It was always a mere imagination that flying cars would exist many years from now, however, it might actually happen in the recent future.

Uber and NASA have partnered up to create flying taxis, which was confirmed during the Web Summit conference in Lisbon on November 8 by Uber chief product officer Jeff Holden.

It was also announced that Los Angeles will join two other previously revealed &ldquo;UberAIR&rdquo; pilot schemes in Dallas Fort-Worth, Texas, and Dubai.

Uber plans to start test drives by 2020 in Los Angeles and be set to carry out &ldquo;tens of thousands&rdquo; of rides per day across the city, just in time for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

But the planned electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOLS) &ldquo;&quot;differ from helicopters in that they are orders of magnitude quieter, safer, more affordable, and more environmentally-friendly,&rdquo; the company said, adding that journeys will be priced competitively with a standard Uber trip.

A promotional video shown at the summit, illustrated how the app would work in a similar way to the current set-up for ordering a car ride.

The video shows a women booking a &lsquo;ride&rsquo; from her Uber app after which she is seen entering the &lsquo;skyport&rsquo; on the roof of a building. After which she scans her phone with the code and enters the Uber flying taxi, a plane-helicopter hybrid aircraft with fixed wings and tilt prop-rotors. The flying taxi makes the journey to the destination and lands at another &#39;roof airport&#39;, where an Uber vehicle taxi is waiting for her. Finally, the end scene is shown where the woman enters her home after the hassle free ride without suffering any stress from daily commute.

Watch the video below:

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Want to experience what it will be like to push a button and get a flight with uberAIR? Keep watching. <a href="https://t.co/rRnj68Vs9j">pic.twitter.com/rRnj68Vs9j</a>
&mdash; Uber (@Uber) <a href="https://twitter.com/Uber/status/928312337207001089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

The first demonstration flights are expected in 2020, moving into commercial operations by 2023 ? in plenty of time for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

It was always a mere imagination that flying cars would exist many years from now, however, it might actually happen in the recent future. Uber and NASA have partnered up to create flying taxis, which was confirmed during the Web Summit conference in Lisbon on November 8 by Uber chief product officer Jeff Holden. It was also announced that Los Angeles will join two other previously revealed “UberAIR” pilot schemes in Dallas Fort-Worth, Texas, and Dubai. Uber plans to start test drives by 2020 in Los Angeles and be set to carry out “tens of thousands” of rides per day across the city, just in time for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. But the planned electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOLS) “"differ from helicopters in that they are orders of magnitude quieter, safer, more affordable, and more environmentally-friendly,” the company said, adding that journeys will be priced competitively with a standard Uber trip. A promotional video shown at the summit, illustrated how the app would work in a similar way to the current set-up for ordering a car ride. The video shows a women booking a ‘ride’ from her Uber app after which she is seen entering the ‘skyport’ on the roof of a building. After which she scans her phone with the code and enters the Uber flying taxi, a plane-helicopter hybrid aircraft with fixed wings and tilt prop-rotors. The flying taxi makes the journey to the destination and lands at another 'roof airport', where an Uber vehicle taxi is waiting for her. Finally, the end scene is shown where the woman enters her home after the hassle free ride without suffering any stress from daily commute. Watch the video below: Want to experience what it will be like to push a button and get a flight with uberAIR? Keep watching. pic.twitter.com/rRnj68Vs9j — Uber (@Uber) November 8, 2017 ×

WATCH: Uber and NASA set to develop flying taxis

Uber&nbsp;submitted a court appeal on Friday to overturn a decision by&nbsp;London&#39;s transport regulator that stripped the taxi app of its operating&nbsp;licence&nbsp;in one of its most important markets.

Transport for&nbsp;London&nbsp;(TfL) shocked the Silicon Valley firm last month by deeming it unfit to run a taxi service and refusing to renew its&nbsp;licence, citing its approach to reporting serious criminal offences and background checks on drivers.

Friday&#39;s filing is a short notification of&nbsp;Uber&#39;s intention to appeal rather than the detailed grounds. A hearing is likely to take place on Dec. 11, a spokesman at Britain&#39;s Judicial Office told Reuters.

Uber, criticised by&nbsp;London&nbsp;Mayor Sadiq Khan for employing an &quot;army of lawyers&quot;, said that it hoped to keep talking to TfL to find a way forward.

&quot;While we have today filed our appeal so that&nbsp;Londoners can continue using our app, we hope to continue having constructive discussions with Transport for&nbsp;London,&quot; an&nbsp;Uber&nbsp;spokesman said.

&quot;As our new CEO has said, we are determined to make things right.&quot;

New global Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi met TfL Commissioner Mike Brown for talks earlier this month, which both sides said were &quot;constructive&quot; as the $70-billion firm tries to repair its relationship with the regulator.

The appeal was submitted to Westminster Magistrates&#39; Court on Friday in the first stage of a legal process which could take months or years to reach a conclusion.

Uber&#39;s 40,000 drivers in the British capital will be able to continue operating until the&nbsp;appeals process is exhausted.

Khan, a politician from the opposition Labour Party who is also chairman of TfL, has long criticised&nbsp;Uber&#39;s British management and backed the regulator&#39;s decision on Thursday.

