Uber said it fired the technology whiz it had hired to lead its self-driving unit, Anthony Levandowski, after he failed to comply with a court order to hand over documents at the centre of a legal dispute between Uber and Alphabet&#39;s Waymo unit.

Uber had hoped Levandowski, one the most respected self-driving engineers in Silicon Valley, would help the ride services company catch up to rivals including Waymo, in the race for self-driving technology. Instead the hiring led to a court fight and the threat of criminal charges. Uber replaced him as the head of its self-driving car unit in April before finally making the decision to fire him.

Levandowski formerly worked for Alphabet&#39;s Waymo self-driving division, which says he stole trade secrets by downloading more than 14,000 documents before he left. Levandowski is not a defendant, but his actions are at the heart of Alphabet&#39;s lawsuit against Uber.

Uber said in a letter to Levandowski filed in federal court on Tuesday that it was firing him because he had not complied with a court order to hand over the documents.

He has declined to cooperate, citing his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself. Levandowski&#39;s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Uber and Alphabet are battling over technology expected to revolutionise the way people use cars. Waymo claims its trade secrets made their way into Uber&#39;s Lidar technology, which bounces light pulses off objects so self-driving cars can &quot;see&quot; the road. Uber denies these claims.

Levandowski has 20 days to comply with the court orders, according to the Uber letter.

Last month, Uber named Eric Meyhofer to replace Levandowski as head of its Advanced Technologies Group. Meyhofer will continue to lead the team, an Uber spokeswoman said via email.

The New York Times reported Levandowski&#39;s exit earlier on Tuesday, citing an internal email sent to employees.

&quot;Over the last few months Uber has provided significant evidence to the court to demonstrate that our self-driving technology has been built independently,&quot; Angela Padilla, Uber&rsquo;s associate general counsel for employment and litigation, wrote in an email to employees, cited by the Times.

An Uber spokeswoman confirmed the letter&#39;s authenticity and said the company has urged Levandowski to &quot;fully cooperate.&quot;

Waymo has said Levandowski received stock worth more than $250 million for joining Uber, along with his portion of the $680 million that Uber paid last year for Otto, the self-driving truck company he formed after leaving Google. That amount assumes certain targets would be met, and it was not clear how his firing would affect those payments.

A source familiar with the matter said Levandowski had not yet vested his Uber shares.

Levandowski refusal

Levandowski, a top engineer on self-driving technology, has turned into a liability for Uber in court. The company has acknowledged that his refusal to testify has hurt its defence efforts. Uber has never denied that he took the Waymo documents.

Asked last month why Uber did not threaten to fire Levandowski to pressure him into turning over the documents, Uber attorney Arturo Gonzalez told Reuters, &quot;We can fire him but we still don&#39;t get the documents.&quot;

Uber had argued that it was acceptable to sideline Levandowski by preventing him from working on Lidar technology, but not firing him. But US&nbsp;District Court Judge William Alsup criticised the company, telling lawyers: &quot;You keep on your payroll someone who took 14,000 documents and is liable to use them.&quot;

The judge theorised that Levandowski could have used Waymo&#39;s documents himself even if he did not turn them over to Uber.

&quot;What prevented him from bringing a laptop to work every day and consulting the files?&quot; Alsup asked Uber lawyers in April.

Uber has been hit by a string of departures of senior executives and other negative news. Earlier this year, Uber was caught using its technology to avoid government regulators. Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick was seen on video berating an Uber driver, and the company also faced accusations of sexual harassment that led to an internal probe led by former US&nbsp;Attorney General Eric Holder.

The Holder report will be shown to the board this week, a source familiar with the matter said, adding that next week, Uber plans to speak with employees about it.

(Reuters)

Levandowski formerly worked for Alphabet's Waymo self-driving division

Uber said it fired the technology whiz it had hired to lead its self-driving unit, Anthony Levandowski, after he failed to comply with a court order to hand over documents at the centre of a legal dispute between Uber and Alphabet's Waymo unit. Uber had hoped Levandowski, one the most respected self-driving engineers in Silicon Valley, would help the ride services company catch up to rivals including Waymo, in the race for self-driving technology. Instead the hiring led to a court fight and the threat of criminal charges. Uber replaced him as the head of its self-driving car unit in April before finally making the decision to fire him. Levandowski formerly worked for Alphabet's Waymo self-driving division, which says he stole trade secrets by downloading more than 14,000 documents before he left. Levandowski is not a defendant, but his actions are at the heart of Alphabet's lawsuit against Uber. Uber said in a letter to Levandowski filed in federal court on Tuesday that it was firing him because he had not complied with a court order to hand over the documents. He has declined to cooperate, citing his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself. Levandowski's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Uber and Alphabet are battling over technology expected to revolutionise the way people use cars. Waymo claims its trade secrets made their way into Uber's Lidar technology, which bounces light pulses off objects so self-driving cars can "see" the road. Uber denies these claims. Levandowski has 20 days to comply with the court orders, according to the Uber letter. Last month, Uber named Eric Meyhofer to replace Levandowski as head of its Advanced Technologies Group. Meyhofer will continue to lead the team, an Uber spokeswoman said via email. The New York Times reported Levandowski's exit earlier on Tuesday, citing an internal email sent to employees. "Over the last few months Uber has provided significant evidence to the court to demonstrate that our self-driving technology has been built independently," Angela Padilla, Uber’s associate general counsel for employment and litigation, wrote in an email to employees, cited by the Times. An Uber spokeswoman confirmed the letter's authenticity and said the company has urged Levandowski to "fully cooperate." Waymo has said Levandowski received stock worth more than $250 million for joining Uber, along with his portion of the $680 million that Uber paid last year for Otto, the self-driving truck company he formed after leaving Google. That amount assumes certain targets would be met, and it was not clear how his firing would affect those payments. A source familiar with the matter said Levandowski had not yet vested his Uber shares. Levandowski refusal Levandowski, a top engineer on self-driving technology, has turned into a liability for Uber in court. The company has acknowledged that his refusal to testify has hurt its defence efforts. Uber has never denied that he took the Waymo documents. Asked last month why Uber did not threaten to fire Levandowski to pressure him into turning over the documents, Uber attorney Arturo Gonzalez told Reuters, "We can fire him but we still don't get the documents." Uber had argued that it was acceptable to sideline Levandowski by preventing him from working on Lidar technology, but not firing him. But US District Court Judge William Alsup criticised the company, telling lawyers: "You keep on your payroll someone who took 14,000 documents and is liable to use them." The judge theorised that Levandowski could have used Waymo's documents himself even if he did not turn them over to Uber. "What prevented him from bringing a laptop to work every day and consulting the files?" Alsup asked Uber lawyers in April. Uber has been hit by a string of departures of senior executives and other negative news. Earlier this year, Uber was caught using its technology to avoid government regulators. Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick was seen on video berating an Uber driver, and the company also faced accusations of sexual harassment that led to an internal probe led by former US Attorney General Eric Holder. The Holder report will be shown to the board this week, a source familiar with the matter said, adding that next week, Uber plans to speak with employees about it. (Reuters)

Uber fires self-driving car chief Anthony Levandowski

Hong Kong police on Tuesday arrested 21 Uber drivers for illegal car-hiring as part of an ongoing clamp down against Uber&#39;s operations in the Asian financial city.

The arrests marked the latest upset for the San Francisco-based technology company, which in March said it would help five convicted Uber drivers to appeal their court case.

Police said they began an undercover operation in May and on Tuesday arrested 20 men and one woman between the ages 21 to 59 for illegally driving a car for hire and driving without third party risks insurance.

&quot;I would like to stress that our law enforcement action is ongoing and we do not rule out further arrests,&quot; said Lau Tat-fai, Chief Inspector of Police Enforcement and Control Decision at the Kowloon West district.

&quot;We would like to say to the operator of the mobile phone application, as a responsible organisation, you need to ensure cars for hire are equipped with a permit as required by Hong Kong laws. This is a basic responsibility to passengers and (shows) respect for Hong Kong laws,&quot; Lau said.

He said those who assist or instigate drivers might also have to bear legal responsibility.

Uber was not immediately available for comment.

A local court in March had found five Uber drivers guilty and fined them HK$10,000 ($1,287.91) each. It also revoked their driving licenses for a year, but that punishment was suspended upon the drivers&#39; appeal.

Uber began a fierce publicity campaign following the verdict, splashing ads on newspaper frontpages and giving out plane tickets and Manchester United football jerseys to a few random passengers.

The embattled technology company pulled out of Taiwan earlier this year over mounting fines from regulators, but said last month it would resume services.

(Reuters)

The drivers were caught for illegally driving a car for hire and driving without third party risks insurance.

Hong Kong police on Tuesday arrested 21 Uber drivers for illegal car-hiring as part of an ongoing clamp down against Uber's operations in the Asian financial city. The arrests marked the latest upset for the San Francisco-based technology company, which in March said it would help five convicted Uber drivers to appeal their court case. Police said they began an undercover operation in May and on Tuesday arrested 20 men and one woman between the ages 21 to 59 for illegally driving a car for hire and driving without third party risks insurance. "I would like to stress that our law enforcement action is ongoing and we do not rule out further arrests," said Lau Tat-fai, Chief Inspector of Police Enforcement and Control Decision at the Kowloon West district. "We would like to say to the operator of the mobile phone application, as a responsible organisation, you need to ensure cars for hire are equipped with a permit as required by Hong Kong laws. This is a basic responsibility to passengers and (shows) respect for Hong Kong laws," Lau said. He said those who assist or instigate drivers might also have to bear legal responsibility. Uber was not immediately available for comment. A local court in March had found five Uber drivers guilty and fined them HK$10,000 ($1,287.91) each. It also revoked their driving licenses for a year, but that punishment was suspended upon the drivers' appeal. Uber began a fierce publicity campaign following the verdict, splashing ads on newspaper frontpages and giving out plane tickets and Manchester United football jerseys to a few random passengers. The embattled technology company pulled out of Taiwan earlier this year over mounting fines from regulators, but said last month it would resume services. (Reuters)

Hong Kong police arrests 21 Uber drivers

Germany&#39;s highest court on Thursday referred a case seeking to ban Uber&#39;s sedan services with licensed drivers to the European Court of Justice to decide whether a ban of the &quot;Uber Black&quot; service would violate broader European Union laws.

The court said the service by the transport app company violated German competition, adding that it wanted clarification from the higher European court before it could issue a final ruling.

Uber already suspended its low-cost ride-hailing service in Germany in 2015 after court challenges and was focusing instead on its &quot;Black&quot; service staffed by professional drivers in black sedans.

Uber, which allows passengers to summon a ride through an app on their smartphones, expanded into Europe five years ago but has been challenged in the courts because it is not bound by the same strict licensing and safety rules as some competitors.

Last week, Uber met the biggest challenge yet to its European roll-out after the region&#39;s top court was advised to rule that the U.S. ride-hailing firm is actually a transport service not an app.

(Reuters)

German court wants clarification from the higher European court before issuing a final ruling

Germany's highest court on Thursday referred a case seeking to ban Uber's sedan services with licensed drivers to the European Court of Justice to decide whether a ban of the "Uber Black" service would violate broader European Union laws. The court said the service by the transport app company violated German competition, adding that it wanted clarification from the higher European court before it could issue a final ruling. Uber already suspended its low-cost ride-hailing service in Germany in 2015 after court challenges and was focusing instead on its "Black" service staffed by professional drivers in black sedans. Uber, which allows passengers to summon a ride through an app on their smartphones, expanded into Europe five years ago but has been challenged in the courts because it is not bound by the same strict licensing and safety rules as some competitors. Last week, Uber met the biggest challenge yet to its European roll-out after the region's top court was advised to rule that the U.S. ride-hailing firm is actually a transport service not an app. (Reuters)

Germany refers case on Uber to European Court of Justice

Uber provides a transport service and must be licensed, the European Union&#39;s top court said on Thursday, in a potential blow to the US&nbsp;firm which says it is merely a digital enabler.

&quot;The Uber electronic platform, whilst innovative, falls within the field of transport: Uber can thus be required to obtain the necessary licences and authorisations under national law,&quot; the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) said.

While the opinion of the Advocate General is non-binding, the court&#39;s judges follow it in most cases and a ruling would mean EU member states can regulate Uber and other such companies as a transport rather than &quot;information society&quot; service.

The case was brought by an association of Barcelona taxi drivers which&nbsp;argued that Uber engaged in unfair competition with its UberPOP service - which used&nbsp;unlicensed drivers.

Uber, which no longer operates UberPOP in Spain, said it would await a final ruling later this year, but added that even if it is considered a transportation company, this &quot;would not change the way we are regulated in most EU countries as that is already the situation today&quot;.

However, such a ruling would &quot;undermine the much-needed reform of outdated laws which prevent millions of Europeans from accessing a reliable ride at the tap of a button,&quot; an Uber spokeswoman said in a statement.

Uber, which allows passengers to summon a ride through an app on their smartphones, expanded into Europe five years ago. But it has been challenged in the courts by established taxi companies and some EU countries because it is not bound by strict local licensing and safety rules which apply to some of its competitors.

The Advocate General said Uber drivers &quot;do not pursue an autonomous activity that is independent of the platform. On the contrary, that activity exists solely because of the platform, without which it would have no sense.&quot;

Uber could not be regarded as a mere intermediary between drivers and passengers because it controlled economically important aspects of the urban transport service, Maciej Szpunar said in the opinion.

&quot;The service amounts to the organisation and management of a comprehensive system for on-demand urban transport,&quot; the ECJ statement said.

(Reuters)

A ruling would mean EU member states can regulate Uber and other such companies as a transport rather than information society service

Uber provides a transport service and must be licensed, the European Union's top court said on Thursday, in a potential blow to the US firm which says it is merely a digital enabler. "The Uber electronic platform, whilst innovative, falls within the field of transport: Uber can thus be required to obtain the necessary licences and authorisations under national law," the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) said. While the opinion of the Advocate General is non-binding, the court's judges follow it in most cases and a ruling would mean EU member states can regulate Uber and other such companies as a transport rather than "information society" service. The case was brought by an association of Barcelona taxi drivers which argued that Uber engaged in unfair competition with its UberPOP service - which used unlicensed drivers. Uber, which no longer operates UberPOP in Spain, said it would await a final ruling later this year, but added that even if it is considered a transportation company, this "would not change the way we are regulated in most EU countries as that is already the situation today". However, such a ruling would "undermine the much-needed reform of outdated laws which prevent millions of Europeans from accessing a reliable ride at the tap of a button," an Uber spokeswoman said in a statement. Uber, which allows passengers to summon a ride through an app on their smartphones, expanded into Europe five years ago. But it has been challenged in the courts by established taxi companies and some EU countries because it is not bound by strict local licensing and safety rules which apply to some of its competitors. The Advocate General said Uber drivers "do not pursue an autonomous activity that is independent of the platform. On the contrary, that activity exists solely because of the platform, without which it would have no sense." Uber could not be regarded as a mere intermediary between drivers and passengers because it controlled economically important aspects of the urban transport service, Maciej Szpunar said in the opinion. "The service amounts to the organisation and management of a comprehensive system for on-demand urban transport," the ECJ statement said. (Reuters)

Uber a transport service, says EU court

Uber Technologies Inc must promptly return stolen confidential files to Alphabet Inc&#39;s Waymo self-driving car unit, a federal judge ruled, while stopping short of shutting down the ride-services company&#39;s autonomous car program.

