Uber trials use of Bop It toys to curb attacks on drivers

Drunk taxi passengers aren’t exactly a new phenomena, but Uber has come up with a novel solution. In the US city of Charlotte in North Carolina, the company is reportedly experimenting with children’s toys to divert potentially aggressive intoxicated passengers.

“An intoxicated rider who is engaged in something interesting is less likely to be irritable and aiming aggression at the driver,” Joe Sullivan, Uber’s chief security officer told The Guardian.

If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of the Bop It, the toy was first released in the 1990s and consists of a number of knobs and buttons to pull, twist and “bop” on command. The idea is that leaving the toy on the back seat will occupy intoxicated passengers and prevent them from distracting, and potentially assaulting, drivers.

In January, a woman in Miami was filmed attacking her driver, while in November 2015 a man in California was filmed and consequently sued for beating up his driver. Personally, a noisy toy doesn’t seem like the subtlest tool to prevent driver distractions, but in terms of assault, it could be a simple way to deflate potentially aggressive situations before they escalate.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=hf4AAcZwW8k

 

Uber will soon let users hire helicopters

Uber is teaming up with Airbus so it can provide customers with helicopters as part of its on-demand ferrying services.

This “pilot project” could blossom into something far larger if it’s successful, but, for now, the two companies will pair up at this year’s Sundance Film Festival in Utah this week, The Wall Street Journal reports. Users will be able to schedule helicopter flights to their destinations, with an Uber taking them from their location to the landing pad and back again.

As you can imagine, pricing for the service hasn’t been made public just yet. During past helicopter tests at Cannes Film Festival, Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival and between Manhattan and the Hamptons, Uber has charged between several hundred to several thousands of dollars per ride. If this service does expand outside of Sundance, don’t expect it to be cheap.

Uber Trip Experiences want to entertain you from A to B

Unless your life is extremely dull, getting an Uber is simply an efficient way of getting from A to B rather than a form of entertainment. Still, given you need a smartphone to book an Uber, the company is looking at ways of making things more integrated and has announced Uber Trip Experiences.

The idea, according to the company, is to connect “riders with their favourite apps at the start of a trip when they may have some time to spare”. With that in mind, they’re opening up their API to developers trying to make this a reality. For those lacking inspiration, the company has come up with a few suggestions, including musical playlists that exactly mirror the journey length, enough news to fill a commute, unlockable emojis, offers for local businesses and IoT style functionality, such as turning up the heating when you’re heading home.

“We know that people’s time is precious and sometimes passengers just want to sit back and relax in peace. So users will be in complete control,” explains Uber’s Chris Saad in a blog post announcing the developments. “They will need to give permission before any app can connect to Uber and access their trip details. And if they find it’s not useful, users will be able to turn off the feature on an app by app basis.”

Interested developers can dig into the API details here, which explains the information developers will have access to and the restrictions of the program. Developers are encouraged not to kill the battery or spam customers, and told they can only store trip data for a maximum of half an hour.

Uber describes this as the “biggest update to the Uber API since the release of our Ride Request API”, and it’ll be interesting to see if developers pick up the baton and come up with ideas beyond the company’s suggestions. Whether commuters actually use the functionality, rather than curating their own music and reading material, will ultimately see whether this approach sinks or swims, though.

Images: Uber

Is this human passenger drone the Uber of the future?

Automated drone-copters may sound like something from the pages of a science fiction novel, but Chinese startup EHang claims to have made one. Here it is hovering above a suitably dystopian vista.

The Guangzhou-based company has launched the EHang 184 at CES 2016 – a scaled up electric quadcopter that’s large enough to carry a human. EHang says the drone is able to take a single passenger for around 23 minutes, with a maximum altitude of 3.5km and a top speed of 63mph, all simply by entering a destination into its accompanying smartphone app.

The EHang 184 can allegedly negotiate obstacles all by itself, but if something does end up going wrong there are no controls for the passenger to take over. Instead, the company says a remote control centre will be used to safely land the vehicle.

