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MSN Motoring: The incredible rise of Uber
What started out as a simple idea seven years ago to get a ride around the city is now a business worth $62.5 billion (£44.6bn). In October 2010, UberCab changed its name to Uber and went live on the Android smartphone operating system. In mid-2011, Uber went live in New York City. Since then it’s provided 80,000 rides per day! In July 2012, Uber unveiled Uber X. Using hybrid vehicles like the Prius, rides are 35% cheaper than Uber’s original black car service. In late 2014 Uber launched UberPOOL, which gives users the option of splitting the ride and cost with another person on a similar route. There’s so much more….
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Uber – a mobile service where passengers can book rides – has become popular in Auckland and Wellington, and use of ride sharing apps is expected to become more common in the future.
### Stuff.co.nz Last updated 19:01, December 14 2015
Uber set to face tighter rules, but not in-car cameras, Govt recommends
By Hamish Rutherford
Uber could be forced to check drivers’ log books and vehicle safety, after the Government recommended forcing it to become an approved transport operator. However drivers which use the mobile platform to find passengers appear set to continue to operate without being forced to install in-vehicle cameras, which are required in taxis. A review of regulations covering small passenger services, released on Monday [14.12.15], acknowledged that the existing rules, developed in the 1980s, had not kept pace with changes in technology.
Uber, the US-based company which was recently valued at around US$62.5 billion (NZ$93.2b) slammed the Government’s proposals as counter to its role to “open up” the economy, and did nothing to reduce regulation.
….The emergence of Uber has raised a global battle with taxis, which tend to face more rigorous regulations. Uber maintains that it is not a taxi service, but instead simply a technology platform, linking passengers with drivers who are private contractors. On Monday the Government released a consultation paper recommending that instead of maintaining a two-tier system for taxis and private hire providers, it would create a new single class system, where operators are responsible for safety and compliance. It comes almost a year after Associate Transport Minister Craig Foss announced a review of the rules.
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Wikipedia: Uber (company)
Founded: March 2009; 7 years ago
Services: Taxi, vehicles for hire
Slogan: Where lifestyle meets logistics
Website: uber.com
Uber Technologies Inc is an American multinational online transportation network company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It develops, markets and operates the Uber mobile app, which allows consumers with smartphones to submit a trip request which is then routed to Uber drivers who use their own cars. As of May 28, 2015, the service was available in 58 [today: 60] countries and 300 cities worldwide. Since Uber’s launch, several other companies have copied its business model, a trend that has come to be referred to as “Uberification”. Uber was founded as “UberCab” by Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp in 2009 and the app was released the following June. Beginning in 2012, Uber expanded internationally. In 2014, it experimented with carpooling features and made other updates. Klout ranked the San Francisco-based company as the 48th-most powerful company in America in 2014. By late-2015, Uber was estimated to be worth $62.5 billion. Cont/
█ The legality of Uber has been challenged by governments and taxi companies, who allege that its use of drivers who are not licensed to drive taxicabs is unsafe and illegal.
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### ODT Online Sun, 20 Mar 2016
Residents on board with petition
The wider Green Island community is jumping on board in its support for changing the controversial Concord bus routes. A petition will be presented to the Otago Regional Council next Wednesday.
Greater Green Island Community Network co-ordinator Lynda Davidson said the petition, which has more than 300 signatures, asked the ORC to consider returning the Concord bus system to its original route through South Dunedin, while also keeping some of the express services direct to the University of Otago. […] Without the direct routes, people wanting to get to South Dunedin had to bus into the central city and then catch another bus south, which was taking longer and also costing people more.
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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr
*Images: Shutterstock via msn.com
What if? Dunedin... 