The judge wrote that Uber knew, or should have known, that an ex-Waymo engineer it later hired had taken Waymo files potentially containing trade secrets, and that some of the intellectual property had &quot;seeped into&quot; Uber&#39;s own development efforts.

The ruling by US&nbsp;District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco, unsealed on Monday, marked a blow to Uber, which is engaged in a battle with Waymo to dominate the fast-growing field of self-driving cars expected to revolutionize the automotive industry.

Alsup referred the case to the US&nbsp;Department of Justice for investigation of possible trade secret theft on Thursday, when the ruling was released under seal. He also ruled against Uber&#39;s private arbitration request that would have kept much of the case out of the public eye.

Uber was also ordered to keep engineer Anthony Levandowski away from work involving Lidar, a key sensor technology in self-driving cars that is the crux of the current litigation.

The case hinges on files that Waymo alleges Levandowski stole before leaving the company. Waymo claims the information made its way into Uber&#39;s Lidar system.

Levandowski left Waymo in January 2016 and started Otto, a self-driving truck startup that Uber bought for $680 million in August. He had until last month run Uber&#39;s self-driving car division, before stepping aside from those responsibilities pending the court case.

&quot;The bottom line is the evidence indicates that Uber hired Levandowski even though it knew or should have known that he possessed over 14,000 confidential Waymo files likely containing Waymo&#39;s intellectual property,&quot; Alsup wrote.

Alsup said Waymo &quot;has shown compelling evidence that its former star engineer&quot; downloaded the documents from Waymo&#39;s computers before leaving the company.

Alsup ordered Uber to prevent Levandowski and all other employees from using the materials and return them to Waymo by May 31.

Levandowski, who is not a defendant in the civil case, has asserted his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and has refused to testify.

Alsup also ruled that Uber must by next month complete an investigation into the downloaded Waymo documents and provide Waymo with a comprehensive log of written and spoken communication between Uber and Levandowski regarding Lidar.

Waymo said on Monday it welcomed the ruling. &quot;Competition should be fueled by innovation in the labs and on the roads, not through unlawful actions,&quot; Waymo spokesman Johnny Luu said.

However, the judge said &quot;few&quot; of Waymo&#39;s alleged trade secrets have been traced to Uber&#39;s self-driving car technology, and that Waymo&#39;s patent claims against Uber have proved meritless. Not all of Waymo&#39;s 121 asserted trade secrets indeed qualify as trade secrets, he added.

The ruling did not shut down Uber&#39;s self-driving car lab entirely, which would likely have been a major blow as the company is betting its current ride services network will eventually rely on self-driving cars.

&quot;We are pleased with the court&#39;s ruling that Uber can continue building and utilizing all of its self-driving technology, including our innovation around LiDAR,&quot; Uber spokeswoman Chelsea Kohler said.

Amid the legal battle, Waymo has aligned itself with Lyft, Uber&#39;s chief US&nbsp;ride-hailing competitor. On Sunday, Waymo and Lyft announced a partnership on self-driving car pilots, an opportunity for both companies to accelerate their autonomous efforts.

(Reuters)

The judge wrote that Uber knew, or should have known, that an ex-Waymo engineer it later hired had taken Waymo files potentially containing trade secrets

Uber Technologies Inc must promptly return stolen confidential files to Alphabet Inc's Waymo self-driving car unit, a federal judge ruled, while stopping short of shutting down the ride-services company's autonomous car program. The judge wrote that Uber knew, or should have known, that an ex-Waymo engineer it later hired had taken Waymo files potentially containing trade secrets, and that some of the intellectual property had "seeped into" Uber's own development efforts. The ruling by US District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco, unsealed on Monday, marked a blow to Uber, which is engaged in a battle with Waymo to dominate the fast-growing field of self-driving cars expected to revolutionize the automotive industry. Alsup referred the case to the US Department of Justice for investigation of possible trade secret theft on Thursday, when the ruling was released under seal. He also ruled against Uber's private arbitration request that would have kept much of the case out of the public eye. Uber was also ordered to keep engineer Anthony Levandowski away from work involving Lidar, a key sensor technology in self-driving cars that is the crux of the current litigation. The case hinges on files that Waymo alleges Levandowski stole before leaving the company. Waymo claims the information made its way into Uber's Lidar system. Levandowski left Waymo in January 2016 and started Otto, a self-driving truck startup that Uber bought for $680 million in August. He had until last month run Uber's self-driving car division, before stepping aside from those responsibilities pending the court case. "The bottom line is the evidence indicates that Uber hired Levandowski even though it knew or should have known that he possessed over 14,000 confidential Waymo files likely containing Waymo's intellectual property," Alsup wrote. Alsup said Waymo "has shown compelling evidence that its former star engineer" downloaded the documents from Waymo's computers before leaving the company. Alsup ordered Uber to prevent Levandowski and all other employees from using the materials and return them to Waymo by May 31. Levandowski, who is not a defendant in the civil case, has asserted his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and has refused to testify. Alsup also ruled that Uber must by next month complete an investigation into the downloaded Waymo documents and provide Waymo with a comprehensive log of written and spoken communication between Uber and Levandowski regarding Lidar. Waymo said on Monday it welcomed the ruling. "Competition should be fueled by innovation in the labs and on the roads, not through unlawful actions," Waymo spokesman Johnny Luu said. However, the judge said "few" of Waymo's alleged trade secrets have been traced to Uber's self-driving car technology, and that Waymo's patent claims against Uber have proved meritless. Not all of Waymo's 121 asserted trade secrets indeed qualify as trade secrets, he added. The ruling did not shut down Uber's self-driving car lab entirely, which would likely have been a major blow as the company is betting its current ride services network will eventually rely on self-driving cars. "We are pleased with the court's ruling that Uber can continue building and utilizing all of its self-driving technology, including our innovation around LiDAR," Uber spokeswoman Chelsea Kohler said. Amid the legal battle, Waymo has aligned itself with Lyft, Uber's chief US ride-hailing competitor. On Sunday, Waymo and Lyft announced a partnership on self-driving car pilots, an opportunity for both companies to accelerate their autonomous efforts. (Reuters)

Uber must return stolen Waymo files, can continue self-driving work: US judge

Uber wants to introduce flying cars by 2020, the company said on Tuesday.

The tech company said they preferred the flying cars to be called&nbsp;&quot;vertical takeoff and landing&quot; (VTOL) vehicles as its operation would be like a helicopter.

The cost of hailing the new breed of vehicles will be similar to the existing UberX service, The Independent reported.

The ridesharing giant said they aimed to launch the hovering cars by 2023 across the world.

But in 2020, they intend to launch these mind-bending vehicles in&nbsp;Dallas-Fort Worth metropolis in Texas, and its demo version in Dubai.

The most eye-catching aspect about these cars is the dramatic reduction in travelling time. The company said a 30-minute ride in San Francisco would come down to three minutes if the hovering cars are launched.

The announcements were made in a major press conference held in Dallas.

&quot;The goal of these partnerships is to develop a new on-demand VTOL network to enable customers in the future to push a button and get a high-speed flight in and around cities,&quot; Uber said in a statement.

The announcement came at a summit held in the Dallas area with partners in the project.

&quot;What started as a simple question &#39;why can&#39;t I push a button and get a ride?&#39; has turned, for Uber, into a passionate pursuit of the pinnacle of urban mobility -- the reduction of congestion and pollution from transportation, giving people their time back, freeing up real estate dedicated to parking and providing access to mobility in all corners of a city,&quot; said Uber chief product officer Jeff Holden.

&quot;Urban aviation is a natural next step for Uber in this pursuit, which is why we are working to make push a button, get a flight a reality.&quot;

Manufacturing plans&nbsp;

The company made the announcement in presence of their major partners.

The largest venture-backed startup have been planning to launch flying cars for long.

In February 2017, they announced they had recruited a NASA engineer to help them realise the dream.

They hired Mark Moore as the director of engineering for aviation at Uber Elevate -- the division that aims to revolutionise&nbsp;travelling in cities.

Uber&#39;s plans appear more ambitious, and include partnerships with US-based Bell Helicopter, Brazilian manufacturer Embraer and Slovenia&#39;s Pipistrel to produce flying machines for short distance urban operations.

&quot;Uber&#39;s Elevate network is an exciting opportunity for Bell Helicopter to help transform how cities move people and products in the future,&quot; Bell president and chief executive Mitch Snyder said in a statement.

Embraer CEO Paulo Cesar de Souza e Silva praised the &quot;unique opportunity to complement the air transport knowledge of a visionary and revolutionary ground transport company.&quot;

The Uber plan also includes partnerships for &quot;vertiports&quot; for the flyers to take off and land, along with changing stations for the transporters, which are expected to be mainly electric-powered.

Uber&#39;s agreement with Dubai Roads and Transport Authority calls for a joint study into pricing models, people movement and determining where routes should be created in the city.

&quot;The partnership will result in everything from hover and forward flight tests to actual flight operations in the Dubai area,&quot; according to a joint statement.

Uber has grown into the world&#39;s largest venture-backed startup, with a valuation estimated at some $68 billion despite ongoing obstacles with regulators and taxi operators.&nbsp;

In addition to ridesharing in some 80 countries, Uber is also testing self-driving cars in three US metro areas.

Uber&#39;s growth so far has not been dented by a series of embarrassing disclosures about a culture of sexism, cut-throat workplace tactics and covert use of law enforcement-evading software.

(WION with inputs from AFP)

The price of hiring a 'flying car' will be similar to its UberX service

Uber wants to introduce flying cars by 2020, the company said on Tuesday. The tech company said they preferred the flying cars to be called "vertical takeoff and landing" (VTOL) vehicles as its operation would be like a helicopter. The cost of hailing the new breed of vehicles will be similar to the existing UberX service, The Independent reported. The ridesharing giant said they aimed to launch the hovering cars by 2023 across the world. But in 2020, they intend to launch these mind-bending vehicles in Dallas-Fort Worth metropolis in Texas, and its demo version in Dubai. The most eye-catching aspect about these cars is the dramatic reduction in travelling time. The company said a 30-minute ride in San Francisco would come down to three minutes if the hovering cars are launched. The announcements were made in a major press conference held in Dallas. "The goal of these partnerships is to develop a new on-demand VTOL network to enable customers in the future to push a button and get a high-speed flight in and around cities," Uber said in a statement. The announcement came at a summit held in the Dallas area with partners in the project. "What started as a simple question 'why can't I push a button and get a ride?' has turned, for Uber, into a passionate pursuit of the pinnacle of urban mobility -- the reduction of congestion and pollution from transportation, giving people their time back, freeing up real estate dedicated to parking and providing access to mobility in all corners of a city," said Uber chief product officer Jeff Holden. "Urban aviation is a natural next step for Uber in this pursuit, which is why we are working to make push a button, get a flight a reality." Manufacturing plans The company made the announcement in presence of their major partners. The largest venture-backed startup have been planning to launch flying cars for long. In February 2017, they announced they had recruited a NASA engineer to help them realise the dream. They hired Mark Moore as the director of engineering for aviation at Uber Elevate -- the division that aims to revolutionise travelling in cities. Uber's plans appear more ambitious, and include partnerships with US-based Bell Helicopter, Brazilian manufacturer Embraer and Slovenia's Pipistrel to produce flying machines for short distance urban operations. "Uber's Elevate network is an exciting opportunity for Bell Helicopter to help transform how cities move people and products in the future," Bell president and chief executive Mitch Snyder said in a statement. Embraer CEO Paulo Cesar de Souza e Silva praised the "unique opportunity to complement the air transport knowledge of a visionary and revolutionary ground transport company." The Uber plan also includes partnerships for "vertiports" for the flyers to take off and land, along with changing stations for the transporters, which are expected to be mainly electric-powered. Uber's agreement with Dubai Roads and Transport Authority calls for a joint study into pricing models, people movement and determining where routes should be created in the city. "The partnership will result in everything from hover and forward flight tests to actual flight operations in the Dubai area," according to a joint statement. Uber has grown into the world's largest venture-backed startup, with a valuation estimated at some $68 billion despite ongoing obstacles with regulators and taxi operators. In addition to ridesharing in some 80 countries, Uber is also testing self-driving cars in three US metro areas. Uber's growth so far has not been dented by a series of embarrassing disclosures about a culture of sexism, cut-throat workplace tactics and covert use of law enforcement-evading software. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Uber plans to launch 'flying cars' by 2020

The commuters in the Delhi-NCR region are in for a major problem today as the drivers of two app-based cab services Ola and Uber have threatened to go off roads for a day as a mark of protest against &quot;low fares&quot;. &nbsp;

Prior to this, they had gone on strike in February too, which lasted 13 days affecting transportation in Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad and Faridabad.

The companies had resorted to surge pricing during morning and evening peak hours then.

The drivers` association demands that fares be increased from existing Rs. 6 per km to around Rs. 20 per km. It also demands abolition of 25 per cent commission the drivers are charged by companies.

(ANI)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

They are protesting low fares, and want them raised from Rs 6 a km to around Rs 20

The commuters in the Delhi-NCR region are in for a major problem today as the drivers of two app-based cab services Ola and Uber have threatened to go off roads for a day as a mark of protest against "low fares". Prior to this, they had gone on strike in February too, which lasted 13 days affecting transportation in Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad and Faridabad. The companies had resorted to surge pricing during morning and evening peak hours then. The drivers` association demands that fares be increased from existing Rs. 6 per km to around Rs. 20 per km. It also demands abolition of 25 per cent commission the drivers are charged by companies. (ANI)

Delhi-NCR: Uber, Ola drivers to strike today

Uber Technologies Inc said on Friday its self-driving sensor technology was &quot;fundamentally different&quot; from Waymo&#39;s, blasting Waymo&#39;s assertion that its ride-services rival profited from confidential stolen files, in the latest salvo in a high-profile dispute between the two rivals.

Uber also claimed in its federal filing that proprietary information owned by Alphabet Inc-owned Waymo never made it on to its servers, despite Waymo&#39;s assertion that a former employee now at Uber stole them.

Uber is trying to thwart a preliminary injunction sought by Waymo to stop its rival from using the documents at the center of the case.

Waymo sued Uber in February, alleging that Uber was able to scale up its autonomous program quickly after former Waymo executive Anthony Levandowski downloaded 14,000 of Waymo&#39;s files, including trade secrets, before leaving the company and going to Uber.