&quot;The courts now will consider the appeal from&nbsp;Uber&nbsp;and of course TfL will defend the decision they made,&quot; he said during a monthly question time session.

Friday's filing is a short notification of?Uber's intention to appeal rather than the detailed grounds. A hearing is likely to take place on Dec. 11, a spokesman at Britain's Judicial Office told Reuters

Uber submitted a court appeal on Friday to overturn a decision by London's transport regulator that stripped the taxi app of its operating licence in one of its most important markets. Transport for London (TfL) shocked the Silicon Valley firm last month by deeming it unfit to run a taxi service and refusing to renew its licence, citing its approach to reporting serious criminal offences and background checks on drivers. Friday's filing is a short notification of Uber's intention to appeal rather than the detailed grounds. A hearing is likely to take place on Dec. 11, a spokesman at Britain's Judicial Office told Reuters. Uber, criticised by London Mayor Sadiq Khan for employing an "army of lawyers", said that it hoped to keep talking to TfL to find a way forward. "While we have today filed our appeal so that Londoners can continue using our app, we hope to continue having constructive discussions with Transport for London," an Uber spokesman said. "As our new CEO has said, we are determined to make things right." New global Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi met TfL Commissioner Mike Brown for talks earlier this month, which both sides said were "constructive" as the $70-billion firm tries to repair its relationship with the regulator. The appeal was submitted to Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday in the first stage of a legal process which could take months or years to reach a conclusion. Uber's 40,000 drivers in the British capital will be able to continue operating until the appeals process is exhausted. Khan, a politician from the opposition Labour Party who is also chairman of TfL, has long criticised Uber's British management and backed the regulator's decision on Thursday. "The courts now will consider the appeal from Uber and of course TfL will defend the decision they made," he said during a monthly question time session.

Uber appeals against loss of London licence

The Supreme Court has asked the Centre how app-based transport services like Uber, Ola, and redBus can be regulated.&nbsp;

The court was responding to a petition seeking compensation for rape victims. (While the petitioner had asked for compensation, it was the court which asked why more guarantees of women&#39;s safety could not be put in place.)&nbsp;

The petitioner had asked that all public transport vehicles be fitted with GPS systems, high-security registration plates, and that they maintain logbooks.&nbsp;

The petitioner had also asked that the government encourage the hiring of more women drivers.&nbsp;

The court will now hear the petition on December 7.&nbsp;

Taxi aggregators in India (and elsewhere) have for some time now said that the only technology they provide is to help drivers and passengers connect with each other.&nbsp;

And that while they might terminate or suspend the services of a driver who has done something illegal -- they themselves cannot be held liable.&nbsp;

That is why their drivers are often referred to as &quot;driver partners&quot;.&nbsp;

This is a very wide grey zone -- and one that the petition might help find answers to.&nbsp;

If, say, a person is assaulted in a taxi, who is to be held accountable? Just the driver or also the company that provided his services?&nbsp;

The courts have asked a similar question earlier.&nbsp;

The Delhi High Court had last year in February asked the government and police to check if all cab drivers in the city had valid licences.&nbsp;

This was after a foreign tourist had been molested by a taxi driver.&nbsp;

&quot;If someone comes to Delhi from another country and hires a taxi and if a driver commits a crime, who will be held responsible?&quot; the court had asked then.&nbsp;

The court was responding to a petition seeking compensation for rape victims

The Supreme Court has asked the Centre how app-based transport services like Uber, Ola, and redBus can be regulated. The court was responding to a petition seeking compensation for rape victims. (While the petitioner had asked for compensation, it was the court which asked why more guarantees of women's safety could not be put in place.) The petitioner had asked that all public transport vehicles be fitted with GPS systems, high-security registration plates, and that they maintain logbooks. The petitioner had also asked that the government encourage the hiring of more women drivers. The court will now hear the petition on December 7. Taxi aggregators in India (and elsewhere) have for some time now said that the only technology they provide is to help drivers and passengers connect with each other. And that while they might terminate or suspend the services of a driver who has done something illegal -- they themselves cannot be held liable. That is why their drivers are often referred to as "driver partners". This is a very wide grey zone -- and one that the petition might help find answers to. If, say, a person is assaulted in a taxi, who is to be held accountable? Just the driver or also the company that provided his services? The courts have asked a similar question earlier. The Delhi High Court had last year in February asked the government and police to check if all cab drivers in the city had valid licences. This was after a foreign tourist had been molested by a taxi driver. "If someone comes to Delhi from another country and hires a taxi and if a driver commits a crime, who will be held responsible?" the court had asked then.

SC to Centre: How can app-based transport services be regulated??

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/ola-gets-2-billion-funding-from-softbank-tencent-and-others-20951" target="_blank">Uber&nbsp;Technologies Inc&#39;s fractured board declared peace on Tuesday</a>, attempting to put months of strife behind it by unanimously passing a series of measures to shore up corporate governance, bring in major investor SoftBank and diminish the power of former Chief Executive Travis Kalanick.