No controls. This is the future. It’s all or nothing.

“It’s been a lifetime goal of mine to make flight faster, easier and more convenient than ever. The 184 provides a viable solution to the many challenges the transportation industry faces in a safe and energy efficient way,” said EHang CEO Huazhi Hu. “I truly believe that EHang will make a global impact across dozens of industries beyond personal travel. The 184 is evocative of a future we’ve always dreamed of and is primed to alter the very fundamentals of the way we get around.”

The drone was decidedly fixed to the ground in Las Vegas, seeing as it hasn’t been tested and approved by the FAA. The promotional footage to go alongside it doesn’t actually show it carrying a person, so its actual capabilities are a little up in the air (groan)

It may look like DLC for Fallout 4, but the company apparently intends to sell it for $200,000 to $300,000 this year. Even if it were capable of safely carrying a terrified human across the post-apocalyptic wasteland, the legal minefield – let alone the air-control practicalities – would present sizeable barriers to release.

Would you even want to go for a trip in an autonomous human-sized drone without backup controls? Let us know below.

NEXT: Catch up with the latest CES news here 

Uber “does not break law”, rules High Court

A High Court ruling has found that the Uber app isn’t a “taximeter”, removing one potential legal obstacle for the on-demand taxi service.

TfL brought the case an attempt to clarify the issue following pressure from taxi drivers in the capital, who accused the company of breaking the law by using the Uber app as a taximeter – a right reserved for traditional black cab drivers. As part of the ruling, the judge said that the definition of a taximeter doesn’t encompass “smartphones that rely on data from a server outside the vehicle.” 

In response to the ruling, a spokesperson for the company said: “This was not a marginal call, it [the High Court] is quite emphatic in the fact it is contemptuous of the case bought before it.”

TfL had previously said that it was bringing to case to court “in the public interest”. Today’s ruling is separate from TfL’s consultation on taxi apps.

Launch in Glasgow

Uber may be embroiled in a long-running dispute with black cab firms in London, but that isn’t stopping the multi-billion dollar US firm from expanding into Scotland. The taxi app announced today that – as of 4pm – citizens of Glasgow will be able to request UberX rides.

Glasgow may be the first Scottish city to get Uber service, but it is likely that Edinburgh will soon join the list of UK cities with Uber coverage. In February, The Scotsman reported that the taxi app was planning a Scottish launch in both Edinburgh and Glasgow. 

Uber faces massive clampdown from TfL in London

Transport for London (TfL) is launching a consultation that could result in stringent new rules against Uber’s current business model.

The proposed rules, seen by The Telegraph, encompass the introduction of a minimum five-minute waiting time between ordering a vehicle and it arriving, and limits on ride-sharing – both of which seem to be direct confrontations against Uber and its UberPool service.

The consultation will also consider rules on having to advise passengers of a fixed fare at the beginning of their journey, as well as making it compulsory for minicab drivers to show a working knowledge of London’s streets.

Pressure has been building against Uber and other app-based minicab companies from London black-cab drivers, who say the structure of the service breaches rules that ban minicab drivers from calculating fares using meters.  

“In recent years the private hire industry has grown exponentially and technology has also developed rapidly,” said Garrett Emmerson, chief operating officer for surface transport at TfL. “The consultation sets out a number of ways that standards across the industry could be raised, ensuring Londoners can continue to benefit from the service provided by licensed private hire vehicles. No final decisions have been made and we’re keen to hear a range of views from the trade and from Londoners too.”

Labour’s candidate for Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said he hoped the proposed rules would “help protect Londoners and London’s historic taxi trade”.

Uber were predictably less keen, with a spokesperson commenting that the proposals are “designed to address the concerns of black-cab drivers, who are feeling squeezed due to competition. But the answer is to reduce onerous regulations, not increase them.”