The high-profile trade-secrets battle pits two tech rivals in the nascent self-driving car industry. Both are vying to be first to bring self-driving cars to the masses in a competitive field that includes established carmakers, little-known start-ups and technology giants.

&quot;Uber and its employees have never used any alleged confidential Waymo files from Mr. Levandowski or anyone else in the development of its Lidar systems,&quot; Uber said in its filing, referring to a laser-based sensor system integral to self-driving.

(Reuters)

It said its self-driving sensor technology was 'fundamentally different' from Waymo's

Uber Technologies Inc said on Friday its self-driving sensor technology was "fundamentally different" from Waymo's, blasting Waymo's assertion that its ride-services rival profited from confidential stolen files, in the latest salvo in a high-profile dispute between the two rivals. Uber also claimed in its federal filing that proprietary information owned by Alphabet Inc-owned Waymo never made it on to its servers, despite Waymo's assertion that a former employee now at Uber stole them. Uber is trying to thwart a preliminary injunction sought by Waymo to stop its rival from using the documents at the center of the case. Waymo sued Uber in February, alleging that Uber was able to scale up its autonomous program quickly after former Waymo executive Anthony Levandowski downloaded 14,000 of Waymo's files, including trade secrets, before leaving the company and going to Uber. The high-profile trade-secrets battle pits two tech rivals in the nascent self-driving car industry. Both are vying to be first to bring self-driving cars to the masses in a competitive field that includes established carmakers, little-known start-ups and technology giants. "Uber and its employees have never used any alleged confidential Waymo files from Mr. Levandowski or anyone else in the development of its Lidar systems," Uber said in its filing, referring to a laser-based sensor system integral to self-driving. (Reuters)

Uber says never used Waymo files on self-driving

Uber Technologies Inc suspended its pilot program for driverless cars on Saturday after a vehicle equipped with the nascent technology crashed on an Arizona roadway, the ride-hailing company and local police said.

The accident, the latest involving a self-driving vehicle operated by one of several companies experimenting with autonomous vehicles, caused no serious injuries, Uber said.

Even so, the company said it was grounding driverless cars involved in a pilot program in Arizona, Pittsburgh and San Francisco pending the outcome of investigation into the crash on Friday evening in Tempe.

&quot;We are continuing to look into this incident,&quot; an Uber spokeswoman said in an email.

The accident occurred when the driver of a second vehicle &quot;failed to yield&quot; to the Uber vehicle while making a turn, said Josie Montenegro, a spokeswoman for the Tempe Police Department.

&quot;The vehicles collided, causing the autonomous vehicle to roll onto its side,&quot; she said in an email. &quot;There were no serious injuries.&quot;

Two &quot;safety&quot;&nbsp;drivers were in the front seats of the Uber car, which was in self-driving mode at the time of the crash, Uber said in an email, a standard requirement for its self-driving vehicles. The back seat was empty.

Photos and a video posted on Twitter by Fresco News, a service that sells content to news outlets, showed a Volvo SUV flipped on its side after an apparent collision involving two other, slightly damaged cars. Uber said the images appeared to be from the Tempe crash scene.

When Uber launched the pilot program in Pittsburgh last year, it said that driverless cars &quot;require human intervention in many conditions, including bad weather&quot;. It also said the new technology had the potential to reduce the number of traffic accidents in the country.

The accident is not the first time a self-driving car has been involved in a collision. A driver of a Tesla Motors Inc Model S car operating in autopilot mode was killed in a collision with a truck in Williston, Florida in 2016. A self-driving vehicle operated by Alphabet Inc&#39;s Google was involved in a crash last year in Mountain View, California, striking a bus while attempting to navigate around an obstacle.

The collision comes days after Uber&#39;s former president Jeff Jones quit less than seven months after joining the San Francisco-based company, the latest in a string of high-level executives who have departed in recent months.

In February, Alphabet&#39;s Waymo self-driving car unit sued Uber and its Otto autonomous trucking subsidiary, alleging theft of proprietary sensor technology.

(Reuters)

A second car failed to yield to the Uber vehicle, which was in self-drive mode. Nobody was hurt

Uber Technologies Inc suspended its pilot program for driverless cars on Saturday after a vehicle equipped with the nascent technology crashed on an Arizona roadway, the ride-hailing company and local police said. The accident, the latest involving a self-driving vehicle operated by one of several companies experimenting with autonomous vehicles, caused no serious injuries, Uber said. Even so, the company said it was grounding driverless cars involved in a pilot program in Arizona, Pittsburgh and San Francisco pending the outcome of investigation into the crash on Friday evening in Tempe. "We are continuing to look into this incident," an Uber spokeswoman said in an email. The accident occurred when the driver of a second vehicle "failed to yield" to the Uber vehicle while making a turn, said Josie Montenegro, a spokeswoman for the Tempe Police Department. "The vehicles collided, causing the autonomous vehicle to roll onto its side," she said in an email. "There were no serious injuries." Two "safety" drivers were in the front seats of the Uber car, which was in self-driving mode at the time of the crash, Uber said in an email, a standard requirement for its self-driving vehicles. The back seat was empty. Photos and a video posted on Twitter by Fresco News, a service that sells content to news outlets, showed a Volvo SUV flipped on its side after an apparent collision involving two other, slightly damaged cars. Uber said the images appeared to be from the Tempe crash scene. When Uber launched the pilot program in Pittsburgh last year, it said that driverless cars "require human intervention in many conditions, including bad weather". It also said the new technology had the potential to reduce the number of traffic accidents in the country. The accident is not the first time a self-driving car has been involved in a collision. A driver of a Tesla Motors Inc Model S car operating in autopilot mode was killed in a collision with a truck in Williston, Florida in 2016. A self-driving vehicle operated by Alphabet Inc's Google was involved in a crash last year in Mountain View, California, striking a bus while attempting to navigate around an obstacle. The collision comes days after Uber's former president Jeff Jones quit less than seven months after joining the San Francisco-based company, the latest in a string of high-level executives who have departed in recent months. In February, Alphabet's Waymo self-driving car unit sued Uber and its Otto autonomous trucking subsidiary, alleging theft of proprietary sensor technology. (Reuters)

Uber suspends self-driving car program after crash, vehicle flips on side

Global ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies is rethinking its car leasing strategy in India, its second-biggest market, as drivers have returned dozens of leased cars early after the company cut incentives, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Uber had planned to buy 15,000 new cars last year and lease them out in a bid to attract more drivers - a strategy it has used in other markets - but it suspended the scheme for a while in December after leasing just a third of that total.

After burning through millions of dollars over three years in a battle for market share with local rival Ola, backed by Japan&#39;s Softbank, Uber has cut the incentives it gives to drivers and raised the fares it charges passengers.

The incentives - from free smartphones to cash bonuses worth as much as double a day&#39;s fares - meant drivers could earn as much as 120,000 rupees ($1,838) a month.

Those incentive payments have been pared back, in some cases to as little as 10 per cent of fare income. Ride fares have risen to 1.5 rupees per minute of travel from 1 rupee.

The incentives and, to an extent, the leasing scheme aimed at drivers without their own cars, boosted Uber&#39;s driver numbers, helping it rapidly gain around 30 per cent market share.

Uber has faced challenges elsewhere in Asia, but the stakes are high in India&#39;s $12 billion taxi market, a key area after it exited China last year, and one where CEO Travis Kalanick has said it expects to be profitable soon.

Uber has said its services are in 29 Indian cities and it has more than 250,000 drivers on its platform, but it lags Ola, which says it operates in more than 100 cities with about 550,000 drivers.

&nbsp;

BUSINESS SHIFT

Two people with knowledge of the matter said Uber miscalculated the impact that the reduced incentives would have on drivers` earnings, especially those making lease payments.

At an open meeting for staff in December, around the time the incentives were being reduced, Uber&#39;s India chief Amit Jain said the buying-for-lease scheme was being temporarily suspended while the company evaluated its leasing strategy, one of the sources said.

Uber did not comment on Reuters queries related to Jain&#39;s announcement or the impact of the incentives cuts on its leasing programme.

Raj Beri, business head for leasing in India, said the scheme was set up to help drivers without cars get on its platform and make money. &quot;We are very pleased with our progress toward this goal so far, and look forward to introducing the opportunity to more prospective driver partners this year,&quot; he said in a statement.

In a recent blog post on Uber&#39;s website, Jain defended the cuts to driver incentives and signalled a strategic shift for India. &quot;We can shift from start-up mode to a more sustainable business model,&quot; he wrote.

&nbsp;

&quot;NO BENEFIT IN LEASING&quot;

Leasing is only a small part of Uber&#39;s overall supply in India, but is seen as a way to lock drivers on to its platform for longer, and stop them switching to Ola.

To lease a new small car through Uber&#39;s scheme, drivers pay a 33,000 rupee ($499) deposit - less than what they would pay to buy a car from a dealer with a bank loan. But weekly payments of about 5,500 rupees over three years add up to nearly double what drivers would pay to service a car loan.

That wasn`t an issue when incentives were high.

Several Uber drivers said they feel trapped as a surge in the number of cars on Uber&#39;s platform has led to fewer rides, at a time when incentives have been cut, making it harder to keep up lease payments.

&quot;I&#39;ll not be able to save even 10,000 rupees a month,&quot; said Arjun Chouhan, 38, an Uber driver in Delhi who has leased a car. &quot;There&#39;s no benefit in leasing. What if I&#39;m unwell? They don&#39;t listen.&quot;

In a dusty car lot on Delhi&#39;s outskirts, guards told Reuters that dozens of cars standing idle belonged to Uber and had been returned by drivers.

When Reuters phoned Xchange Leasing, Uber&#39;s local leasing arm that has an office near the car park, officials said no new cars were currently being leased out. One said the priority was to lease those cars returned by drivers, and it could be 2-3 months before new cars would again be offered.

An Uber spokesman said the company doesn&#39;t comment on &quot;anonymous speculation&quot;.

As part of its review, Uber may reduce the three-year lease term and let two drivers share the rent on a car, one of the sources said. 
Uber did not comment on its leasing targets or the future of the scheme.

&quot;People left well-paying jobs to drive an Uber,&quot; said Sandeep, another Delhi driver, adding his monthly ride income has nearly halved to 60,000 rupees in two years, despite working longer hours.

&quot;We were tempted at the thought of becoming millionaires.&quot;

(Reuters)

After burning through millions over three years in a battle for market share, Uber has cut the incentives it gives drivers and raised fares

Global ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies is rethinking its car leasing strategy in India, its second-biggest market, as drivers have returned dozens of leased cars early after the company cut incentives, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Uber had planned to buy 15,000 new cars last year and lease them out in a bid to attract more drivers - a strategy it has used in other markets - but it suspended the scheme for a while in December after leasing just a third of that total. After burning through millions of dollars over three years in a battle for market share with local rival Ola, backed by Japan's Softbank, Uber has cut the incentives it gives to drivers and raised the fares it charges passengers. The incentives - from free smartphones to cash bonuses worth as much as double a day's fares - meant drivers could earn as much as 120,000 rupees ($1,838) a month. Those incentive payments have been pared back, in some cases to as little as 10 per cent of fare income. Ride fares have risen to 1.5 rupees per minute of travel from 1 rupee. The incentives and, to an extent, the leasing scheme aimed at drivers without their own cars, boosted Uber's driver numbers, helping it rapidly gain around 30 per cent market share. Uber has faced challenges elsewhere in Asia, but the stakes are high in India's $12 billion taxi market, a key area after it exited China last year, and one where CEO Travis Kalanick has said it expects to be profitable soon. Uber has said its services are in 29 Indian cities and it has more than 250,000 drivers on its platform, but it lags Ola, which says it operates in more than 100 cities with about 550,000 drivers. BUSINESS SHIFT Two people with knowledge of the matter said Uber miscalculated the impact that the reduced incentives would have on drivers` earnings, especially those making lease payments. At an open meeting for staff in December, around the time the incentives were being reduced, Uber's India chief Amit Jain said the buying-for-lease scheme was being temporarily suspended while the company evaluated its leasing strategy, one of the sources said. Uber did not comment on Reuters queries related to Jain's announcement or the impact of the incentives cuts on its leasing programme. Raj Beri, business head for leasing in India, said the scheme was set up to help drivers without cars get on its platform and make money. "We are very pleased with our progress toward this goal so far, and look forward to introducing the opportunity to more prospective driver partners this year," he said in a statement. In a recent blog post on Uber's website, Jain defended the cuts to driver incentives and signalled a strategic shift for India. "We can shift from start-up mode to a more sustainable business model," he wrote. "NO BENEFIT IN LEASING" Leasing is only a small part of Uber's overall supply in India, but is seen as a way to lock drivers on to its platform for longer, and stop them switching to Ola. To lease a new small car through Uber's scheme, drivers pay a 33,000 rupee ($499) deposit - less than what they would pay to buy a car from a dealer with a bank loan. But weekly payments of about 5,500 rupees over three years add up to nearly double what drivers would pay to service a car loan. That wasn`t an issue when incentives were high. Several Uber drivers said they feel trapped as a surge in the number of cars on Uber's platform has led to fewer rides, at a time when incentives have been cut, making it harder to keep up lease payments. "I'll not be able to save even 10,000 rupees a month," said Arjun Chouhan, 38, an Uber driver in Delhi who has leased a car. "There's no benefit in leasing. What if I'm unwell? They don't listen." In a dusty car lot on Delhi's outskirts, guards told Reuters that dozens of cars standing idle belonged to Uber and had been returned by drivers. When Reuters phoned Xchange Leasing, Uber's local leasing arm that has an office near the car park, officials said no new cars were currently being leased out. One said the priority was to lease those cars returned by drivers, and it could be 2-3 months before new cars would again be offered. An Uber spokesman said the company doesn't comment on "anonymous speculation". As part of its review, Uber may reduce the three-year lease term and let two drivers share the rent on a car, one of the sources said. Uber did not comment on its leasing targets or the future of the scheme. "People left well-paying jobs to drive an Uber," said Sandeep, another Delhi driver, adding his monthly ride income has nearly halved to 60,000 rupees in two years, despite working longer hours. "We were tempted at the thought of becoming millionaires." (Reuters)

Uber stalls India leasing scheme as driver incomes drop: Sources

Cab-hailing major Uber received another jolt as president Jeff Jones resigned from the company.

Jones is the latest to quit the company after a string of high profile exits including that of Amit Singhal who was asked to resign because of a sexual harassment allegation against him in his previous job at Alphabet Inc&#39;s&nbsp;Google.

Technology news site Recode was the first to report about Jones&#39; departure.

The reason behind his resignation is not known but it is believed that recent controversies at the company which have put a question mark on its corporate governance could well be the reason.

Last month, an Uber employee wrote a blog post denouncing Uber for not taking action against cases of sexual harassment.