The agreement could shore up&nbsp;Uber&rsquo;s reputation after a series of scandals and a legal battle between Kalanick and an&nbsp;Uber&nbsp;investor group led by Silicon Valley&rsquo;s Benchmark Capital. The deal could be subject to a lawsuit and is contingent on the multi-billion dollar investment by Japan&#39;s SoftBank Group Corp closing in the coming weeks.

The terms preserve&nbsp;Uber&#39;s $69-billion valuation, highest among the world&#39;s venture-backed startups, as SoftBank and others invest about $10 billion.

&quot;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/softbank-vision-fund-seeks-to-invest-up-to-2-billion-in-flipkart-18499" target="_blank">SoftBank&#39;s interest is an incredible vote of confidence in&nbsp;Uber&#39;s business and long-term potential,</a>&quot; the board said in a statement.

Benchmark General Partner Bill Gurley, who was replaced by a colleague on&nbsp;Uber&#39;s board in June, said by email, &quot;It was a good day for&nbsp;Uber, a good day for&nbsp;Uber&rsquo;s employees, and a good day for&nbsp;Uber&rsquo;s new CEO.&quot;

Kalanick described Tuesday&#39;s actions as &quot;a major step forward in&nbsp;Uber&#39;s journey to becoming a world-class public company.&quot; He added that the governance changes should serve&nbsp;Uber&nbsp;well under Dara Khosrowshahi, who is a month into the chief executive officer job since leaving the same post at Expedia Inc.

Governance policies adopted by the board would make it difficult for Kalanick to return as CEO. He resigned in June under pressure from the Benchmark-led investor group over employee sexual harassment investigations, a trade-secrets misappropriation lawsuit by Waymo and efforts to interfere with government probes.

A two-thirds majority vote of the board would be required to hire a replacement for Khosrowshahi before the San Francisco start-up holds an initial public offering, according to a person familiar with the matter. The board set a deadline for an IPO of autumn 2019, the sources said.

Uber&#39;s board will expand from 11 directors, including a pair of Kalanick appointees seated on Monday, to 17 directors, the person and another source said.

The increase would include four new independent directors for a total of seven. Five board seats would go to company insiders or co-founders, and five would be representatives of investors. The chairperson would be one of the independent directors.

Two of the six new seats would go to SoftBank, the sources said. The other four would be selected by a nominating committee of the board.

Kalanick and other early shareholders also are sacrificing voting power, as&nbsp;Uber&nbsp;adopts a one vote per share policy, the sources said.

Early&nbsp;Uber&nbsp;investors Shervin Pishevar and Steve Russell said in a statement after Tuesday&#39;s vote that they would sue to block the change, which cuts the super-voting rights that give them 10 votes per share. If successful, such a lawsuit could threaten the other terms of the boardroom compromise.

&quot;Today&#39;s action by the board was the culmination of a blatant bait and switch, essentially robbing loyal employees, including the more than 200 early founding&nbsp;Uber&nbsp;employees and advisors, of their hard earned shareholder rights,&quot; Pishevar and Russell said.

For Kalanick, agreeing to drop his voting power could enable him to resolve his dispute with Benchmark. The changes decided Tuesday would prompt Benchmark to end a lawsuit and arbitration proceedings against Kalanick, the two sources and another said.

Benchmark sees gains in the agreement, too. Should&nbsp;Uber&nbsp;not go public by autumn 2019, the venture capital firm and other large, early shareholders would be free to divest shares without company approval, two of the sources said.

A consortium of SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group and General Atlantic plan to invest $1 billion to $1.25 billion at the valuation of $69 billion, two of the people said. The investment firms also plan to buy 14 to 17 percent of existing&nbsp;Uber&nbsp;shares from employees and current investors at a discounted valuation, bringing the maximum value of the total package to around $10 billion.

Uber Technologies Inc's fractured board declared peace on Tuesday, attempting to put months of strife behind it by unanimously passing a series of measures to shore up corporate governance