The larger question is whether or not harsher rules can really curb the rise of new business models. Regulating the rapid expansion of private drivers in the capital may be necessary to prevent congestion, but whether or not a new paradigm can be brought into line using an older model remains to be seen.

The consultation runs for 12 weeks, ending on 23 December 2015.

Uber is making an iPhone game to train its drivers

Do you have what it takes to be an Uber driver? Now you can find out.

The international minicab company has just released UberDRIVE – an iPhone game that puts users behind the wheel one of 16,000 San Francisco-based Uber taxis.

The Game

The premise is simple. Players must deliver passengers from A to B using the quickest, most efficient route possible – while watching out for hazards. Tapping on intersections and identifying landmarks will gain you extra points, and collecting passengers in “surge” areas will add a multiplier to your score – so you can net even bigger points.

The more points and challenges you complete, the more Uber cars and areas of the city you can unlock.

Why?

Uber hopes the game will recruit new drivers, and it’s even possible to sign up from within the app – but it’s primarily aimed at improving the skills of existing Uber drivers.

“UberDRIVE was designed as a fun and engaging resource for our driver-partners to hone their navigation skills if they choose to,” reads an entry on the company’s blog. “It’s also a great way for prospective drivers to experience firsthand what it’s like to drive with Uber.”

The game is powered by the accurate Google Maps service, so routes and skills drivers learn in the game will help sharpen up their real-life navigation skills. According to The New York Times, the game was made by employee Mike Truong as a side project – but it could form part of a longer-term project. UberDRIVE is currently limited to the US App Store and only features the streets of San Francisco, but Uber has promised to add other cities if there’s demand.

Futuristic Uber spotted in Pittsburgh – what was it up to? 

Uber has been rather open about its interest in autonomous cars. So when what looks like a self-driving car prototype was spotted on the streets of Pittsburgh, it wasn’t surprising that people started making assumptions. False assumptions, as it turned out.

Spotted by the Pittsburgh Business Times, the mysterious Ford Mondeo – with “Uber Advanced Technologies Centre” emblazoned on its side – was sporting an array of roof-mounted sensors for gathering data. Going from the photo snapped by PBT, and its description, it sounds as though the device on the roof was a Lidar (light detection and ranging) sensor, used for mapping surroundings.

While Google’s self-driving vehicle prototypes used near-identical Lidar sensors, Uber has stated that the vehicle spotted is doing nothing more than mapping the surrounding area. “This vehicle is part of our early research efforts regarding mapping, safety and autonomy systems,” said Uber spokeswoman Trina Smith in a statement to PBT.

Autonomous-car enthusiasts can continue to remain hopeful, however, as Uber hasn’t dismissed its involvement in developing self-driving cars – the key part of Smith’s statement being Uber’s focus on researching “autonomy systems”.

We hope to hear more about Uber’s plans in the near future.

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Uber is changing, and its Facebook-sized $50bn valuation makes its tech plans possible

Despite the controversy surrounding Uber Technologies’ urban taxi service, it’s undeniable how much of an impact it’s had. That’s why news of its aims to raise between $1.5 billion and $2 billion in new funding isn’t as an absurd a leap as it sounds.

If the funding round is successful, and it most certainly will be as Uber is the most successfully-funded startup around, Uber can expect to be valued at a whopping $50 billion. The news comes from The Wall Street Journal, and is verified by Bloomberg and The New York Times, where an unnamed source spills the beans on Uber’s most recent investors briefing.

While the gargantuan valuation places it in the same realms as Facebook’s 2011 valuation by Goldman Sachs, it’s worth noting that Uber has been losing money instead of growing it. However, it’s the potential of Uber’s command over transportation that’s seen its previous funding rounds sail by so successfully.

According to The New York Times’ unnamed source, this round of funding is noteworthy because Uber is using it to form partnerships and expand its business reach.