After that, a Bloomberg video showed the company&#39;s chief executive, Travis Kalanick berating a driver with the company who complained about cut in rates paid to drivers. The incident forced Kalanick to issue a public apology.

(WION with inputs from Reuters)

The immediate reasons behind his exit were not known

Cab-hailing major Uber received another jolt as president Jeff Jones resigned from the company. Jones is the latest to quit the company after a string of high profile exits including that of Amit Singhal who was asked to resign because of a sexual harassment allegation against him in his previous job at Alphabet Inc's Google. Technology news site Recode was the first to report about Jones' departure. The reason behind his resignation is not known but it is believed that recent controversies at the company which have put a question mark on its corporate governance could well be the reason. Last month, an Uber employee wrote a blog post denouncing Uber for not taking action against cases of sexual harassment. After that, a Bloomberg video showed the company's chief executive, Travis Kalanick berating a driver with the company who complained about cut in rates paid to drivers. The incident forced Kalanick to issue a public apology. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

String of high profile exits from Uber continue as president Jeff Jones quits

Uber&#39;s senior vice-president of engineering, Amit Singhal, has been forced to quit after reports of&nbsp;sexual harassment against him surfaced at his previous employer Alphabet Inc&#39;s Google, reported Reuters citing a report in Recode.

He was appointed last month and was closely working with the CEO of Uber, Travis Kalanick.&nbsp;

Reports suggest that he was asked by Travis to resign after Recode informed the company about the allegations against him.

Amit Singhal is a highly regarded technologist at&nbsp;Silicon Valley and was working as senior vice-president,&nbsp;search at Google before he resigned, reported Recode.

The news comes at a time when <a href="http://www.wionews.com/preview/article/12585">Uber is embroiled in a sexual harassment</a> case after one of its employees wrote a blogspot describing how sexism forced her to leave the company.

The employee, an engineer, wrote in her blog post how she received sexual advances from her manager and that when she reported the matter to the HR, it failed to take any action.&nbsp;

Uber has hired former US&nbsp;Attorney General Eric Holder to look into her claims.

(WION with inputs from Reuters) 
&nbsp;

Amit Singhal, Uber's senior vice president of engineering, was appointed last month and had been working closely with CEO Travis Kalanick

Uber's senior vice-president of engineering, Amit Singhal, has been forced to quit after reports of sexual harassment against him surfaced at his previous employer Alphabet Inc's Google, reported Reuters citing a report in Recode. He was appointed last month and was closely working with the CEO of Uber, Travis Kalanick. Reports suggest that he was asked by Travis to resign after Recode informed the company about the allegations against him. Amit Singhal is a highly regarded technologist at Silicon Valley and was working as senior vice-president, search at Google before he resigned, reported Recode. The news comes at a time when Uber is embroiled in a sexual harassment case after one of its employees wrote a blogspot describing how sexism forced her to leave the company. The employee, an engineer, wrote in her blog post how she received sexual advances from her manager and that when she reported the matter to the HR, it failed to take any action. Uber has hired former US Attorney General Eric Holder to look into her claims. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Senior Uber executive fired for not disclosing sexual harassment case at Google

Uber&nbsp;Technologies Inc Chief Executive Travis Kalanick on Tuesday said it was time for him to &quot;grow up&quot; and get help after a video was published showing him getting into an argument with a driver for the ride service who complained about pay rates.

Bloomberg on Tuesday published a video of Kalanick, a co-founder of the company, arguing with a driver who tells him that rates have been cut and he has lost money. The 40-year-old Kalanick responds angrily that some people don&#39;t take responsibility for their own actions.

The video is the latest in a series of challenges and embarrassments for the ride service. Last week, Alphabet Inc&#39;s self-driving vehicle unit Waymo sued&nbsp;Uber&nbsp;for allegedly stealing designs related to autonomous vehicles, a claim that&nbsp;Uber&nbsp;has denied.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ejZL5Flwmjc" width="560"></iframe>

Watch: Uber CEO Travis Kalanick gets into a shouting match with his Uber driver. Kalanick later said it was time for him to &#39;grow up&#39; and get help&nbsp;

Uber&nbsp;also is investigating allegations of sexual harassment in its own organization. Earlier this month, a female former engineer at&nbsp;Uber&nbsp;said in a widely read blog post that managers and human resources officers at the company had not punished her manager after she reported his unwanted sexual advances, and even threatened her with a poor performance review.

In the video published by Bloomberg on Tuesday, the driver in a dash cam tells Kalanick, a passenger, that &quot;people are not trusting you anymore,&quot; and complains that rates for drivers have fallen.

Kalanick responds, &quot;Some people don&#39;t like to take responsibility for their own shit. They blame everything in their life on somebody else. Good luck!&quot;

In his statement released later on Tuesday, Kalanick said he was ashamed for treating the driver disrespectfully, and he apologized to the driver and others.

&quot;It&rsquo;s clear this video is a reflection of me - and the criticism we&rsquo;ve received is a stark reminder that I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up. This is the first time I&rsquo;ve been willing to admit that I need leadership help and I intend to get it,&quot; he wrote.

(Reuters)

The driver had told him 'people are not trusting you anymore' and had complained that rates for drivers had fallen

Uber Technologies Inc Chief Executive Travis Kalanick on Tuesday said it was time for him to "grow up" and get help after a video was published showing him getting into an argument with a driver for the ride service who complained about pay rates. Bloomberg on Tuesday published a video of Kalanick, a co-founder of the company, arguing with a driver who tells him that rates have been cut and he has lost money. The 40-year-old Kalanick responds angrily that some people don't take responsibility for their own actions. The video is the latest in a series of challenges and embarrassments for the ride service. Last week, Alphabet Inc's self-driving vehicle unit Waymo sued Uber for allegedly stealing designs related to autonomous vehicles, a claim that Uber has denied. Watch: Uber CEO Travis Kalanick gets into a shouting match with his Uber driver. Kalanick later said it was time for him to 'grow up' and get help Uber also is investigating allegations of sexual harassment in its own organization. Earlier this month, a female former engineer at Uber said in a widely read blog post that managers and human resources officers at the company had not punished her manager after she reported his unwanted sexual advances, and even threatened her with a poor performance review. In the video published by Bloomberg on Tuesday, the driver in a dash cam tells Kalanick, a passenger, that "people are not trusting you anymore," and complains that rates for drivers have fallen. Kalanick responds, "Some people don't like to take responsibility for their own shit. They blame everything in their life on somebody else. Good luck!" In his statement released later on Tuesday, Kalanick said he was ashamed for treating the driver disrespectfully, and he apologized to the driver and others. "It’s clear this video is a reflection of me - and the criticism we’ve received is a stark reminder that I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up. This is the first time I’ve been willing to admit that I need leadership help and I intend to get it," he wrote. (Reuters)

Guess who got into shouting match with his Uber driver? Uber CEO Travis Kalanick

Uber&#39;s senior vice president of engineering, Amit Singhal, has been forced to quit after reports of a case of sexual harassment against him surfaced at his previous employer Alphabet Inc&#39;s Google, reported Reuters citing a report in Recode.

He was appointed last month and was closely working with the CEO of Uber, Travis Kalanick.&nbsp;

Reports suggest that he was asked by Travis to resign after Recode informed the company about the allegations against him.

Singhal is a widely regarded as a technologist in Silicon Valley and was working as senior vice president of search at Google before he resigned, reported Recode.

The news comes at a time when Uber is embroiled in a sexual harassment case after one of its employees wrote a blogspot describing how sexism forced her to leave the company.

The employee, an engineer, wrote how she received sexual advances from her manager and that when she reported the matter to the HR, it didn&#39;t take any action.

Uber has hired former US&nbsp;Attorney General Eric Holder to look into the claims.

(WION with inputs from Reuters via Recode)

He was appointed last month and was closely working with the CEO of Uber, Travis Kalanick

Uber's senior vice president of engineering, Amit Singhal, has been forced to quit after reports of a case of sexual harassment against him surfaced at his previous employer Alphabet Inc's Google, reported Reuters citing a report in Recode. He was appointed last month and was closely working with the CEO of Uber, Travis Kalanick. Reports suggest that he was asked by Travis to resign after Recode informed the company about the allegations against him. Singhal is a widely regarded as a technologist in Silicon Valley and was working as senior vice president of search at Google before he resigned, reported Recode. The news comes at a time when Uber is embroiled in a sexual harassment case after one of its employees wrote a blogspot describing how sexism forced her to leave the company. The employee, an engineer, wrote how she received sexual advances from her manager and that when she reported the matter to the HR, it didn't take any action. Uber has hired former US Attorney General Eric Holder to look into the claims. (WION with inputs from Reuters via Recode)

Senior executive at Uber quits after reports of prior sexual harassment surface

Alphabet&#39;s&nbsp;Waymo self-driving car unit sued Uber Technologies and its autonomous trucking subsidiary Otto in federal court on Thursday over allegations of theft of its confidential and proprietary sensor technology.

Waymo accused Uber and Otto, acquired by the ride services company in August, with stealing confidential information on Waymo&#39;s Lidar sensor technology to help speed its own efforts in autonomous technology.&nbsp;

Uber and Otto did not immediately respond to requests for comment.&nbsp;

&quot;While Waymo developed its custom LiDAR systems with sustained effort over many years, defendants leveraged stolen information to shortcut the process and purportedly build a comparable LiDAR system in only nine months,&quot; the complaint in the Northern District of California said.

Waymo is seeking an unspecified amount of damages and a court order preventing Uber from using its proprietary information.&nbsp;

Otto launched with much fanfare in May, due in part to the high profile of one of its co-founders, Anthony Levandowski, who had been an executive on Google&#39;s self-driving project. Uber acquired the company in August for what Waymo said in the lawsuit was $680 million.&nbsp;

Waymo said that before Levandowski&#39;s resignation in January 2016 from Google, whose self-driving unit was renamed Waymo in December, he downloaded over 14,000 confidential files, including Lidar circuit board designs.

Lidar is a main component of autonomous driving systems that bounces light pulses off objects to help vehicles know where they are on the road.

Waymo accused Levandowski of attempting to &quot;erase any forensic fingerprints&quot; via a reformat of his laptop.

(Reuters)

Waymo accused Uber and Otto with stealing confidential information on it's Lidar sensor technology?

Alphabet's Waymo self-driving car unit sued Uber Technologies and its autonomous trucking subsidiary Otto in federal court on Thursday over allegations of theft of its confidential and proprietary sensor technology. Waymo accused Uber and Otto, acquired by the ride services company in August, with stealing confidential information on Waymo's Lidar sensor technology to help speed its own efforts in autonomous technology. Uber and Otto did not immediately respond to requests for comment. "While Waymo developed its custom LiDAR systems with sustained effort over many years, defendants leveraged stolen information to shortcut the process and purportedly build a comparable LiDAR system in only nine months," the complaint in the Northern District of California said. Waymo is seeking an unspecified amount of damages and a court order preventing Uber from using its proprietary information. Otto launched with much fanfare in May, due in part to the high profile of one of its co-founders, Anthony Levandowski, who had been an executive on Google's self-driving project. Uber acquired the company in August for what Waymo said in the lawsuit was $680 million. Waymo said that before Levandowski's resignation in January 2016 from Google, whose self-driving unit was renamed Waymo in December, he downloaded over 14,000 confidential files, including Lidar circuit board designs. Lidar is a main component of autonomous driving systems that bounces light pulses off objects to help vehicles know where they are on the road. Waymo accused Levandowski of attempting to "erase any forensic fingerprints" via a reformat of his laptop. (Reuters)

Alphabet's self-driving car unit sues Uber over allegations of stolen technology

The chief executive of Uber Technologies Inc has ordered an &quot;urgent investigation&quot; into claims of sexual harassment at the ride-hailing service made by a former employee.

Chief Executive Travis Kalanick said on Sunday he instructed his chief human resources officer to investigate the accusations described in a blog post by Susan Fowler, who worked as an engineer at Uber from November 2015 to December 2016.

In a statement sent to Reuters, Kalanick called Fowler&#39;s allegations &quot;abhorrent and against everything Uber stands for and believes in&quot;.

Fowler wrote in a blog post published Sunday that she was subjected to sexual advances but, when she reported the offense to human resources officials and management, they declined to punish the offender because he &quot;was a high performer&quot;.&nbsp;

Fowler, who is now an engineer at payments company Stripe, said her manager used the company&#39;s chat software to try &quot;to get me to have sex with him&quot;. She took screenshots of the messages and reported him.

Instead, management said &quot;they wouldn&#39;t feel comfortable punishing him for what was probably just an innocent mistake on his part,&quot; Fowler wrote.

Fowler&#39;s tale prompted a backlash, including a revival of the #DeleteUber movement, which stemmed from accusations that the San Francisco ride service aimed to profit from a protest last month at New York&#39;s John F&nbsp;Kennedy Airport following President Donald Trump&rsquo;s executive order banning refugees and immigrants from certain countries.

&quot;We seek to make Uber a just workplace and there can be absolutely no place for this kind of behavior at Uber - and anyone who behaves this way or thinks this is OK will be fired,&quot; Kalanick said on Sunday.

Arianna Huffington, who joined Uber&#39;s board last year, said in a tweet that she would work with the company&#39;s new chief human resources officer, Liane Hornsey, to conduct the investigation.

Many women working in Silicon Valley, particularly in highly technical roles, say they have experienced misogyny and harassment in the male-dominated field. Technology companies are under mounting pressure to hire more diverse workforces -- including more women, blacks and Latinos -- but progress has been slow.

Fowler said that when she joined Uber, the division she worked in comprised more than 25 per cent women. By the time she left, only 3 per cent of the 150 or so engineers were women.

(Reuters)

Susan Fowler said she was subjected to sexual advances at Uber but when she reported the offence to HR, they declined to punish the offender

The chief executive of Uber Technologies Inc has ordered an "urgent investigation" into claims of sexual harassment at the ride-hailing service made by a former employee. Chief Executive Travis Kalanick said on Sunday he instructed his chief human resources officer to investigate the accusations described in a blog post by Susan Fowler, who worked as an engineer at Uber from November 2015 to December 2016. In a statement sent to Reuters, Kalanick called Fowler's allegations "abhorrent and against everything Uber stands for and believes in". Fowler wrote in a blog post published Sunday that she was subjected to sexual advances but, when she reported the offense to human resources officials and management, they declined to punish the offender because he "was a high performer". Fowler, who is now an engineer at payments company Stripe, said her manager used the company's chat software to try "to get me to have sex with him". She took screenshots of the messages and reported him. Instead, management said "they wouldn't feel comfortable punishing him for what was probably just an innocent mistake on his part," Fowler wrote. Fowler's tale prompted a backlash, including a revival of the #DeleteUber movement, which stemmed from accusations that the San Francisco ride service aimed to profit from a protest last month at New York's John F Kennedy Airport following President Donald Trump’s executive order banning refugees and immigrants from certain countries. "We seek to make Uber a just workplace and there can be absolutely no place for this kind of behavior at Uber - and anyone who behaves this way or thinks this is OK will be fired," Kalanick said on Sunday. Arianna Huffington, who joined Uber's board last year, said in a tweet that she would work with the company's new chief human resources officer, Liane Hornsey, to conduct the investigation. Many women working in Silicon Valley, particularly in highly technical roles, say they have experienced misogyny and harassment in the male-dominated field. Technology companies are under mounting pressure to hire more diverse workforces -- including more women, blacks and Latinos -- but progress has been slow. Fowler said that when she joined Uber, the division she worked in comprised more than 25 per cent women. By the time she left, only 3 per cent of the 150 or so engineers were women. (Reuters)

Uber CEO orders 'urgent investigation' after allegations of sexism, harassment at company

One former Uber employee from the United States has written a <a href="https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber">post&nbsp;</a>describing her &quot;very, very strange year&quot;&nbsp;working with the company, and how sexism forced her to leave.