Uber Technologies Inc's fractured board declared peace on Tuesday, attempting to put months of strife behind it by unanimously passing a series of measures to shore up corporate governance, bring in major investor SoftBank and diminish the power of former Chief Executive Travis Kalanick. The agreement could shore up Uber’s reputation after a series of scandals and a legal battle between Kalanick and an Uber investor group led by Silicon Valley’s Benchmark Capital. The deal could be subject to a lawsuit and is contingent on the multi-billion dollar investment by Japan's SoftBank Group Corp closing in the coming weeks. The terms preserve Uber's $69-billion valuation, highest among the world's venture-backed startups, as SoftBank and others invest about $10 billion. "SoftBank's interest is an incredible vote of confidence in Uber's business and long-term potential," the board said in a statement. Benchmark General Partner Bill Gurley, who was replaced by a colleague on Uber's board in June, said by email, "It was a good day for Uber, a good day for Uber’s employees, and a good day for Uber’s new CEO." Kalanick described Tuesday's actions as "a major step forward in Uber's journey to becoming a world-class public company." He added that the governance changes should serve Uber well under Dara Khosrowshahi, who is a month into the chief executive officer job since leaving the same post at Expedia Inc. Governance policies adopted by the board would make it difficult for Kalanick to return as CEO. He resigned in June under pressure from the Benchmark-led investor group over employee sexual harassment investigations, a trade-secrets misappropriation lawsuit by Waymo and efforts to interfere with government probes. A two-thirds majority vote of the board would be required to hire a replacement for Khosrowshahi before the San Francisco start-up holds an initial public offering, according to a person familiar with the matter. The board set a deadline for an IPO of autumn 2019, the sources said. Uber's board will expand from 11 directors, including a pair of Kalanick appointees seated on Monday, to 17 directors, the person and another source said. The increase would include four new independent directors for a total of seven. Five board seats would go to company insiders or co-founders, and five would be representatives of investors. The chairperson would be one of the independent directors. Two of the six new seats would go to SoftBank, the sources said. The other four would be selected by a nominating committee of the board. Kalanick and other early shareholders also are sacrificing voting power, as Uber adopts a one vote per share policy, the sources said. Early Uber investors Shervin Pishevar and Steve Russell said in a statement after Tuesday's vote that they would sue to block the change, which cuts the super-voting rights that give them 10 votes per share. If successful, such a lawsuit could threaten the other terms of the boardroom compromise. "Today's action by the board was the culmination of a blatant bait and switch, essentially robbing loyal employees, including the more than 200 early founding Uber employees and advisors, of their hard earned shareholder rights," Pishevar and Russell said. For Kalanick, agreeing to drop his voting power could enable him to resolve his dispute with Benchmark. The changes decided Tuesday would prompt Benchmark to end a lawsuit and arbitration proceedings against Kalanick, the two sources and another said. Benchmark sees gains in the agreement, too. Should Uber not go public by autumn 2019, the venture capital firm and other large, early shareholders would be free to divest shares without company approval, two of the sources said. A consortium of SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group and General Atlantic plan to invest $1 billion to $1.25 billion at the valuation of $69 billion, two of the people said. The investment firms also plan to buy 14 to 17 percent of existing Uber shares from employees and current investors at a discounted valuation, bringing the maximum value of the total package to around $10 billion.

Uber board makes peace with SoftBank

Uber&#39;s new boss Dara Khosrowshahi apologised to Londoners for the taxi app&#39;s mistakes and pledged to make changes as the Silicon Valley firm tries to overturn a decision to strip it of its licence in one of its major markets.

The British capital&#39;s transport regulator on Friday deemed Uber unfit to run a taxi service and decided not to renew its licence to operate, which will end this week, citing the firm&#39;s approach to reporting serious criminal offences and background checks on drivers.

Mayor Sadiq Khan, a Labour politician who has criticised the firm in the past, said on Monday he had asked Transport for London (TfL) to be available to meet CEO Khosrowshahi.

Uber&#39;s 40,000 drivers, one third of the city&#39;s total number of private hire vehicles, will continue to take passengers until an appeals process is exhausted, which is likely to take several months.

London police complained this year that the app, which is backed by Goldman Sachs and BlackRock, was either not disclosing, or taking too long to report, serious crimes including sexual assaults and that this put the public at risk.

&quot;It&#39;s ... true that we&#39;ve got things wrong along the way. On behalf of everyone at Uber globally, I apologise for the mistakes we&#39;ve made,&quot; Khosrowshahi wrote in an open letter to Londoners.

&quot;We will appeal the decision on behalf of millions of Londoners, but we do so with the knowledge that we must also change,&quot; he said.

The loss of the San Francisco-based start-up&#39;s licence in one of the world&#39;s wealthiest capitals comes after a tumultuous few months that led to former CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick being forced out.

Khosrowshahi, who is less than a month into his new job, did not specify which mistakes Uber had made in London.

Uber&#39;s UK head of cities, Fred Jones, said the firm was working with the police to work out how it can better report incidents.

He also said TfL, which declined to comment on Monday, had not been clear about it concerns.

&quot;Once we understand them we can work with them to figure out what is it that they would like us to do and how can we move forward and I think that&#39;s the important next step,&quot; Jones told BBC radio.

&#39;ARMY OF LAWYERS&#39;

Khan, who backed TfL&#39;s decision, said the transport body was open to meeting Uber&#39;s boss but attacked the Silicon Valley company&#39;s response to losing its licence.

&quot;I appreciate Uber has an army of lawyers, they&#39;ve also made aggressive threats about taking us to court and the rest of it,&quot; he told BBC radio.

&quot;You can&#39;t have it both ways: on the one hand acting in an aggressive manner for all sorts of things but on the other hand brief to journalists that they want to do a deal with TfL,&quot; he said, adding companies that played by the rules were welcome in London.

The firm has until Oct. 14 to formally appeal TfL&#39;s decision and the case is likely to be filed at Westminster Magistrates&#39; Court in London.

Uber, which began operating in London in 2012, has faced regulatory and legal setbacks around the world amid opposition from traditional taxi services and has been forced to quit several countries including Denmark and Hungary.

However, it has also managed to overturn bans and other crackdowns.

Earlier this year, Italy briefly blocked Uber from operating, citing unfair competition, but lifted the prohibition a week later, while in Taiwan it resumed services in April after talks with the island&#39;s authorities, ending a two-month suspension.