We already know of Uber’s intentions in the self-driving car space, having founded the Uber Advanced Technologies Center in collaboration with the Carnegie Mellon University. Here Uber will look into “autonomy technology”, which makes sense as driverless cars means more passengers, higher earnings and no legal quibbles around passenger safety with unvetted drivers.

Uber has also put in a bid of $3 billion to acquire Nokia’s Here maps service. With this it would unshackle it from Google Maps, helping it rely less on third-party technologies to run its business. This wouldn’t just help drivers, it’d also be integral into building the autonomous fleet Uber seems to be working towards.

But what else could Uber be looking into grabbing with this new round of funding? It certainly makes sense for it to move across into the logistics space. It already has the infrastructure needed in terms of city-based drivers, and it could easily usurp the likes of courier services like CitySprint, Shutl or London’s Addison Lee by being cheaper and more flexible.

Already Uber is muscling into the food delivery space, offering takeaway delivery in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City and Barcelona. It’s not too difficult to imagine it expanding into serving local shops or couriering items from one office to another within the same city.

With integration into Outlook for booking transportation for meetings, Uber’s business user base is about to grow even more. So, what initially seemed like a steep overvaluation is, in reality, rather reasonable if Uber’s aims take off. Perhaps in just a couple of years time it will be giving Google’s driverless cars and Amazon’s drone service a run for their money.

Why are people trying to ban Uber?

It’s been a bad week for online taxi firm Uber. The company has been banned from operating throughout Spain and Thailand, services are also suspended in New Delhi and the Indian state of Telangana, and the company is facing court action in Los Angeles and its home town of San Francisco.

Could this trend spell the end of the one-time darling of Silicon Valley? Or is it just a hiccup on the road to glory?

Here we analyse each accusation and ask if Uber’s legal troubles could drive it out of business.

Accusation: Uber fuels the shadow economy

That Uber fuels the shadow economy is the main accusation levelled against the company in Spain.

During a 24-hour protest staged by licensed taxi drivers across Spain, El Mundo reported the taxi drivers in Madrid raised a banner claiming Uber’s operations are “illegal”, because they fuel the black economy – and it seems the Spanish government may agree.

On 9 December 2014, a judge in Madrid’s High Court suspended Uber’s operations nationwide while it considers whether the company is engaging in unfair competition.

The Spanish National Markets and Competition Commission is simultaneously considering whether the company is breaking Spanish Law, both with regard to taxation and the shadow economy, as well as whether Uber should be regulated in the same way other public transport is across Spain.

To try and enforce the ban, credit and debit card companies operating in Spain have been instructed to refuse to process transactions for Uber, and telecoms companies are prohibited from transmitting data to the company or providing any hosting services for it. However, the company is refusing to comply, calling the decision a “highly irregular preliminary ruling”, and saying services will continue as normal (see “Uber’s Response” below for full details).

The company told PC Pro it complies with all applicable tax laws and, as it operates a cashless model, it brings “greater transparency to an industry that has been traditionally cash based”.

Accusation: Uber operates without regard for the law

In Thailand, Uber and rival internet taxi services have been shut down by the country’s Department of Land Transport (DLT). Their drivers allegedly aren’t registered or insured to drive a commercial vehicle, which is necessary under Thai law, if you’re picking up a paying customer.

Uber isn’t helped by the fact that its credit card payment service doesn’t comply with Thai regulations.

According to Reuters, anyone using a personal vehicle for commercial purposes could be fined 2,000 Thai Baht (£39), with the DLT apparently working to implement higher penalties.

A similar accusation has been made in Portland, Oregon, where Uber is alleged to have launched its service illegally in the city.

Portland’s mayor, Charlie Hales, took to Facebook to denounce Uber’s behaviour, saying: “People should know that Uber’s action is illegal. The city will enforce existing regulations. That could include fines for the company, as well as fines for drivers.”

“The City of Portland needs to create policies that ensure safety and access for everyone. We want to make sure such policies do not adversely impact the low-income immigrant populations that currently drive taxis,” he added.