Susan J Fowler describes receiving unwanted sexual advances from her manager. She documented it, then&nbsp;submitted a complaint&nbsp;to HR, but HR&nbsp;did nothing to stop it.

Far from. They gave her an ultimatum: Either change&nbsp;teams, or not be shocked to receive&nbsp;a bad review from the&nbsp;manager who asked her&nbsp;to have&nbsp;sex with him. Upper management told her the man in question was a &quot;high performer&quot; and they didn&#39;t feel comfortable giving more than a stern warning because it was supposedly his &quot;first offence&quot;.

Fowler says&nbsp;the situation got&nbsp;more &quot;comically absurd&quot; each&nbsp;day, and she describes how sexism impacted her work appraisal.&nbsp;Fowler claims that when she joined, Uber employees were 25 per cent female, a figure which&nbsp;dropped to six&nbsp;per cent a year later.

In response, on Sunday evening Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said in a statement that he instructed the company&#39;s new chief human resources officer to conduct an &quot;urgent investigation&quot; into the allegations.&nbsp;

Uber has been accused of sexism before, after Kalanick made a joke about women-on-demand (&quot;Yeah, we call that Boob-er&quot;) in a widely-circulated GQ profile from 2014.

Almost a year ago, the company <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/07/uber-hits-back-sexual-assault-complaints">downplayed </a>the significance of leaked internal data published by <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/internal-data-offers-glimpse-at-uber-sex-assault-complaints#.wxZnDylOR" target="_blank">Buzzfeed</a>&nbsp;claiming&nbsp;that thousands of customers have used the word &quot;rape&quot; and &quot;sexual assault&quot; in a formal complaint, with Uber responding at the time&nbsp;that it received only&nbsp;&quot;five&quot; complaints alleging rape and&nbsp;between December 2012 and August 2015 received&nbsp;170 complains with a &quot;legitimate claim of sexual assault&quot;.

Uber claimed: &quot;Riders routinely misspell &#39;rate&#39; (as in the fare) as &#39;rape&#39;, or use the word &#39;rape&#39; in another context. For example, &#39;you raped my wallet&#39;.&quot;

(WION)

&nbsp;

When Susan Fowler joined in November 2015 Uber employees were 25% female. A year later it's 6%. Fowler claims there's a good reason for that

One former Uber employee from the United States has written a post describing her "very, very strange year" working with the company, and how sexism forced her to leave. Susan J Fowler describes receiving unwanted sexual advances from her manager. She documented it, then submitted a complaint to HR, but HR did nothing to stop it. Far from. They gave her an ultimatum: Either change teams, or not be shocked to receive a bad review from the manager who asked her to have sex with him. Upper management told her the man in question was a "high performer" and they didn't feel comfortable giving more than a stern warning because it was supposedly his "first offence". Fowler says the situation got more "comically absurd" each day, and she describes how sexism impacted her work appraisal. Fowler claims that when she joined, Uber employees were 25 per cent female, a figure which dropped to six per cent a year later. In response, on Sunday evening Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said in a statement that he instructed the company's new chief human resources officer to conduct an "urgent investigation" into the allegations. Uber has been accused of sexism before, after Kalanick made a joke about women-on-demand ("Yeah, we call that Boob-er") in a widely-circulated GQ profile from 2014. Almost a year ago, the company downplayed the significance of leaked internal data published by Buzzfeed claiming that thousands of customers have used the word "rape" and "sexual assault" in a formal complaint, with Uber responding at the time that it received only "five" complaints alleging rape and between December 2012 and August 2015 received 170 complains with a "legitimate claim of sexual assault". Uber claimed: "Riders routinely misspell 'rate' (as in the fare) as 'rape', or use the word 'rape' in another context. For example, 'you raped my wallet'." (WION)

Ex-Uber employee describes rampant sexism, harassment at company

Chicago&#39;s ethics board voted unanimously to fine Uber Technologies Inc&#39;s former strategist, David Plouffe, $90,000 for illegally lobbying in the city.

The ethics board said that Plouffe, who helped Uber combat onerous regulations and opposition from the taxi industry, violated the Governmental Ethics Ordinance by lobbying city officials and failing to register as a lobbyist.

Plouffe, who served as campaign manager and White House adviser to President Barack Obama, joined Uber in August 2014 and served as its senior vice president of policy and strategy.

The San Francisco-based company sent a letter to the ethics board objecting to the size of the fine, Chicago officials said in a statement on Thursday after the board&#39;s February&nbsp;15 decision was made public.

Uber argued that Plouffe should be fined a maximum of $1,000 for the violation, the statement said. However, the ethics board said that Plouffe lobbied Chicago city officials on November 20, 2015 on behalf of the company without registering until April 13, 2016, culminating in the $90,000 fine.

The ethics board also fined the ride-hailing service $2,000 for the violation. Plouffe and Uber officials were not immediately available to comment outside US&nbsp;business hours.

Plouffe now works for Mark Zuckerberg&#39;s philanthropy organisation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

(Reuters)

David Plouffe, a former adviser to Uber who was previously in Obama's White House, failed to register as a lobbyist for five months

Chicago's ethics board voted unanimously to fine Uber Technologies Inc's former strategist, David Plouffe, $90,000 for illegally lobbying in the city. The ethics board said that Plouffe, who helped Uber combat onerous regulations and opposition from the taxi industry, violated the Governmental Ethics Ordinance by lobbying city officials and failing to register as a lobbyist. Plouffe, who served as campaign manager and White House adviser to President Barack Obama, joined Uber in August 2014 and served as its senior vice president of policy and strategy. The San Francisco-based company sent a letter to the ethics board objecting to the size of the fine, Chicago officials said in a statement on Thursday after the board's February 15 decision was made public. Uber argued that Plouffe should be fined a maximum of $1,000 for the violation, the statement said. However, the ethics board said that Plouffe lobbied Chicago city officials on November 20, 2015 on behalf of the company without registering until April 13, 2016, culminating in the $90,000 fine. The ethics board also fined the ride-hailing service $2,000 for the violation. Plouffe and Uber officials were not immediately available to comment outside US business hours. Plouffe now works for Mark Zuckerberg's philanthropy organisation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. (Reuters)

Uber's former strategist fined $90,000 for violating lobbying law

After Ola, US-based cab aggregator Uber has now launched UberHIRE in nine Indian cities, including Delhi, Mumbai and Pune that will allow users to hire a cab for up to 12 hours.

UberHIRE is a time-based offering that allows users to make trips punctuated with multiple stop overs, Uber said in a blogpost.

&quot;After a successful pilot run in Kochi, UberHIRE - another India-first innovation - will go live starting today in New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Vizag and Nagpur with more cities slated for launch in the weeks to come,&quot; it added.

Uber&#39;s local rival Ola had launched a similar service - Rentals - last year, which is available in 85 Indian cities.

Under UberHIRE, users can hold their Uber cab for up to 12 hours. The minimum fare ranges between Rs 449-649 for up to 2 hours or up to 30 km, post which they will be charged at Rs 2 per minute and Rs 12 per km.

While dynamic pricing will not apply, pricing and cancellation charges might vary from city to city, it said.

UberHIRE service is, however, available on cash payment only at present.

&quot;Our technology makes it possible for us to create specialised solutions that can help users have access to reliable transportation at affordable prices. UberHIRE is one such product that addresses the unique commuting needs of riders in India, especially that of tourists, business travellers, senior citizens, and working professionals,&quot; Uber India Head of Engineering Apurva Dalal said.

(PTI)

UberHIRE is a time-based offering that allows users to make trips punctuated with multiple stop overs

After Ola, US-based cab aggregator Uber has now launched UberHIRE in nine Indian cities, including Delhi, Mumbai and Pune that will allow users to hire a cab for up to 12 hours. UberHIRE is a time-based offering that allows users to make trips punctuated with multiple stop overs, Uber said in a blogpost. "After a successful pilot run in Kochi, UberHIRE - another India-first innovation - will go live starting today in New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Vizag and Nagpur with more cities slated for launch in the weeks to come," it added. Uber's local rival Ola had launched a similar service - Rentals - last year, which is available in 85 Indian cities. Under UberHIRE, users can hold their Uber cab for up to 12 hours. The minimum fare ranges between Rs 449-649 for up to 2 hours or up to 30 km, post which they will be charged at Rs 2 per minute and Rs 12 per km. While dynamic pricing will not apply, pricing and cancellation charges might vary from city to city, it said. UberHIRE service is, however, available on cash payment only at present. "Our technology makes it possible for us to create specialised solutions that can help users have access to reliable transportation at affordable prices. UberHIRE is one such product that addresses the unique commuting needs of riders in India, especially that of tourists, business travellers, senior citizens, and working professionals," Uber India Head of Engineering Apurva Dalal said. (PTI)

You can now hold onto your Uber for up to 12 hours

Cab-hailing app Uber faces the threat of being banned in certain parts of Pakistan, triggering public backlash on social media.

Punjab and Sindh -- two provinces in Pakistan -- plan to blacklist Uber and another local cab service Careem for using private vehicles to provide transport services, the Dawn reported.

The Punjab government&#39;s transport authority said the two companies were plying &quot;without registering the private cars with any regulatory body&quot;.

The Sindh government plans to outlaw them because the cars attached to the two companies have failed to obtain a No Objection Certificate and fitness certificate.

Sindh Transport Secretary Taha Farooqi said that despite negotiations with Uber, not more than 10 out 1,000 cars had obtained the requisite documents to ply commercially.

The proposed ban has been met with rage, irony and humour on Twitter.&nbsp;

People logged in in hordes to assail the two local governments&#39; decision.&nbsp;

Some of the reactions on Twitter are as follows:

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
These are the safety standards that Careem and Uber needs to follow in Pakistan to be operational ?? <a href="https://t.co/6Bcakahch4">pic.twitter.com/6Bcakahch4</a>
&mdash; Hassan Munir (@hasssan39) <a href="https://twitter.com/hasssan39/status/826383111944536064">January 31, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Government of Pakistan: &quot;How can we elevate the frustration of people after banning Qingji? I know! Lets ban <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Uber?src=hash">#Uber</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Careem?src=hash">#Careem</a> !!!&quot; 
U Suck!
&mdash; Misha Hassan (@MishaHassanw11) <a href="https://twitter.com/MishaHassanw11/status/826377825041145857">January 31, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
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The two companies are yet to comment on the issue.

Uber made its entry in Pakistan last March, while Careem launched in the middle of 2015.

(WION)

Punjab and Sindh governments want to outlaw the cab-hailing app for operating without obtaining requisite documents

Cab-hailing app Uber faces the threat of being banned in certain parts of Pakistan, triggering public backlash on social media. Punjab and Sindh -- two provinces in Pakistan -- plan to blacklist Uber and another local cab service Careem for using private vehicles to provide transport services, the Dawn reported. The Punjab government's transport authority said the two companies were plying "without registering the private cars with any regulatory body". The Sindh government plans to outlaw them because the cars attached to the two companies have failed to obtain a No Objection Certificate and fitness certificate. Sindh Transport Secretary Taha Farooqi said that despite negotiations with Uber, not more than 10 out 1,000 cars had obtained the requisite documents to ply commercially. The proposed ban has been met with rage, irony and humour on Twitter. People logged in in hordes to assail the two local governments' decision. Some of the reactions on Twitter are as follows: These are the safety standards that Careem and Uber needs to follow in Pakistan to be operational ?? pic.twitter.com/6Bcakahch4 — Hassan Munir (@hasssan39) January 31, 2017 × Government of Pakistan: "How can we elevate the frustration of people after banning Qingji? I know! Lets ban #Uber and #Careem !!!" U Suck! — Misha Hassan (@MishaHassanw11) January 31, 2017 × The two companies are yet to comment on the issue. Uber made its entry in Pakistan last March, while Careem launched in the middle of 2015. (WION)

Pakistan moves to ban Uber, sparks public backlash

Uber Technologies Inc on Thursday removed its self-driving test cars from California and put them on trucks bound for Arizona, shuttering the autonomous vehicle project in its home state after a week-long battle with regulators.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles on Wednesday revoked the registration of 16 cars in Uber&#39;s self-driving fleet, which the regulator said lacked the proper permits.

Arizona, however, does not require any special permits for self-driving cars, according to the state Department of Transportation. Autonomous vehicles have the same registration requirements as any other car.

Uber&#39;s self-driving program had been running in San Francisco for just a week, and all the while the company was embroiled in a dispute with the state DMV and attorney general. Both threatened legal action if Uber did not remove its self-driving cars from the road, which the company ultimately did on Wednesday.

On Thursday morning, Uber loaded its cars onto long-haul trucks belonging to Otto - a self-driving truck company Uber acquired in August.

&quot;Our cars departed for Arizona this morning by truck,&quot; an Uber spokeswoman said in a written statement. &quot;We&#39;ll be expanding our self-driving pilot there in the next few weeks.&quot;

San Francisco had been selected as Uber&#39;s second testing ground for its self-driving cars after Pittsburgh, but the company immediately faced a backlash from the DMV, which requires that any company testing autonomous vehicles on public roads receive a permit.

But Uber refused to apply for the permit, arguing that state regulations do not apply to its cars, which require constant monitoring and interference by a person in the vehicle.

California defines autonomous vehicles as having the capability to drive &quot;without the active physical control or monitoring of a natural person.&quot;

Amid the fray, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey invited Uber to bring its cars to his state.

&quot;Arizona welcomes Uber self-driving cars with open arms and wide open roads,&quot; Ducey said in a statement released Thursday. &quot;While California puts the brakes on innovation and change with more bureaucracy and more regulation, Arizona is paving the way for new technology and new businesses.&quot;

Alphabet Inc&#39;s autonomous car division Waymo is also testing in Arizona.