A petition calling on London to overturn its decision not to renew Uber&#39;s licence had gathered more than 750,000 signatures at noon on Monday.

&quot;This ban shows the world that London is far from being open and is closed to innovative companies, who bring choice to consumers and work opportunities to those who need them,&quot; the petition says.

Uber's 40,000 drivers, one third of the city's total number of private hire vehicles, will continue to take passengers until an appeals process is exhausted, which is likely to take several months.

Uber's new boss Dara Khosrowshahi apologised to Londoners for the taxi app's mistakes and pledged to make changes as the Silicon Valley firm tries to overturn a decision to strip it of its licence in one of its major markets. The British capital's transport regulator on Friday deemed Uber unfit to run a taxi service and decided not to renew its licence to operate, which will end this week, citing the firm's approach to reporting serious criminal offences and background checks on drivers. Mayor Sadiq Khan, a Labour politician who has criticised the firm in the past, said on Monday he had asked Transport for London (TfL) to be available to meet CEO Khosrowshahi. Uber's 40,000 drivers, one third of the city's total number of private hire vehicles, will continue to take passengers until an appeals process is exhausted, which is likely to take several months. London police complained this year that the app, which is backed by Goldman Sachs and BlackRock, was either not disclosing, or taking too long to report, serious crimes including sexual assaults and that this put the public at risk. "It's ... true that we've got things wrong along the way. On behalf of everyone at Uber globally, I apologise for the mistakes we've made," Khosrowshahi wrote in an open letter to Londoners. "We will appeal the decision on behalf of millions of Londoners, but we do so with the knowledge that we must also change," he said. The loss of the San Francisco-based start-up's licence in one of the world's wealthiest capitals comes after a tumultuous few months that led to former CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick being forced out. Khosrowshahi, who is less than a month into his new job, did not specify which mistakes Uber had made in London. Uber's UK head of cities, Fred Jones, said the firm was working with the police to work out how it can better report incidents. He also said TfL, which declined to comment on Monday, had not been clear about it concerns. "Once we understand them we can work with them to figure out what is it that they would like us to do and how can we move forward and I think that's the important next step," Jones told BBC radio. 'ARMY OF LAWYERS' Khan, who backed TfL's decision, said the transport body was open to meeting Uber's boss but attacked the Silicon Valley company's response to losing its licence. "I appreciate Uber has an army of lawyers, they've also made aggressive threats about taking us to court and the rest of it," he told BBC radio. "You can't have it both ways: on the one hand acting in an aggressive manner for all sorts of things but on the other hand brief to journalists that they want to do a deal with TfL," he said, adding companies that played by the rules were welcome in London. The firm has until Oct. 14 to formally appeal TfL's decision and the case is likely to be filed at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London. Uber, which began operating in London in 2012, has faced regulatory and legal setbacks around the world amid opposition from traditional taxi services and has been forced to quit several countries including Denmark and Hungary. However, it has also managed to overturn bans and other crackdowns. Earlier this year, Italy briefly blocked Uber from operating, citing unfair competition, but lifted the prohibition a week later, while in Taiwan it resumed services in April after talks with the island's authorities, ending a two-month suspension. A petition calling on London to overturn its decision not to renew Uber's licence had gathered more than 750,000 signatures at noon on Monday. "This ban shows the world that London is far from being open and is closed to innovative companies, who bring choice to consumers and work opportunities to those who need them," the petition says.

Apologising to London, Uber CEO offers change to keep licence

Uber has decided to pull out of Canada&#39;s Quebec province due to tough new regulations announced last week.

On Monday, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/apologising-to-london-uber-ceo-offers-change-to-keep-licence-20668">London&#39;s transport department had decided</a> not to renew Uber&#39;s&nbsp;licence saying the company&nbsp;was &quot;not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator license&quot;.

Uber&#39;s Quebec general manager, Jean-Nicolas Guillemette&nbsp;said the company would cease operations in Quebec on October 14.

Guillemette said Uber employs over 50 office workers and more than 10,000 drivers have worked for the taxi-hailing service.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/uber-a-transport-service-says-eu-court-15462">Uber has been facing increasing regulatory hurdles</a> across the world especially in Europe.

In May, the European Union&#39;s top court had said Uber provides a transport service and must be licensed.

&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) had said.

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 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.

Uber's general manager said the company employs over 50 office workers and more than 10,000 drivers have worked for it.

Uber has decided to pull out of Canada's Quebec province due to tough new regulations announced last week. On Monday, London's transport department had decided not to renew Uber's licence saying the company was "not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator license". Uber's Quebec general manager, Jean-Nicolas Guillemette said the company would cease operations in Quebec on October 14. Guillemette said Uber employs over 50 office workers and more than 10,000 drivers have worked for the taxi-hailing service. Uber has been facing increasing regulatory hurdles across the world especially in Europe. In May, the European Union's top court had said Uber provides a transport service and must be licensed. "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) had said. 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 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.

Will pull out of Canada's Quebec province: Uber

Uber&#39;s Chief Executive apologised on Monday for the taxi app&#39;s&nbsp;mistakes&nbsp;in London and promised to change as the firm fights a decision by the city not to renew its licence.

