Tag: Uber

March 21, 2018

Uber Freight has introduced a discount program that provides savings on fuel, parts and even new and used truck purchases to carriers using its load-matching mobile app. Offers available through the Uber Freight Plus program include a fuel card provided […]

March 19, 2018

A self-driving car from Uber Technologies Inc. hit and killed a woman in Tempe, Arizona, on March 18 evening, what is likely the first pedestrian fatality involving a driverless vehicle. The woman was crossing the road when the Uber vehicle, […]

March 6, 2018

Uber Technologies Inc. announced that its self-driving commercial trucks are now conducting regular freight hauls in Arizona through the Uber Freight network. Automated trucks operated by Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group are moving loads across the state in both directions on […]

February 28, 2018

It’s the question on the lips of just about everybody involved in the transportation business—and a few who aren’t. The ranks of those offering ride-sharing services have swelled far beyond the likes of Uber and Lyft, past the self-driving gurus […]

February 23, 2018

ONCE UPON A time, car companies were in charge of, you know, building cars. They put that widget against that gizmo and bolted and screwed until the whole thing hanged together—a thing you could buy and own and drive. No […]

February 21, 2018

TODAY, UBER IS launching its latest innovation in ride-hailing, one it has spent the past year spinning up. There’s new tech architecture, a novel user interfaces, and in-app intro schemes to teach the rider how to use the new service. […]

February 16, 2018

AH, LIFE IN a capitalist democracy. We vote with our ballots and send people to Washington, entrusting them to make the sort of decisions of which we would approve. And we vote with our wallets, hoping the executives in charge […]

February 9, 2018

IN A YEAR-LONG litigation process that featured alleged theft, mysterious deleted text messages, and the odd reference to Burning Man, Friday’s twist was perhaps the most unexpected of all: On the fifth day in court, Waymo accepted a settlement in […]

February 6, 2018

Waymo and Uber lawyers squared off in a federal court on Feb. 5 on the first day of a bombshell trade-secret theft case. The suit by Waymo, the self-driving unit of Google parent Alphabet, alleges that Uber stole technology crucial […]

February 1, 2018

“Usually we don’t do this during rush hour,” says Ben Shukman. He’s driving a Lincoln MKZ sedan, trying to exit a gas station driveway and cross four lanes of traffic so he can make a left at the light 20 […]

January 31, 2018

THIS IS HOW quickly transportation has changed in urban America. In July 2010, a service called UberCab went live in San Francisco—that’s fewer than eight years ago. Washington, DC’s Capital Bikeshare, the country’s largest bike-sharing program, really got off the […]

January 25, 2018

OVER THE PAST few years, Uber has schemed to boost its self-driving efforts by spying on rivals, poaching staff, and acquiring their software, according to newly released court documents. Though competitor intelligence work is standard among large companies, the details […]

January 12, 2018

ONCE UPON A time, the Consumer Electronics Show was about personal gadgets: fancy phones, curving televisions, college-educated refrigerators. But in recent years cars have become the stars, and the auto industry has taken its place in Vegas. This week at […]

December 28, 2017

A WORLD DOMINATED by self-driving cars is no longer just possible, it’s inevitable. And the proof is everywhere. In Arizona, where Waymo (formerly known as Google’s self-driving car project) is testing minivans sans humans inside. In Boston, where Lyft and […]

December 20, 2017

LAST FRIDAY, THE Northern District Court of California finally posted a long-awaited document, a letter written by the lawyer of an ex-Uber security employee. It was a doozy, a 37-page compendium of alleged criminal and unsavory activity witnessed by that […]

December 6, 2017

A U.S. district judge wants to determine why Uber failed to turn over some explosive evidence as it battled a lawsuit alleging it stole self-driving car secrets. Judge William Alsup, overseeing the case brought against Uber by Waymo, the self-driving […]

December 1, 2017

This past May, I discussed factors that may be contributing to a disturbing trend in recent years — declining bus patronage — and ways to combat it. We know that it is not confined to bus operations, as some rail […]

November 30, 2017

WHEN WAYMO, THE autonomous car company once known as Google’s self-driving car outfit, announced it was suing Uber for trade secret theft in February, the action seemed to center on a single person: Anthony Levandowski. According to Waymo, the former […]

November 9, 2017

AT AROUND 4 pm yesterday, I headed into battle. I climbed into the tank sitting in my driveway (you might call it a car) and ventured out into the hellscape known as Los Angeles traffic. Over the next 90 minutes, […]

October 24, 2017

BACK IN YE olden times, beckoning a ride with a phone tap was for the 1-ish percent. Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick says he launched his world-shaking app back in 2009 so he could look über-rich and powerful. “We just […]