(Reuters)

The California Department of Motor Vehicles on Wednesday revoked the registration of 16 cars in Uber's self-driving fleet

Uber Technologies Inc on Thursday removed its self-driving test cars from California and put them on trucks bound for Arizona, shuttering the autonomous vehicle project in its home state after a week-long battle with regulators. The California Department of Motor Vehicles on Wednesday revoked the registration of 16 cars in Uber's self-driving fleet, which the regulator said lacked the proper permits. Arizona, however, does not require any special permits for self-driving cars, according to the state Department of Transportation. Autonomous vehicles have the same registration requirements as any other car. Uber's self-driving program had been running in San Francisco for just a week, and all the while the company was embroiled in a dispute with the state DMV and attorney general. Both threatened legal action if Uber did not remove its self-driving cars from the road, which the company ultimately did on Wednesday. On Thursday morning, Uber loaded its cars onto long-haul trucks belonging to Otto - a self-driving truck company Uber acquired in August. "Our cars departed for Arizona this morning by truck," an Uber spokeswoman said in a written statement. "We'll be expanding our self-driving pilot there in the next few weeks." San Francisco had been selected as Uber's second testing ground for its self-driving cars after Pittsburgh, but the company immediately faced a backlash from the DMV, which requires that any company testing autonomous vehicles on public roads receive a permit. But Uber refused to apply for the permit, arguing that state regulations do not apply to its cars, which require constant monitoring and interference by a person in the vehicle. California defines autonomous vehicles as having the capability to drive "without the active physical control or monitoring of a natural person." Amid the fray, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey invited Uber to bring its cars to his state. "Arizona welcomes Uber self-driving cars with open arms and wide open roads," Ducey said in a statement released Thursday. "While California puts the brakes on innovation and change with more bureaucracy and more regulation, Arizona is paving the way for new technology and new businesses." Alphabet Inc's autonomous car division Waymo is also testing in Arizona. (Reuters)

Uber takes self-driving cars to Arizona after California demands permit

Uber said on Friday it planned to keep its self-driving cars on the streets of San Francisco, defying a state order to halt the test program.

The ridesharing giant said it disputed the interpretation by the California Department of Motor Vehicles that the cars require a special permit, saying they had the same autonomy capabilities as Tesla cars which have an optional &quot;autopilot&quot; feature.

Anthony Levandowski, Uber&#39;s vice president for advanced technologies, said that as with the Teslas, the cars driven by Uber still have a driver capable of assuming control at any time.

&quot;We respectfully disagree with the California DMV&#39;s interpretation of autonomous regulations, in particular that Uber needs a permit to operate in San Francisco,&quot; Levandowski told a conference call with journalists.

&quot;While these are considered state of the art today, they still require monitoring by a vehicle operator at all times.&quot;

Levandowski said Uber did not plan on seeking a state permit and for now planned to continue picking up passengers in San Francisco despite the threat of legal action.

He called it &quot;an important issue of principle&quot; about &quot;uneven application of statewide rules.&quot;

&quot;We cannot in good conscience sign up for regulation of something we are not doing,&quot; he said.

Levandowski said Uber was having &quot;frank conversations&quot; with regulators and hoped to convince them that its autonomous cars were no different from Tesla&#39;s, which allow a driver to turn over many operations to an onboard computer but still need a human behind the wheel.

&quot;We have a person sitting in the driver&#39;s seat, and there&#39;s also a person next to them looking at the system and trying to confirm that everything is going well,&quot; he said.

&quot;They are able to override and take control of the vehicle at any time.&quot;

The announcement by the global ridesharing colossus came two days after state regulations said the testing program was not authorized.

In a letter to Uber, DMV counsel Brian Soublet said the permit is required to protect public safety.

&quot;It is illegal for the company to operate its self-driving vehicles on public roads until it receives an autonomous vehicle testing permit,&quot; he wrote.

&quot;It is essential that Uber takes appropriate measure to ensure safety of the public. If Uber does not confirm immediately that it will stop its launch and seek a testing permit, DMV will initiate legal action.&quot;

Backers of autonomous vehicles say the technology can reduce more than 90 per cent of accidents, which mostly are due to human error.

Since its debut in 2010, Uber has grown into a worldwide phenomenon despite regulatory hurdles and resistance from traditional taxi operators.&nbsp;

In its latest funding round, Uber was valued at more than $60 billion, but has racked up losses at it expands and takes on competitors such as Lyft.

&nbsp;

(AFP)

Uber said it disputed the interpretation by the California Department of Motor Vehicles that the cars require a special permit

Uber said on Friday it planned to keep its self-driving cars on the streets of San Francisco, defying a state order to halt the test program. The ridesharing giant said it disputed the interpretation by the California Department of Motor Vehicles that the cars require a special permit, saying they had the same autonomy capabilities as Tesla cars which have an optional "autopilot" feature. Anthony Levandowski, Uber's vice president for advanced technologies, said that as with the Teslas, the cars driven by Uber still have a driver capable of assuming control at any time. "We respectfully disagree with the California DMV's interpretation of autonomous regulations, in particular that Uber needs a permit to operate in San Francisco," Levandowski told a conference call with journalists. "While these are considered state of the art today, they still require monitoring by a vehicle operator at all times." Levandowski said Uber did not plan on seeking a state permit and for now planned to continue picking up passengers in San Francisco despite the threat of legal action. He called it "an important issue of principle" about "uneven application of statewide rules." "We cannot in good conscience sign up for regulation of something we are not doing," he said. Levandowski said Uber was having "frank conversations" with regulators and hoped to convince them that its autonomous cars were no different from Tesla's, which allow a driver to turn over many operations to an onboard computer but still need a human behind the wheel. "We have a person sitting in the driver's seat, and there's also a person next to them looking at the system and trying to confirm that everything is going well," he said. "They are able to override and take control of the vehicle at any time." The announcement by the global ridesharing colossus came two days after state regulations said the testing program was not authorized. In a letter to Uber, DMV counsel Brian Soublet said the permit is required to protect public safety. "It is illegal for the company to operate its self-driving vehicles on public roads until it receives an autonomous vehicle testing permit," he wrote. "It is essential that Uber takes appropriate measure to ensure safety of the public. If Uber does not confirm immediately that it will stop its launch and seek a testing permit, DMV will initiate legal action." Backers of autonomous vehicles say the technology can reduce more than 90 per cent of accidents, which mostly are due to human error. Since its debut in 2010, Uber has grown into a worldwide phenomenon despite regulatory hurdles and resistance from traditional taxi operators. In its latest funding round, Uber was valued at more than $60 billion, but has racked up losses at it expands and takes on competitors such as Lyft. (AFP)

Uber defies California demand to stop self-driving cars

California shut down Uber&#39;s testing of self-driving cars shortly after the ride-sharing service launched its pilot in San Francisco, citing a lack of permit and threatening to sue.

Uber Technologies Inc. launched the test without a permit as required by the US state. Twenty companies have been approved to test a total of 130 vehicles, the California Department of Motor Vehicles pointed out.

In a letter to Uber, the DMV counsel Brian Soublet said the permit is required in part to protect public safety.

&quot;It is illegal for the company to operate its self-driving vehicles on public roads until it receives an autonomous vehicle testing permit,&quot; he wrote.

&quot;It is essential that Uber takes appropriate measure to ensure safety of the public. If Uber does not confirm immediately that it will stop its launch and seek a testing permit, DMV will initiate legal action.&quot;

Uber was not immediately available to comment on the DMV action.

Uber rolled out its driverless cars in San Francisco after an initial pilot earlier this year in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

&quot;We&#39;re excited to start operating in our hometown of San Francisco with Volvo XC90s, our first cars built in partnership with a major auto-manufacturer,&quot; Uber said in a statement.

A consumer protection organization based in Santa Monica, Consumer Watchdog, earlier Wednesday condemned the Uber pilot.

&quot;Consumer Watchdog today called on San Francisco police to impound Uber&#39;s robot cars operating without a permit on city streets and asked City Attorney Dennis Herrera to file criminal charges against Uber CEO Travis Kalanick,&quot; it said in a statement.

Consumer Watchdog cited reports of Uber&#39;s robot cars running red lights in San Francisco.

Backers of autonomous vehicles say the technology can reduce more than 90 per cent of accidents, which mostly are due to human error.

Since its debut in 2010, Uber has grown into a worldwide phenomenon despite regulatory hurdles and resistance from traditional taxi operators.&nbsp;

In its latest funding round, Uber was valued at more than $60 billion, but has racked up losses at it expands and takes on competitors such as Lyft.

(AFP)

Uber Technologies Inc launched the test without a permit as required by the US state

California shut down Uber's testing of self-driving cars shortly after the ride-sharing service launched its pilot in San Francisco, citing a lack of permit and threatening to sue. Uber Technologies Inc. launched the test without a permit as required by the US state. Twenty companies have been approved to test a total of 130 vehicles, the California Department of Motor Vehicles pointed out. In a letter to Uber, the DMV counsel Brian Soublet said the permit is required in part to protect public safety. "It is illegal for the company to operate its self-driving vehicles on public roads until it receives an autonomous vehicle testing permit," he wrote. "It is essential that Uber takes appropriate measure to ensure safety of the public. If Uber does not confirm immediately that it will stop its launch and seek a testing permit, DMV will initiate legal action." Uber was not immediately available to comment on the DMV action. Uber rolled out its driverless cars in San Francisco after an initial pilot earlier this year in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. "We're excited to start operating in our hometown of San Francisco with Volvo XC90s, our first cars built in partnership with a major auto-manufacturer," Uber said in a statement. A consumer protection organization based in Santa Monica, Consumer Watchdog, earlier Wednesday condemned the Uber pilot. "Consumer Watchdog today called on San Francisco police to impound Uber's robot cars operating without a permit on city streets and asked City Attorney Dennis Herrera to file criminal charges against Uber CEO Travis Kalanick," it said in a statement. Consumer Watchdog cited reports of Uber's robot cars running red lights in San Francisco. Backers of autonomous vehicles say the technology can reduce more than 90 per cent of accidents, which mostly are due to human error. Since its debut in 2010, Uber has grown into a worldwide phenomenon despite regulatory hurdles and resistance from traditional taxi operators. In its latest funding round, Uber was valued at more than $60 billion, but has racked up losses at it expands and takes on competitors such as Lyft. (AFP)

California pulls plug on Uber's self-driving cars

Ride-sharing cab service Uber on Friday lost a British tribunal case brought by drivers demanding basic workers&#39; rights, in a decision that could have repercussions across the &quot;gig economy&quot;.

The Central London Employment Tribunal ruled in favour of two drivers who argued that they should receive holiday and sick pay and be paid Britain&#39;s national minimum wage as they were effectively employees of the California-based tech company.

They were supported by the GMB union, who said the decision could have &quot;major&quot; implications for around 30,000 drivers across England and Wales.

&quot;We are delighted that the employment tribunal has found in favour of our clients,&quot; Nigel Mackay from law firm Leigh Day said after the decision.

&quot;This judgment acknowledges the central contribution that Uber&#39;s drivers have made to Uber&#39;s success by confirming that its drivers are not self-employed but that they work for Uber as part of the company&#39;s business.&quot;

Self-employed workers in Britain are not entitled to certain rights and privileges, including paid leave and the minimum wage.

Uber, whose European headquarters is in the Netherlands, argued that British drivers should not be allowed to enforce employment rights in British courts but make their claims in Dutch courts instead.

The company&#39;s UK regional general manager, Jo Bertram, said Uber would appeal against the ruling.

&quot;Tens of thousands of people in London drive with Uber precisely because they want to be self-employed and their own boss,&quot; she said in a statement.

She added: &quot;While the decision of this preliminary hearing only affects two people we will be appealing it.&quot;

The cab hire service has been accused of violating employment rights in other countries.

In April 2016, Uber drivers in California and Massachusetts filed a lawsuit against the company claiming they had been misclassified as independent contractors.

But before the trial could begin in California, the company paid $100 million (91 million euros) to the drivers to settle the lawsuit.

Uber is a cab service company that connects passengers to drivers through an app on its passengers&#39; smartphones. Customers pay Uber directly for the journey and the company, in turn, remunerates drivers.

Employment lawyers warned Friday&#39;s ruling could affect other workers who have flexible hours but no labour benefits.

&quot;This landmark decision will not only have huge financial implications for Uber and its drivers... but also the many other companies which operate within the so-called &#39;gig economy&#39;,&quot; said Julie Morris, a senior employment lawyer at Slater and Gordon solicitors firm in London.&nbsp;

&quot;They will now have to review their business model or face a deluge of similar claims from workers.&quot;

(AFP)

The tribunal ruled in favour of two drivers who argued they should receive holiday and sick pay and be paid Britain's national minimum wage

Ride-sharing cab service Uber on Friday lost a British tribunal case brought by drivers demanding basic workers' rights, in a decision that could have repercussions across the "gig economy". The Central London Employment Tribunal ruled in favour of two drivers who argued that they should receive holiday and sick pay and be paid Britain's national minimum wage as they were effectively employees of the California-based tech company. They were supported by the GMB union, who said the decision could have "major" implications for around 30,000 drivers across England and Wales. "We are delighted that the employment tribunal has found in favour of our clients," Nigel Mackay from law firm Leigh Day said after the decision. "This judgment acknowledges the central contribution that Uber's drivers have made to Uber's success by confirming that its drivers are not self-employed but that they work for Uber as part of the company's business." Self-employed workers in Britain are not entitled to certain rights and privileges, including paid leave and the minimum wage. Uber, whose European headquarters is in the Netherlands, argued that British drivers should not be allowed to enforce employment rights in British courts but make their claims in Dutch courts instead. The company's UK regional general manager, Jo Bertram, said Uber would appeal against the ruling. "Tens of thousands of people in London drive with Uber precisely because they want to be self-employed and their own boss," she said in a statement. She added: "While the decision of this preliminary hearing only affects two people we will be appealing it." The cab hire service has been accused of violating employment rights in other countries. In April 2016, Uber drivers in California and Massachusetts filed a lawsuit against the company claiming they had been misclassified as independent contractors. But before the trial could begin in California, the company paid $100 million (91 million euros) to the drivers to settle the lawsuit. Uber is a cab service company that connects passengers to drivers through an app on its passengers' smartphones. Customers pay Uber directly for the journey and the company, in turn, remunerates drivers. Employment lawyers warned Friday's ruling could affect other workers who have flexible hours but no labour benefits. "This landmark decision will not only have huge financial implications for Uber and its drivers... but also the many other companies which operate within the so-called 'gig economy'," said Julie Morris, a senior employment lawyer at Slater and Gordon solicitors firm in London. "They will now have to review their business model or face a deluge of similar claims from workers." (AFP)

Uber loses tribunal decision over drivers' working rights

It will now be possible for the Indian consumers to book a ride with taxi aggregators, Ola and Uber, directly from the Google Search, Indian news agency PTI reported today.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Tech giant Google had introduced a feature on Google Maps, earlier this year, that offers dedicated tab with information for cab services to the Indian users, in addition to the existing driving, public transport, or walking options. &nbsp;

&nbsp;

&quot;Now with this integration, commuters across the country can ask Google for directions and book ride services directly from Google Search,&quot; Google said in a statement, PTI reported.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The users will get to see a tab for ride services, both Uber and Ola, with fare estimates and pick-up times if a car is available near their location, it added.

