Google to bring its ride game into Uber's backyard Google will launch a ride service in the Bay Area that will eventually be open to all Waze users near San Francisco this fall. It will be different than Uber and Lyft, operating as a way to connect riders with drivers heading in the same direction, at a rate of 54 cents per mile. (Wall Street Journal)
"Waze". .... I gotta look that one up. Never heard of it. $0.54/mile! Thats dirt cheap! I'm down. Too bad Uber isn't already publicly traded... I'd short the spit out of it.
Judge rejects Uber settlement on rider fees A U.S. District Judge ruled that Uber's proposed settlement of $28.5 million was insufficient because Uber made16 times that amount– $448 million – from a controversial Safe Ride Fee. The fee was introduced as a way to cover the costs of background checks as well as vehicle and insurance checks, but consumers complained the checks were not thorough.(Bloomberg)
John Arnold @JohnArnoldFndtn 5h5 hours ago NYC taxi medallions were trading at >$1 million in 2013. Now offered (with a car) for $350k. Likely on path to $0.
The family car is in free fall The sedan is dying, and the usual cure-all prescription - cash on the hood - isn't working. In one of the U.S. auto industry's best years ever, with sales through August 0.5 percent ahead of last year's record pace, demand for midsize cars is at a five-year low. (Automotive News)
Uber car is not self-driving in S.F., but collecting data Despite the hubbub, Uber isnot testing its self-driving carsin San Francisco, as it prepares for pilot experiments in Pittsburgh. The vehicle spotted in San Francisco is indeed a self-driving car, but it's being used to collect data.(San Francisco Chronicle)
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-uber-autonomous-idUSKCN11K12Y "It plans ultimately to replace many of its 1.5 million drivers with autonomous vehicles." Sure, it will take awhile, maybe even a decade, however Pittsburgh is just the beginning.
Lyft says rides will be fully autonomous within five years Lyft President John Zimmer said that the company would be rolling out self-driving cars in phases. The first, available in 2017,would involve semi-autonomousvehicles driving along along a fixed route; the second would involve cars driving more than just the fixed routes, albeit at slower speeds. Cars will be completely autonomous by the third phase.(Recode)
Report: Lyft takes permanent back seat to Uber in U.S. market Uber dominates 71 percent of the ride market in San Francisco while Lyft trails with 29 percent, according to a report that analyzed purchasing data. Uber "effectively has won the U.S. market"and the gap for Lyft is too great to catch up, the 7Park report concluded. (San Francisco Chronicle)