The company, which provides an app for locating and booking car service, says today that it has reinstated "Surge Pricing" in the city. Basically what that means is car drivers can charge astronomical fees to shuttle riders around. Yesterday, that would have been about double the normal fare, based on what Uber ended up paying drivers.
In New York, where public transportation has been hobbled by the natural disaster, … Read more
Those wanting to fly private may soon have a new option: reserving a jet, Uber-style.
In recent months, Uber has made waves in cities around the world with its on-call private car service -- riders simply pull up Uber's app, push a button saying they need a ride, and before they know it, a car arrives to whisk them away, and the fee is automatically charged to a credit card.
Now, according to AllThingsD, StumbleUpon founder and Uber co-founder Garrett Camp is leading a funding round in the single-digit millions, as well as product development, for a new company … Read more
Thursday's CNET Update is checking your away message:
Just when you've given up all hope of having an organized inbox, along comes AOL with a new e-mail client called Alto. Today's tech news roundup looks at how Alto manages multiple accounts and sorts messages into stacks. The service is in beta test now (so you have to sign up for an invite to try it), but it could be open to everyone by February.
In other news, Yelp is cracking down on companies that pay for reviews. If Yelp sees that a business is trying to inflate … Read more
A day after conceding defeat in the Big Apple, Uber is bringing its taxi service to the City by the Bay.
The private car-summoning company announced today that it is bringing its cab-hailing service to San Francisco, allowing customers to request a taxi via an app on their iOS or Android device. At the end of a customer's ride, the driver will input the fare appearing on the cab's meter into an Uber iPhone -- along with a 20 percent gratuity and a $1 booking fee -- to determine the final charge, which is then billed to … Read more
Now you see it, now you don't.
Just over a month after car-hailing service Uber launched support for taxi service in New York City, the company is pulling out, CEO Travis Kalanick confirmed to CNET in an e-mailed statement today. All mention of taxi service in New York City has also been removed from the company's Web site.
"We did the best we could to get more yellows on the road but New York's TLC (Taxi and Limousine Commission) put up obstacles and roadblocks in order to squash the effort around e-hail which they privately have … Read more
A day after private car-summoning service Uber announced it was expanding into the cab-hailing business in New York, the city's Taxi & Limousine Commission issued an industry notice today that it had not authorized any apps for calling for taxis or paying for rides for use in New York City cabs.
"The T.L.C. is eager to pave the way for taxi riders to take advantage of the most up-to-date technology, including smartphone apps that may help passengers locate available taxicabs more quickly," David S. Yassky, the commission's chairman, said in a statement. "However, … Read more
Private car service Uber is veering off its usual course by offering its service to taxi drivers in New York City.
Starting tomorrow, Uber Taxi will allow New Yorkers to use the smartphone app to hail a cab in much the same way it's been used to summon private cars in cities around the country.
"This is the first time in three decades that New Yorkers can get a taxi without going to the street," Uber CEO Travis Kalanick told CNET. He also touted the service as offering greater accessibility in neighborhoods where taxis don't normally … Read more
After getting a cease-and-desist order, private livery service Uber has gotten the green light to resume operations in Boston.
The Division of Standards of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts earlier this month ordered the service, which allows people to request private car service via their smartphones, to cease operations because the National Institute of Standards and Technology had not issued guidelines for use of GPS location technology in commercial transportation.
Uber uses GPS technology rather than traditional odometers to measure distance traveled, which then determines the passenger's fare. That, apparently, is what the state Standards Division objected to.
"The … Read more
It looks like Uber is being driven out of another city.
Uber, the quickly growing startup that lets people request private car service via their smartphones, has received a cease-and-desist letter from the Division of Standards of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, ordering it to stop operating in Boston.
The letter (see below) states that until the National Institute of Standards and Technology issues guidelines for use of GPS location technology in commercial transportation, Uber can't allow the public to use its app.
"GPS has not been used in commercial applications for assessing transportation charges until Uber Technologies, Inc. … Read more
Friday's top tech stories teach us that Web giants may die, but ice cream is forever:
What's left of the social news aggregator Digg has been purchased by Betaworks, a company that runs Bit.ly and several other Web businesses. Digg will be folded into News.me, a daily news app and e-mail digest. Digg has been struggling and was slowly disassembled. A subsidiary of Washington Post bought some of the Digg talent, LinkedIn grabbed some patents, and on Thursday, Betaworks acquired what was left. The Wall Street Journal has sources saying Betaworks acquired Digg for around $500,… Read more
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