&nbsp;

The Google Search will not only help the user to install the applications if he/ she doesn&#39;t have it on the device but the browser will also direct the user to select a service and automatically open the app to book the ride when the user searches for the options to book the cab.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&quot;Choosing the best transit option can be a task at times. Our aim is to help users simplify their everyday travel. With this, users will be able to order, explore and make quick comparisons about the best estimated taxi fare directly from Google Search results on their mobile,&quot; Google program manager Sanket Gupta has been quoted as saying.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Ola, in a statement, said the move helps facilitate Ola&#39;s focus on making cab bookings more accessible and seamless for customers everywhere.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from PTI)&nbsp;

The users will get to see a tab for ride services, both Uber and Ola, with fare estimates and pick-up times if a car is available

It will now be possible for the Indian consumers to book a ride with taxi aggregators, Ola and Uber, directly from the Google Search, Indian news agency PTI reported today. Tech giant Google had introduced a feature on Google Maps, earlier this year, that offers dedicated tab with information for cab services to the Indian users, in addition to the existing driving, public transport, or walking options. "Now with this integration, commuters across the country can ask Google for directions and book ride services directly from Google Search," Google said in a statement, PTI reported. The users will get to see a tab for ride services, both Uber and Ola, with fare estimates and pick-up times if a car is available near their location, it added. The Google Search will not only help the user to install the applications if he/ she doesn't have it on the device but the browser will also direct the user to select a service and automatically open the app to book the ride when the user searches for the options to book the cab. "Choosing the best transit option can be a task at times. Our aim is to help users simplify their everyday travel. With this, users will be able to order, explore and make quick comparisons about the best estimated taxi fare directly from Google Search results on their mobile," Google program manager Sanket Gupta has been quoted as saying. Ola, in a statement, said the move helps facilitate Ola's focus on making cab bookings more accessible and seamless for customers everywhere. (WION with inputs from PTI)

Indian consumers can now book Ola, Uber through Google Search

Uber Technologies announced today that it will launch UberEats, Uber&#39;s food delivery service in Japan. The service will be operational from Thursday, September 29, and initially will deliver in central Tokyo.&nbsp;

The UberEats app can be downloaded on iOS, android or the desktop computer. Dishes from about 150 restaurants will be available to customers, ranging from budget restaurants to fine dining.&nbsp;

The delivery will be free at first but charges are expected to be applied later. UberEats is functional in six countries, and&nbsp;is planning&nbsp;to expand in 22 more.&nbsp;

Daisuke Nomura, owner and chef of Sougo, a Michelin two-star restaurant said, &quot;I have used the car service, and so I trust the brand and the quality of its service,&quot; AFP reported.&nbsp;

 
Uber expanding its service range

Uber has been unsuccessul in the Asian market, with China asking the company to leave&nbsp;just two&nbsp;months after its entry. Uber is facing stiff competition from regional businesses like Singapore-based Grab and Go-jek based in Indonesia, Reuters reported.&nbsp;

Opposition from a powerful taxi lobby and laws barring non-professionals ferrying customers has caused obstacles for Uber in Japan. Currently, the taxi-service connects customers to professional taxi drivers.&nbsp;

Japan recently started two&nbsp;ride-hailing pilot services for the elderly in Japan&#39;s rural areas.&nbsp;

Uber venturing into other services indicates it is being smarter about branching out&nbsp;according to customer demand.&nbsp;

Jan Dawson, chief analyst at Jackdaw Research in Utah, said, &quot;Uber seems to be getting smarter about the mix of services they will offer in various parts of the world, in response to cultural differences, regulation, and competition&quot;.&nbsp;

She added, &quot;It seems to be less willing to simply barge into new markets while ignoring regulations or objections than in the past.&quot;

(WION with inputs from agencies)

The UberEats app can be downloaded on iOS, android or the desktop computer. Dishes from about 150 restaurants will be available to customers

Uber Technologies announced today that it will launch UberEats, Uber's food delivery service in Japan. The service will be operational from Thursday, September 29, and initially will deliver in central Tokyo. The UberEats app can be downloaded on iOS, android or the desktop computer. Dishes from about 150 restaurants will be available to customers, ranging from budget restaurants to fine dining. The delivery will be free at first but charges are expected to be applied later. UberEats is functional in six countries, and is planning to expand in 22 more. Daisuke Nomura, owner and chef of Sougo, a Michelin two-star restaurant said, "I have used the car service, and so I trust the brand and the quality of its service," AFP reported. Uber expanding its service range Uber has been unsuccessul in the Asian market, with China asking the company to leave just two months after its entry. Uber is facing stiff competition from regional businesses like Singapore-based Grab and Go-jek based in Indonesia, Reuters reported. Opposition from a powerful taxi lobby and laws barring non-professionals ferrying customers has caused obstacles for Uber in Japan. Currently, the taxi-service connects customers to professional taxi drivers. Japan recently started two ride-hailing pilot services for the elderly in Japan's rural areas. Uber venturing into other services indicates it is being smarter about branching out according to customer demand. Jan Dawson, chief analyst at Jackdaw Research in Utah, said, "Uber seems to be getting smarter about the mix of services they will offer in various parts of the world, in response to cultural differences, regulation, and competition". She added, "It seems to be less willing to simply barge into new markets while ignoring regulations or objections than in the past." (WION with inputs from agencies)

It fails to click in Japan, so Uber to start food delivery service

Island City, a recent Hindi movie, makes an interesting statement about the technology-driven world we inhabit. Winner of the FEDORA prize for the Best Young Director at the Venice Film Festival 2015, the film gives a sly nod to the greater-than-ever influx of technology in our lives and its ramifications. 
 
Director Ruchika Oberoi has managed to capture the changing dynamics of human relationships and isolation vis-a-vis advanced interaction with digital products and services. The contrived mirth in the automated alerts from the &lsquo;Fun and Frolic Committee&rsquo; is grim and farcical at the same time. 
&nbsp; 
Whether it is Uber&#39;s plan to roll out driver-less taxis or robots replacing workers in factories across the world, human beings are being made dispensable by technology. With the launch of Apple Nike + watch last fortnight, human beings are not needed even for nagging. &quot;The Nike+ Run Club app offers daily motivation through smart run reminders, challenges from friends and even alerts informing when the weather is right to get outside&quot;, reads the description on Apple&rsquo;s website. &nbsp;If you miss a run, you get nagged by your wrist-watch instead of a running partner, physician or a family member. A recent article on the internet called the device a &quot;dystopian nagging machine&quot;. Does digital really spell dystopia? 
 
Ashwin Mushran, Mumbai-based actor who was part of Island City, has an interesting take on this. &quot;The film engages with technology at a subliminal level. It is more about the isolation. Technology is what we make of it. There are apps and services that make lives much easier. On the other hand, there may be unhealthy dependence. The good thing is that users can control their level of engagement with technology. I can easily tweak my Facebook settings as per my privacy requirements,&quot; he says. 
 
In the first story of the film, Mushran plays a boss straight out of a nightmare whose insistence on structure and organisation eventually leads to a catastrophic climax. The actor says, &quot;The first story could be set anywhere in the world. It is about how we are conditioned to be from anywhere. Technology brings us together but it also flattens individualism, local character. It is also about our unthinking response to technology which becomes tyrannical.&quot; 
 
Technology aids in organisation but how far? Mushran says, &quot;I use an app to track my monthly expenditure. It is a great help to my accountant and I can manage my money better. The voracious reader in me has found salvation in Kindle. The catch lies in questioning the technology and not taking orders mindlessly. The latter comes close to living in the Nazi Germany. It will certainly spell disaster eventually. The future belongs to technology, the earlier we understand and adapt to it the better. There is no getting away and we shall all be forced to go digital without understanding it. Why not prepare ourselves for it then and use technology on our own terms?&quot; 
 
&quot;My fitness apps don&#39;t nag me. I&#39;ve become fitter because of them. Digital becomes dystopic only when you want to make it so,&quot; he stresses. 
&nbsp; 
Abhishek Aggarwal, the CEO of Bold Kiln - a solution provider for startups - is a deep consumer of technology. &quot;Technology is an enabler. It amplifies the latent behaviour within an individual. If you are a recluse, it allows you to do activities on your own. It is an exaggeration to say that certain behaviours emerge only due to consumption of technology. Technology facilitates these behaviours but rarely causes them,&quot; says Aggarwal, who graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), New Delhi. 
 
On technology replacing human interaction, Aggarwal says, &quot;Technology does not take away from relationships. A skype chat can be more intense than a physical one. Maybe the dynamics of relationships undergo a change because of digital intervention. But look around, we are able to stay in touch with our school friends through networking sites. Families spread across continents connect through communication technology.&quot; 
 
&quot;When we speak of the hazards of overexposure, we must realise that it is our own inability to prioritise. Digital platforms play on our insecurities and attention deficit. It is easier to blame technology than take responsibility of our own excesses. Technology does offer an easy escape. But so do newspapers and books! How much you want to remove yourself from your surroundings is up to you,&quot; he adds. 
 
However, Shilesh Chandra, a businessman from the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, is still sceptical about most things digital. He carries a basic mobile phone and uses it only to make or receive calls. He endearingly squabbles with his seven-year-old granddaughter over phone lock passwords. &ldquo;It is just cumbersome. I do not have the patience to deal with so much happening inside my phone. I love my afternoon nap and that&rsquo;s when I switch even this phone off. I find the alarms and reminders quite inconvenient and obtrusive,&rdquo; he shares. 
&nbsp; 
Convenience has a different definition for everyone, and so does dependence on technology. 
 
(WION)

While a technology-aided world is a great place to live in, there is much scope for an unhealthy dependence on it

Island City, a recent Hindi movie, makes an interesting statement about the technology-driven world we inhabit. Winner of the FEDORA prize for the Best Young Director at the Venice Film Festival 2015, the film gives a sly nod to the greater-than-ever influx of technology in our lives and its ramifications. Director Ruchika Oberoi has managed to capture the changing dynamics of human relationships and isolation vis-a-vis advanced interaction with digital products and services. The contrived mirth in the automated alerts from the ‘Fun and Frolic Committee’ is grim and farcical at the same time. Whether it is Uber's plan to roll out driver-less taxis or robots replacing workers in factories across the world, human beings are being made dispensable by technology. With the launch of Apple Nike + watch last fortnight, human beings are not needed even for nagging. "The Nike+ Run Club app offers daily motivation through smart run reminders, challenges from friends and even alerts informing when the weather is right to get outside", reads the description on Apple’s website. If you miss a run, you get nagged by your wrist-watch instead of a running partner, physician or a family member. A recent article on the internet called the device a "dystopian nagging machine". Does digital really spell dystopia? Ashwin Mushran, Mumbai-based actor who was part of Island City, has an interesting take on this. "The film engages with technology at a subliminal level. It is more about the isolation. Technology is what we make of it. There are apps and services that make lives much easier. On the other hand, there may be unhealthy dependence. The good thing is that users can control their level of engagement with technology. I can easily tweak my Facebook settings as per my privacy requirements," he says. In the first story of the film, Mushran plays a boss straight out of a nightmare whose insistence on structure and organisation eventually leads to a catastrophic climax. The actor says, "The first story could be set anywhere in the world. It is about how we are conditioned to be from anywhere. Technology brings us together but it also flattens individualism, local character. It is also about our unthinking response to technology which becomes tyrannical." Technology aids in organisation but how far? Mushran says, "I use an app to track my monthly expenditure. It is a great help to my accountant and I can manage my money better. The voracious reader in me has found salvation in Kindle. The catch lies in questioning the technology and not taking orders mindlessly. The latter comes close to living in the Nazi Germany. It will certainly spell disaster eventually. The future belongs to technology, the earlier we understand and adapt to it the better. There is no getting away and we shall all be forced to go digital without understanding it. Why not prepare ourselves for it then and use technology on our own terms?" "My fitness apps don't nag me. I've become fitter because of them. Digital becomes dystopic only when you want to make it so," he stresses. Abhishek Aggarwal, the CEO of Bold Kiln - a solution provider for startups - is a deep consumer of technology. "Technology is an enabler. It amplifies the latent behaviour within an individual. If you are a recluse, it allows you to do activities on your own. It is an exaggeration to say that certain behaviours emerge only due to consumption of technology. Technology facilitates these behaviours but rarely causes them," says Aggarwal, who graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), New Delhi. On technology replacing human interaction, Aggarwal says, "Technology does not take away from relationships. A skype chat can be more intense than a physical one. Maybe the dynamics of relationships undergo a change because of digital intervention. But look around, we are able to stay in touch with our school friends through networking sites. Families spread across continents connect through communication technology." "When we speak of the hazards of overexposure, we must realise that it is our own inability to prioritise. Digital platforms play on our insecurities and attention deficit. It is easier to blame technology than take responsibility of our own excesses. Technology does offer an easy escape. But so do newspapers and books! How much you want to remove yourself from your surroundings is up to you," he adds. However, Shilesh Chandra, a businessman from the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, is still sceptical about most things digital. He carries a basic mobile phone and uses it only to make or receive calls. He endearingly squabbles with his seven-year-old granddaughter over phone lock passwords. “It is just cumbersome. I do not have the patience to deal with so much happening inside my phone. I love my afternoon nap and that’s when I switch even this phone off. I find the alarms and reminders quite inconvenient and obtrusive,” he shares. Convenience has a different definition for everyone, and so does dependence on technology. (WION)

Does digital spell dystopia?

Uber is all set to launch its self-driving cabs in the US city of Pittsburgh. 
 
Self-driving taxis will be available to the US public for the first time following Uber&#39;s secretive work in autonomous vehicles. 
 
The San Francisco-based startup has a valuation of USD 68 billion and plans to replace many of its 1.5 million drivers with autonomous vehicles. 
 
Initially, four such self-driving cabs will be available with two people sitting in the front to take over when the car cannot steer itself. 
 
The car stops at red lights, accelerates at green, slows down on a busy street among other things, reporters at Reuters experienced. 
 
However, the Uber driver and the engineer in the front seat did intervene a number of times. 
 
Uber had hired some 40 faculty and researchers from Carnegie Mellon University recently and even partnered with automakers including Volvo. 
 
Other companies like Alphabet Inc and Baidu Inc, Tesla Motors Inc and General Motors Co, have been working in the field of autonomous vehicles aiming at a long-term makeover of personal transportation. 
 
&ldquo;If Uber scores a home run with this it&#39;s going to be wonderful for the planet,&quot; Andrew Moore, dean of the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon, told Reuters. &quot;The reason is we will see a much safer world and much more efficient world where we have to use less energy to move people around.&quot; 
 
He, however, added, that at least another decade of research and development would be needed before we have a significant number of truly autonomous cars on the road. 
 