Uber’s operations have also been halted in Las Vegas by a temporary court order. It’s also launched in Austin, Texas, and Miami, Florida, despite official bans, although both cities are yet to take court action.

Accusation: Uber is unsafe

This accusation has been levelled against Uber in India, California and, once again, Spain.

While Uber seems to be taking the Spanish and Californian accusations on the chin, the situation is rather more serious with regard to the Indian capital state of Delhi, following the alleged rape of a 27-year-old woman by an Uber driver on 5 December 2014.

According to a police statement reported by The Hindu, the driver beat and raped the woman after trapping her in his car, and threatened to kill her if she reported the attack to the police.

On 9 December, the police in Delhi announced they had issued Uber with an immediate cease and desist notice, banning it from operating within the state of Delhi, which Uber voluntarily complied with on 11 December.

An alleged case of serious assault in San Francisco, where an Uber rider has claimed he was bludgeoned with a hammer by his driver after a dispute over the route taken, is another possible complicating factor. The driver has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon – to which he has pleaded not guilty.

The case is yet to be heard, but, depending on the outcome, it could define what level of liability Uber bears for any attacks carried out by its drivers.

Accusation: Uber defrauds and misleads its customers

Uber is facing this accusation in both its home city of San Francisco and Los Angeles.

The district attorneys of both cities filed a joint consumer protection lawsuit on 9 December 2014, which alleges the company has made “false or misleading statements to consumers and [engaged] in a variety of business practices which violate California Law”.

Specifically, it’s claimed that Uber has made misleading statements about the background checks performed on its drivers and, in doing so, falsely charged a $1 “Safe Rides Fee”. The $4 “airport fee toll” charged for driving passengers to airports, even when the driver doesn’t pay the toll, has also been questioned.

A joint statement from the attorneys said: “Uber has refused to comply with straightforward California laws that protect consumers from fraud and harm. These companies can be innovative in the way they deliver services without ignoring the laws that protect the public.”

Uber’s response

An Uber spokesperson has provided PC Pro with a comprehensive response to the bans imposed by Spain and Thailand.

With regard to the legal action in Spain, the representative said: “This is a highly irregular preliminary ruling in a commercial court proceeding brought against us by a taxi association in Madrid.

“Competition regulators in Spain and across the European Union have called for full deregulation of the taxi industry, which currently acts as a barrier to consumer choice and economic opportunity.”

The spokesperson said that, while Uber “will continue to comply with Spanish legislation” it has “decided to oppose this irregular commercial court ruling … [and] will continue to offer its services to Spanish consumers while we formulate our opposition to this measure”.

In response to the Thai ban on its services, Uber said: “We want to keep Thailand moving forward in a way that increases safety and reduces congestion.”

“Uber respects the DLT and its important role as the key regulator on vehicle-for-hire transport in Thailand [and looks] forward to … [providing] transportation solutions within the appropriate regulatory framework in Thailand.”

With regard to the action being taken in California, the spokesperson said only: “Uber is transforming the way people move around their cities, with millions of trips happening every week. In the US alone, 14 jurisdictions have now adopted permanent regulatory frameworks for ridesharing, a transportation alternative that didn’t even exist 4 years ago.

“We have hard work ahead in other markets but we are committed to the riders and drivers in those cities who want safe, reliable, hassle-free options.”

PC Pro was directed towards an official blog, which was published in the wake of the alleged Delhi rape case. In it, Uber acknowledges it “must do better and [is] conducting a full audit of [its] verification, rider feedback and support processes” in India.

“Safety is our top priority. We are fully committed to partnering with and are in discussions with the government, other transportation organisations and safety experts in India to implement robust solutions to ensure a safe ride,” Uber said.

Uber protests: why the app angers taxi drivers

If you were thinking of getting a cab in central London this afternoon – or even just trying to drive through it – you may want to take the tube, instead.

This afternoon, up to 12,000 cab drivers in London will be on strike, blocking the city’s streets in protest against Uber – the Silicon Valley taxi app recently valued at $18 billion (£10.7 billion).