On Friday, the<a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/uber-loses-license-to-operate-in-london-20525"> British capital&#39;s transport regulator deemed&nbsp;Uber&nbsp;unfit</a> to run a taxi service and decided not to renew its licence to operate, which will end this week, citing the firm&#39;s approach to reporting serious criminal offences and background checks on drivers.

&quot;While&nbsp;Uber&nbsp;has revolutionised the way people move in cities around the world, it&#39;s equally true that&nbsp;we&#39;ve&nbsp;got things wrong along the way. On behalf of everyone at&nbsp;Uber&nbsp;globally, I apologise for the&nbsp;mistakes&nbsp;we&#39;ve&nbsp;made,&quot;&nbsp;CEO&nbsp;Dara Khosrowshahi wrote in an open letter.

&quot;We will appeal the decision on behalf of millions of Londoners, but we do so with the knowledge that we must also change.&quot;

On Friday, the British capital's transport regulator deemed?Uber?unfit to run a taxi service and decided not to renew its licence to operate

Uber's Chief Executive apologised on Monday for the taxi app's mistakes in London and promised to change as the firm fights a decision by the city not to renew its licence. On Friday, the British capital's transport regulator deemed Uber unfit to run a taxi service and decided not to renew its licence to operate, which will end this week, citing the firm's approach to reporting serious criminal offences and background checks on drivers. "While Uber has revolutionised the way people move in cities around the world, it's equally true that we've got things wrong along the way. On behalf of everyone at Uber globally, I apologise for the mistakes we've made," CEO Dara Khosrowshahi wrote in an open letter. "We will appeal the decision on behalf of millions of Londoners, but we do so with the knowledge that we must also change."

'I'm sorry for the mistakes we've made': Uber CEO tells London

Uber has lost its&nbsp;licence to operate in London after the city&#39;s transport authority&nbsp;announced today that they would not renew the ride-sharing app&nbsp;license.

&quot;Transport for London has concluded that Uber London Limited is not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator licence,&quot; London transport said in a statement.

Uber has been under fire in Europe over its status as a taxi company, the app-based service says it is a digital enabler but several European countries disagree.

In May, the Court of Justice of the European Union had said, &quot;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;.

Uber said it would appeal the&nbsp;decision by London authorities not to renew its licence.

&quot;By wanting to ban our app from the capital, Transport for London and the mayor have caved in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice,&quot; the company said in a statement.

Uber said it would impact over 3.5 million Londoners who use the service.

&nbsp;

In May, the Court of Justice of the European Union had said, "Uber electronic platform, whilst innovative, falls within the field of transport, thus is required to obtain the necessary licences and authorisations under national law".

Uber has lost its licence to operate in London after the city's transport authority announced today that they would not renew the ride-sharing app license. "Transport for London has concluded that Uber London Limited is not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator licence," London transport said in a statement. Uber has been under fire in Europe over its status as a taxi company, the app-based service says it is a digital enabler but several European countries disagree. In May, the Court of Justice of the European Union had said, "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". Uber said it would appeal the decision by London authorities not to renew its licence. "By wanting to ban our app from the capital, Transport for London and the mayor have caved in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice," the company said in a statement. Uber said it would impact over 3.5 million Londoners who use the service.

Uber loses license to operate in London, company says 'will appeal ban'

Uber and <a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/uber-uses-loophole-to-avoid-uk-tax-undercut-rivals-16549">Cabify drivers blocked traffic over travel regulations</a> at Chile&#39;s Santiago airport leading to the death of one person and major flight delays in the nation&#39;s capital.

Reuters reports a Brazilian tourist suffered a heart attack after being stuck in traffic, he was 65-year-old. Chilian authorities evacuated him in a helicopter but were unable to save him.

At least 15 people have been taken into custody, reports said.&nbsp;

&quot;This takeover of the airport by the taxi drivers has significantly hurt the image of Chile, the image of the airlines, and has hurt people traveling or arriving in the country,&quot; Claudio Orrego, the governor of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, told reporters.

Uber has been involved in several legal disputes worldwide over regulatory framework. The crux of the dispute often is that the ridesharing app company describes itself as a technology company which often brings it in collusion with local taxi companies who have to adhere to local laws and regulations. The local cab companies in several countries accuse Uber of bypassing laws.

In Europe, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/uber-a-transport-service-says-eu-court-15462">Italy,</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/uber-a-transport-service-says-eu-court-15462">&nbsp;Bulgaria, Hungry and Denmark</a> have come down heavily accusing the company of &ldquo;unfair trade practices&rdquo;.&nbsp;

Uber, however, denies these allegations, asserting that it gives a choice to riders and helps develop the local economy and out of work drivers and cab owners.