A DOUBLE BLACK DIAMOND 
 
Uber&#39;s Pittsburgh fleet consists of Ford Fusion cars outfitted with 3D cameras, global positioning systems (GPS) and a technology to assess the shape and distance of objects, mounted on the vehicle&#39;s roof. The company is also outfitting Volvo SUVs that will be added to the fleet. 
 
Residents gave a mixed response to the new development. While some were in awe of the self-driving cabs, others seemed pessimistic about the idea. 
 
(WION with inputs from Reuters)

To start with, only 4 self-driving vehicles will be available to passengers

Uber is all set to launch its self-driving cabs in the US city of Pittsburgh. Self-driving taxis will be available to the US public for the first time following Uber's secretive work in autonomous vehicles. The San Francisco-based startup has a valuation of USD 68 billion and plans to replace many of its 1.5 million drivers with autonomous vehicles. Initially, four such self-driving cabs will be available with two people sitting in the front to take over when the car cannot steer itself. The car stops at red lights, accelerates at green, slows down on a busy street among other things, reporters at Reuters experienced. However, the Uber driver and the engineer in the front seat did intervene a number of times. Uber had hired some 40 faculty and researchers from Carnegie Mellon University recently and even partnered with automakers including Volvo. Other companies like Alphabet Inc and Baidu Inc, Tesla Motors Inc and General Motors Co, have been working in the field of autonomous vehicles aiming at a long-term makeover of personal transportation. “If Uber scores a home run with this it's going to be wonderful for the planet," Andrew Moore, dean of the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon, told Reuters. "The reason is we will see a much safer world and much more efficient world where we have to use less energy to move people around." He, however, added, that at least another decade of research and development would be needed before we have a significant number of truly autonomous cars on the road. A DOUBLE BLACK DIAMOND Uber's Pittsburgh fleet consists of Ford Fusion cars outfitted with 3D cameras, global positioning systems (GPS) and a technology to assess the shape and distance of objects, mounted on the vehicle's roof. The company is also outfitting Volvo SUVs that will be added to the fleet. Residents gave a mixed response to the new development. While some were in awe of the self-driving cabs, others seemed pessimistic about the idea. (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Uber debuts self-driving taxis in Pittsburgh

Uber has decided not to pull out of Macau, owing to support from residents of the Chinese-ruled region, an official statement from the company said. 
 
Uber started operations in Macau last year but announced in August that it would pull out of the region because its drivers faced fines totalling up to USD 1.25 million. 
 
Macau&#39;s secretary of security Wong Sio Chak had said the service had violated local laws. 
 
The official statement released by the company said it had received more than 23,000 online signatures supporting its services in Macau. 
 
Uber employs about 2,000 drivers in the former Portuguese colony.&nbsp; 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies)

It had announced in August that it would stop operations because its drivers faced fines totalling up to USD 1.25 million

Uber has decided not to pull out of Macau, owing to support from residents of the Chinese-ruled region, an official statement from the company said. Uber started operations in Macau last year but announced in August that it would pull out of the region because its drivers faced fines totalling up to USD 1.25 million. Macau's secretary of security Wong Sio Chak had said the service had violated local laws. The official statement released by the company said it had received more than 23,000 online signatures supporting its services in Macau. Uber employs about 2,000 drivers in the former Portuguese colony. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Uber says it will not pull out of Macau

Cab-hailing app Uber has slashed its fares by up to 30 per cent to mark their six-month anniversary in Lahore, Pakistan. 
 
While the base fare and minimum fare remain as before, the company will now charge Rs 6.84 (Pakistan Rupee) per kilometre, down from Rs 13.7 earlier. Even the waiting-per-minute fare has a seen a slight reduction in fares, Pakistan&#39;s English-language daily Dawn reported.&nbsp; 
 
The company expects the revised rates to &quot;boost demand&quot; in the city.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Uber will not only be more affordable for riders but driver-partners should also earn more through increased demand,&quot; said the company in a press release.&nbsp; 
 
There are over 1,000 taxis working for Uber. However, the world&#39;s largest taxi-dispatching company didn&#39;t outline their strategy as to how they will manage the increased workload. 
 
There have been complaints of not enough Uber cabs in the city. The company started out with 100 cabs but has failed to augment its fleet in commensurate with growing demand in the city.&nbsp; 
 
They have faced difficulties in hiring drivers&nbsp;as many drivers walk in for the job with&nbsp;bogus driving licence.&nbsp; 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies)

The world's largest taxi-dispatching company revised its fares to boost demand and mark their six-month anniversary in the city

Cab-hailing app Uber has slashed its fares by up to 30 per cent to mark their six-month anniversary in Lahore, Pakistan. While the base fare and minimum fare remain as before, the company will now charge Rs 6.84 (Pakistan Rupee) per kilometre, down from Rs 13.7 earlier. Even the waiting-per-minute fare has a seen a slight reduction in fares, Pakistan's English-language daily Dawn reported. The company expects the revised rates to "boost demand" in the city. "Uber will not only be more affordable for riders but driver-partners should also earn more through increased demand," said the company in a press release. There are over 1,000 taxis working for Uber. However, the world's largest taxi-dispatching company didn't outline their strategy as to how they will manage the increased workload. There have been complaints of not enough Uber cabs in the city. The company started out with 100 cabs but has failed to augment its fleet in commensurate with growing demand in the city. They have faced difficulties in hiring drivers as many drivers walk in for the job with bogus driving licence. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Uber slashes fares by 30 per cent in Lahore

Many global investors and Silicon Valley pundits are gradually viewing the rideshare industry as a winner-take-all game.&nbsp; 
 
Chinese powerhouse Didi Chuxing&#39;s acquisition of Uber Technologies Inc&#39;s China operations marked the biggest move yet toward consolidation. On the day, the Didi deal was announced earlier this month, Uber board member Bill Gurley said Uber&#39;s rivals in other markets had a slim chance of splitting the market with the dominant player, just as Uber struggled to erode Didi&#39;s share in China. 
 
After China, the industry will consolidate in other markets, said Hans Tung, an Asia-focused investor and managing partner at GGV Capital, which backed Didi and Grab, a Singapore-based ride service. 
 
&quot;There will be a dominant Number 1,&quot; he said that same day. 
 
Few barriers, perpetual competition&nbsp; 
 
The consensus of 11 economists interviewed by Reuters, however, suggests an entirely different scenario, one of perpetual competition in a business with relatively few barriers to entry. 
 
&quot;That one firm wins is a narrow and not accurate way to think about these firms,&quot; said David Evans, chairman of the Global Economics Group and co-author of a recent book that included Uber, &quot;Matchmakers: The New Economics of Multisided Platforms.&quot; 
 
The growing industry, which UBS estimates to be a $40 billion market, has room for at least two successful players, and perhaps a few smaller ones, ten other economists who have studied ride-hailing agreed.&nbsp; 
 
The industry, they said, has none of the elements that traditionally have enabled single companies to control a sector. If it is the first of its kind, a company can dominate markets that have huge infrastructure costs, such as putting up cell towers or laying pipes; a large workforce of employees with specialised skills; and customers who get locked into a service and have difficulty leaving for competitors. 
 
With free apps that can be downloaded in seconds, ride-services, by contrast, are relatively cheap to start, &nbsp;also because of the dependence on contract labour with no inherent loyalty or specialised skills.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;You may not want to try a new social networking site if your friends aren&#39;t on it,&quot; Evans said. &quot;But you don&#39;t care what app your friends use for ride-hailing.&quot; 
 
&#39;Room for two&#39;&nbsp; 
 
The question of whether on-demand ride services will remain open to new players has vexed startups and investors since Uber started the industry seven years ago. 
 
Companies taking on Uber include Lyft in the United States, Grab in Southeast Asia, Ola in India and newer startups like New York City&#39;s Juno. In the United States, in particular, part of Uber&#39;s attraction to investors is the chance at grabbing the entire industry. 
 
In a statement, Uber said: &quot;The ridesharing industry around the world is highly competitive and innovative. That&#39;s good for riders.&quot; 
 
Uber investor and board member Gurley argued that any competitor would need to pursue a different strategy - perhaps offering more luxury and high-end services - to successfully battle Uber in its strongest markets. 
 
Didi, Ola and Grab did not respond to requests for comment. 
 
When business magnate Carl Icahn invested $100 million into Lyft in early 2015, he told media outlets he saw &quot;room for two.&quot; Chris Sacca, a prominent venture capitalist who invested in Uber, responded &quot;This is a winner-take-all game,&quot; on Bloomberg television. 
 
Lyft has hired an M&amp;A firm and recently explored the possibility of acquisitions by several companies, a source familiar with the discussions said, and reports of a possible sale stimulated talk of whether it could compete with Uber. 
 
Lyft says it can. In the United States, it says it more than tripled its drivers to about 315,000 in the last year. Between October and May, it nearly doubled its annual gross revenue to $1.9 billion - although that figure does not reflect the many rider discounts and promotions Lyft offers. 
 
Uber has 1.5 million drivers and projected $26 billion in gross revenue globally this year, based on a 2015 presentation for investors. 
 
Last year, Lyft hit another benchmark: the wait time for a ride is three minutes, on par with Uber, said president and Co-founder John Zimmer. At three minutes or less, a passenger will almost always complete the ride. 
 
Meanwhile, New York-based Juno has brought on 12,000 drivers since launching earlier this year and already has hit the three-minute wait time in Manhattan, said Co-founder and CEO Talmon Marco. 
 
&quot;This is a fairly local industry,&quot; Marco said. &quot;You can be a hero in New York and you can be zero in California, and it&#39;s OK.&quot; 
 
In India, Uber and Ola are neck and neck around 45 per cent of the market each after Uber&#39;s market share fell and Ola&#39;s rose in 2015, according to market research firm 7Park Data. 
 
The challenge for new startups, however, is that leading companies subsidise their drivers and passengers as they prioritise gaining market share over profit. Both Uber and Lyft have spent heavily on driver bonuses and rider discounts and promotional credits. 
 
Max Wolff, an economist at Manhattan Venture Partners, believes competition will thrive mainly because ride-hailing technologies are not overly complicated and drivers aren&#39;t earning enough money to be loyal to a single company. 
 
There is room for other players even if Uber is dominant, he said. &quot;They&#39;re not as big, but they&#39;re there, too. They&#39;re not some wheezing, dying remnant.&quot; 
 
(WION with inputs from Reuters)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

The consensus of 11 economists interviewed by Reuters suggests perpetual competition in a business with relatively few barriers to entry

Many global investors and Silicon Valley pundits are gradually viewing the rideshare industry as a winner-take-all game. Chinese powerhouse Didi Chuxing's acquisition of Uber Technologies Inc's China operations marked the biggest move yet toward consolidation. On the day, the Didi deal was announced earlier this month, Uber board member Bill Gurley said Uber's rivals in other markets had a slim chance of splitting the market with the dominant player, just as Uber struggled to erode Didi's share in China. After China, the industry will consolidate in other markets, said Hans Tung, an Asia-focused investor and managing partner at GGV Capital, which backed Didi and Grab, a Singapore-based ride service. "There will be a dominant Number 1," he said that same day. Few barriers, perpetual competition The consensus of 11 economists interviewed by Reuters, however, suggests an entirely different scenario, one of perpetual competition in a business with relatively few barriers to entry. "That one firm wins is a narrow and not accurate way to think about these firms," said David Evans, chairman of the Global Economics Group and co-author of a recent book that included Uber, "Matchmakers: The New Economics of Multisided Platforms." The growing industry, which UBS estimates to be a $40 billion market, has room for at least two successful players, and perhaps a few smaller ones, ten other economists who have studied ride-hailing agreed. The industry, they said, has none of the elements that traditionally have enabled single companies to control a sector. If it is the first of its kind, a company can dominate markets that have huge infrastructure costs, such as putting up cell towers or laying pipes; a large workforce of employees with specialised skills; and customers who get locked into a service and have difficulty leaving for competitors. With free apps that can be downloaded in seconds, ride-services, by contrast, are relatively cheap to start, also because of the dependence on contract labour with no inherent loyalty or specialised skills. "You may not want to try a new social networking site if your friends aren't on it," Evans said. "But you don't care what app your friends use for ride-hailing." 'Room for two' The question of whether on-demand ride services will remain open to new players has vexed startups and investors since Uber started the industry seven years ago. Companies taking on Uber include Lyft in the United States, Grab in Southeast Asia, Ola in India and newer startups like New York City's Juno. In the United States, in particular, part of Uber's attraction to investors is the chance at grabbing the entire industry. In a statement, Uber said: "The ridesharing industry around the world is highly competitive and innovative. That's good for riders." Uber investor and board member Gurley argued that any competitor would need to pursue a different strategy - perhaps offering more luxury and high-end services - to successfully battle Uber in its strongest markets. Didi, Ola and Grab did not respond to requests for comment. When business magnate Carl Icahn invested $100 million into Lyft in early 2015, he told media outlets he saw "room for two." Chris Sacca, a prominent venture capitalist who invested in Uber, responded "This is a winner-take-all game," on Bloomberg television. Lyft has hired an M&A firm and recently explored the possibility of acquisitions by several companies, a source familiar with the discussions said, and reports of a possible sale stimulated talk of whether it could compete with Uber. Lyft says it can. In the United States, it says it more than tripled its drivers to about 315,000 in the last year. Between October and May, it nearly doubled its annual gross revenue to $1.9 billion - although that figure does not reflect the many rider discounts and promotions Lyft offers. Uber has 1.5 million drivers and projected $26 billion in gross revenue globally this year, based on a 2015 presentation for investors. Last year, Lyft hit another benchmark: the wait time for a ride is three minutes, on par with Uber, said president and Co-founder John Zimmer. At three minutes or less, a passenger will almost always complete the ride. Meanwhile, New York-based Juno has brought on 12,000 drivers since launching earlier this year and already has hit the three-minute wait time in Manhattan, said Co-founder and CEO Talmon Marco. "This is a fairly local industry," Marco said. "You can be a hero in New York and you can be zero in California, and it's OK." In India, Uber and Ola are neck and neck around 45 per cent of the market each after Uber's market share fell and Ola's rose in 2015, according to market research firm 7Park Data. The challenge for new startups, however, is that leading companies subsidise their drivers and passengers as they prioritise gaining market share over profit. Both Uber and Lyft have spent heavily on driver bonuses and rider discounts and promotional credits. Max Wolff, an economist at Manhattan Venture Partners, believes competition will thrive mainly because ride-hailing technologies are not overly complicated and drivers aren't earning enough money to be loyal to a single company. There is room for other players even if Uber is dominant, he said. "They're not as big, but they're there, too. They're not some wheezing, dying remnant." (WION with inputs from Reuters)

Rideshare industry not 'a winner-take-all game', economists see scope of competiton

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