Federal labor lawyer says Uber drivers are not employees There has been an ongoing debate regarding whether or not gig-economy drivers for Uber and Lyft are independent contractors or employees (and eligible for benefits). The National Labor Relations Board recently ruled Uber drivers, specifically between 2015 and 2016, were independent contractors, Bloomberg Law first reported. (TechCrunch)
What science says Uber and Lyft are doing to San Francisco Ride-hailing companies once promised that their services would reduce the number of cars clogging city streets. In fact, the opposite is true in dense parts of cities. Everyone knows that ride-hailing apps have undoubtedly benefited customers, making hailing a ride easier and significantly cheaper than taxi cabs. But are the benefits worth the long-term disruption created by Uber, Lyft and other transportation network companies in San Francisco? (SFGate)
Uber launches submarine rides to Great Barrier Reef For A$3,000 ($2,068), the experience includes being picked up from, and dropped off at, your location via the Uber app, then a helicopter ride to the launch point (either Heron Island or Port Douglas), a one-hour ride in the ScUber submarine, and a half-day of snorkeling and touring the Great Barrier Reef. (Ad Age)
Expecting 1 to 1.1 Billion Lost in Q1... Who is buying this crap ? On pace to lose 4-5 Billion this year
Uber: Competition with Lyft will get 'more healthy' from here On a call with investors, Uber executives addressed some of the question marks surrounding Uber shares going forward, one of them being how much it must spend to maintain its dominant position and to continue growing. "The competition is going to be more healthy, based on brand and product and technology," said Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi in response to an analyst question. (TheStreet)
Uber says IRS probing its 2013-14 tax returns The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is auditing Uber Technologies Inc's taxes for 2013 and 2014 and the ride-hailing company expects unrecognized tax benefits to be reduced within the next year by at least $141 million. (Reuters)
Uber Death More news on the tragic death last year of Arizona pedestrian Elaine Herzberg, who was struck by an Uber self-driving car. Turns out that, per documents released by the National Transportation Safety Board, the car was not programmed to recognize jaywalkers. Incredibly, it also seems Uber's self-driving car program didn't have a safety manager. Fortune
Khosrowshahi's "Mistake" Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in an Axios interview that he thought the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi was a "mistake" by the Saudi government, which happens to be Uber's fifth-biggest shareholder. He also compared it to the accidental killing of a pedestrian by an Uber self-driving vehicle (which, it emerged last week, was not programmed to recognize jaywalkers.) Then he phoned Axios to say he misspoke and "When it comes to Jamal Khashoggi, his murder was reprehensible and should not be forgotten or excused." Axios