Reuters reports a Brazilian tourist suffered a heart attack after being stuck in traffic,

Uber and Cabify drivers blocked traffic over travel regulations at Chile's Santiago airport leading to the death of one person and major flight delays in the nation's capital. Reuters reports a Brazilian tourist suffered a heart attack after being stuck in traffic, he was 65-year-old. Chilian authorities evacuated him in a helicopter but were unable to save him. At least 15 people have been taken into custody, reports said. "This takeover of the airport by the taxi drivers has significantly hurt the image of Chile, the image of the airlines, and has hurt people traveling or arriving in the country," Claudio Orrego, the governor of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, told reporters. Uber has been involved in several legal disputes worldwide over regulatory framework. The crux of the dispute often is that the ridesharing app company describes itself as a technology company which often brings it in collusion with local taxi companies who have to adhere to local laws and regulations. The local cab companies in several countries accuse Uber of bypassing laws. In Europe, Italy, Bulgaria, Hungry and Denmark have come down heavily accusing the company of “unfair trade practices”. Uber, however, denies these allegations, asserting that it gives a choice to riders and helps develop the local economy and out of work drivers and cab owners.

Local drivers, Uber block traffic in Chile, one person dies

Amid <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/light-moderate-rainfall-expected-in-mumbai-today-indian-metrological-department-19653">heavy downpour in Mumbai&nbsp;which has disrupted life</a> in India&#39;s financial capital, Ola and Uber have announced free rides and other concessions to the riders.&nbsp;

Uber has introduced <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/rain-brings-mumbai-to-grinding-halt-trains-roads-flights-hitrains-wreak-havoc-in-mumbai-rail-road-air-services-disrupted-19638">free UberPool rides for the people of Mumbai</a>. Mumbai riders can avail the free pool rides by typing in the promo code &quot;MUMBAIRAINS&quot; in the Promo Section option. Promo Section option can be accessed by opening the Uber app and selecting the Payments option.&nbsp;

Ola, on the other hand, has introduced free shuttle services for every Mumbai citizen. The riders do not even need to book cabs for availing the Ola service.

The company will connect people to Powai Hiranandani - Bhayander via Western Express Highway, Bandra Kurla Complex - Bhayandar via Western Express Highway, Domestic Airport - Thane side via JVLR &amp; then Eastern Express, Lower Parel, Currey Road - Thane via Lalbaugh Parel Central Route, Goregaon Hub Mall: Vasai via Western Express Highway.

Also, both the service providers have suspended surge prices.&nbsp;

The highest <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/heavy-rains-lash-mumbai-several-areas-waterlogged-19617">recorded rainfall since 2005 has </a><a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/heavy-rains-lash-mumbai-several-areas-waterlogged-19617">paralysed</a><a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/heavy-rains-lash-mumbai-several-areas-waterlogged-19617"> the transportation</a> system in and around the city.&nbsp;

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Incessant downpour lashed Mumbai city police on Tuesday with citizens abandoning their cars as water submerged several vehicles. (WION)
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Amid the heavy downpour in Mumbai, which has disrupted the life of the financial capital, Ola and Uber have announced free rides and other concessions to the riders

Amid heavy downpour in Mumbai which has disrupted life in India's financial capital, Ola and Uber have announced free rides and other concessions to the riders. Uber has introduced free UberPool rides for the people of Mumbai. Mumbai riders can avail the free pool rides by typing in the promo code "MUMBAIRAINS" in the Promo Section option. Promo Section option can be accessed by opening the Uber app and selecting the Payments option. Ola, on the other hand, has introduced free shuttle services for every Mumbai citizen. The riders do not even need to book cabs for availing the Ola service. The company will connect people to Powai Hiranandani - Bhayander via Western Express Highway, Bandra Kurla Complex - Bhayandar via Western Express Highway, Domestic Airport - Thane side via JVLR & then Eastern Express, Lower Parel, Currey Road - Thane via Lalbaugh Parel Central Route, Goregaon Hub Mall: Vasai via Western Express Highway. Also, both the service providers have suspended surge prices. The highest recorded rainfall since 2005 has paralysed the transportation system in and around the city. Incessant downpour lashed Mumbai city police on Tuesday with citizens abandoning their cars as water submerged several vehicles. (WION) ×

Ola, Uber offer free services to Mumbaikars, type promo code 'MUMBAIRAINS' on your phone

Uber on Tuesday confirmed that <a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/expedia-chief-dara-khosrowshahi-set-to-be-new-uber-ceo-reports-19571" target="_blank">Dara Khosrowshahi will take over as its new chief</a>.

Dara Khosrowshahi is currently the chief executive of Expedia.

Uber&#39;s board chose him to replace its former embattled CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick.

Kalanick expressed happiness with the appointment of Dara.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/uber-ceo-kalanick-to-temporarily-step-down-16718" target="_blank">Kalanick had to step down</a> as Uber&#39;s CEO under pressure from the investors who were worried after a string of governance related issues.

Dara will replace Travis Kalanick who stepped down under investor pressure after a string of governance failures

Uber on Tuesday confirmed that Dara Khosrowshahi will take over as its new chief. Dara Khosrowshahi is currently the chief executive of Expedia. Uber's board chose him to replace its former embattled CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick. Kalanick expressed happiness with the appointment of Dara. Kalanick had to step down as Uber's CEO under pressure from the investors who were worried after a string of governance related issues.

