires the ride-sharing company was raided by police this week. Around 30 [...]
Uber banned for the second time in Germany March 18, 2015 In what seems to be a never-ending back and forth Uber has officially been banned in Germany – again. A regional court in Frankfurt ruled that Uber's low-cost ride-sharing service UberPop is now banned throughout the country. The case was brought by taxi union Taxi Deutschland that been battling Uber for over a year. Dieter [...]
Uber’s chief executive is among 30 charged with operating illegal taxi ring in South Korea March 18, 2015 Uber has come under fire for operating an “illegal taxi ring” in South Korea. According to Yonhap News Agency, Seoul District Police have charged 30 people associated with the company, including chief executive Travis Kalanick. Others range from Uber Korea's brand manager to the heads of car rental companies and a number of drivers. [...]
Uber’s finance chief Brent Callinicos is leaving the taxi startup March 16, 2015 Uber’s finance chief Brent Callinicos is driving off into the sunset and leaving one of the most highly valued tech startups in the world in the rear-view mirror. The former Google executive who has been with Uber for less than two years will stay on as an advisor, chief executive Travis Kalanick told investors. “Almost [...]
Gotham Air is Uber for helicopters March 13, 2015 Pills, pets, hot stone massages – there's an Uber for all of them. But now the "hail something from your smartphone" model has gone considerably more upmarket, after the launch of Gotham Air – an Uber for helicopters. Admittedly hailing a helicopter comes with more conditions than hailing a cab. Firstly, at the moment it's [...]
Uber rival Lyft valued at over £1.5bn March 12, 2015 TAXI APP Lyft has raised $530m (£353.6m) from a new funding round, softening the blow dealt by a US judge’s ruling against the ride-sharing service. Lyft is now valued at more than $2.5bn after the round led by Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten closed this week. Rakuten now owns an 11.9 per cent stake in the [...]