Uber lets users find a local private car to pick them up and drive them for an agreed fee, which is paid directly via the app.

According to the drivers and the organisations representing them, Uber undermines private hire licensing arrangements, health and safety regulations, puts passengers at risk, and – of course – cuts into their profits.

While the cabbies’ protests may seek to bring London to a standstill, we’ll be on hand to get Londoners from A to B

London’s black cab drivers are not alone – their counterparts in Berlin, Madrid, and Paris are also taking action today in what, according to Bloomberg Businessweek, could be the biggest coordinated cabbie protest ever.

Similar protests have happened in Los Angeles and Boston, Massachusetts.

Income protection and legal questions

Many of the complaints centre on protecting taxi drivers’ bottom line.

One long-time London black cab driver Mick Fitz told Reuters Uber drivers are “killing [black cab drivers] off, starving us out”.

Steve Garelick, president of the professional drivers branch of the GMB union, pointed out that London taxi drivers are “paying for legitimate licenses in their district”, which Uber drivers are not obliged to pay for.

“GMB is also concerned about the unusual situation which seems to be in place for VAT and Non VAT registered drivers too,” Garelick said, comparing Uber to “Amazon, Starbucks and others who obfuscate UK tax payments”.

A particular bone of contention is that the Uber app acts as a taximeter – something that only licensed black cabs have been allowed to use since 1998.

Transport for London (TfL) has argued, however, that Uber’s vehicles are not equipped with taximeters as described in the legislation, as there is not “some sort of connection between the device and the vehicle”. While the case has been referred to the High Court in the UK, at a European level the EU has come down against banning the apps.

Safety concerns

Aside from financial and regulatory concerns, cabs are complaining that unregistered drivers aren’t safe.

The Licensed Private Hire Car Association (LPHCA) launched a “Keep Cabs Safe” Facebook campaign in response to the proliferation of what it calls “cowboy cab apps masquerading as technology companies”.

GMB’s Garelick pointed to the fact that Uber drivers are not subjected to a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check as taxi drivers are.

Julio Moreno, president of the Madrid Trade Association, which represents nearly 60% licensed drivers in the Spanish capital told El País: “Nobody is controlling whether or not [Uber drivers] spend all day and night working without a break, what kind of state their vehicle is in, or what kind of training they’ve had. There is no guarantee for the consumer.”

Offering an olive branch

Uber’s reaction to the London protest has been mixed. The company’s UK general manager Jo Bertram took the opportunity to promote the service, and stick the boot into black cab drivers, telling the Guardian: “Wednesday will be treated like any other busy period for us, and our London team is all set to keep the city moving.”

“While the cabbies’ protests may seek to bring London to a standstill, we’ll be on hand to get Londoners from A to B,” Bertram added.

However, the company now seems to have changed tack, offering an olive branch in the shape of UberTAXI, a fourth service tier on Uber that lets users book and pay for a black cab through the app.

Pricing follows the same fare rates as those set out by TfL, with no booking fees or additional charges for clients and a flat commission of 5% for drivers.

Disruption necessary

European digital commissioner Neelie Kroes took to Twitter to argue the economy needs disruptive forces like Uber:

The app has not been so lucky elsewhere, however. On 5 June, the Commonwealth of Virginia issued Uber with a cease-and-desist letter, warning that Uber drivers face being fined if caught.

Similarly, in Australia, Transport for New South Wales said Uber drivers were no different to any other private hire vehicle driver and must therefore by licensed, accredited and authorised accordingly. As in Virginia, drivers will be issued with fines if they ignore the decision.

Uber isn’t the only such app to see complaints. When Hailo, a ride booking app that restricted itself only to black cabs, decided to open up to other private hire vehicles in the model of Uber it provoked an angry response. The company’s London HQ was vandalised and, according to a GMB spokesman, drivers have departed the service in droves.