Uber confirms Expedia chief Dara Khosrowshahi as next chief

Uber Technologies&nbsp;is pulling a heavily criticised feature from its app that allowed it to track riders for up to five minutes after a trip, its security chief told Reuters, as the ride-services company tries to fix its poor reputation for customer privacy.

The change, which restores users&#39; ability to share location data only while using the app, is expected to be announced on Tuesday and rolled out to Apple iPhone users starting this week. It comes as Uber tries to recover from a series of crises culminating in the ouster of Chief Executive Travis Kalanick and other top executives.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/expedia-chief-dara-khosrowshahi-set-to-be-new-uber-ceo-reports-19571">Dara Khosrowshahi,</a> the CEO of travel-booking company Expedia is set to become Uber&#39;s new chief executive.

The location-tracking update is unrelated to executive changes, said Joe Sullivan, Uber&rsquo;s chief security officer, in an interview with Reuters. Sullivan and his team of about 500 have been working to beef up customer privacy at Uber since he joined in 2015.

&quot;We&rsquo;ve been building through the turmoil and challenges because we already had our mandate,&quot; said Sullivan, who is a member of the executive leadership team that has been co-running Uber since Kalanick left in June.

An update to the app made last November eliminated the option for users to limit data gathering to only when the app is in use, instead forcing them to choose between letting Uber always collect location data or never collect it.instead forcing them to choose between letting Uber always collect location data or never collect it.

Uber said it needed permission to always gather data in order to track riders for five minutes after a trip was completed, which the company believed could help in ensuring customers&#39; physical safety. The option to never track required riders to manually enter pickup and drop-off addresses.

But the changes were met with swift criticism from some users and privacy advocates who called them a breach of user trust by a company already under fire for how it collects and uses customers&#39; data. Uber said it never actually began post-trip tracking for iPhone users and suspended it for Android users.

Sullivan said Uber made a mistake by asking for more information from users without making clear what value Uber would offer in return. If Uber decides that tracking a rider&rsquo;s location for five minutes is valuable in the future, it will seek to explain what the value is and allow customers to opt into the setting, he said.

Sullivan said Uber was committed to privacy but had previously suffered &quot;a lack of expertise&quot; in the area.

The change comes two weeks after Uber settled a US Federal Trade Commission complaint that the company failed to protect the personal information of drivers and passengers and was deceptive about its efforts to prevent snooping by its employees.

Uber agreed to conduct an audit every two years for the next 20 years to ensure compliance with FTC requirements.

The location-tracking changes will initially only be available to iPhone users, but Uber intends to bring parity to Android devices, Sullivan said.

The changes are part of a series of updates expected in the coming year to improve privacy, security and transparency at Uber, Sullivan said.

Uber Technologies?is pulling a heavily criticised feature from its app that allowed it to track riders for up to five minutes after a trip

Uber Technologies is pulling a heavily criticised feature from its app that allowed it to track riders for up to five minutes after a trip, its security chief told Reuters, as the ride-services company tries to fix its poor reputation for customer privacy. The change, which restores users' ability to share location data only while using the app, is expected to be announced on Tuesday and rolled out to Apple iPhone users starting this week. It comes as Uber tries to recover from a series of crises culminating in the ouster of Chief Executive Travis Kalanick and other top executives. Dara Khosrowshahi, the CEO of travel-booking company Expedia is set to become Uber's new chief executive. The location-tracking update is unrelated to executive changes, said Joe Sullivan, Uber’s chief security officer, in an interview with Reuters. Sullivan and his team of about 500 have been working to beef up customer privacy at Uber since he joined in 2015. "We’ve been building through the turmoil and challenges because we already had our mandate," said Sullivan, who is a member of the executive leadership team that has been co-running Uber since Kalanick left in June. An update to the app made last November eliminated the option for users to limit data gathering to only when the app is in use, instead forcing them to choose between letting Uber always collect location data or never collect it.instead forcing them to choose between letting Uber always collect location data or never collect it. Uber said it needed permission to always gather data in order to track riders for five minutes after a trip was completed, which the company believed could help in ensuring customers' physical safety. The option to never track required riders to manually enter pickup and drop-off addresses. But the changes were met with swift criticism from some users and privacy advocates who called them a breach of user trust by a company already under fire for how it collects and uses customers' data. Uber said it never actually began post-trip tracking for iPhone users and suspended it for Android users. Sullivan said Uber made a mistake by asking for more information from users without making clear what value Uber would offer in return. If Uber decides that tracking a rider’s location for five minutes is valuable in the future, it will seek to explain what the value is and allow customers to opt into the setting, he said. Sullivan said Uber was committed to privacy but had previously suffered "a lack of expertise" in the area. The change comes two weeks after Uber settled a US Federal Trade Commission complaint that the company failed to protect the personal information of drivers and passengers and was deceptive about its efforts to prevent snooping by its employees. Uber agreed to conduct an audit every two years for the next 20 years to ensure compliance with FTC requirements. The location-tracking changes will initially only be available to iPhone users, but Uber intends to bring parity to Android devices, Sullivan said. The changes are part of a series of updates expected in the coming year to improve privacy, security and transparency at Uber, Sullivan said.

Uber to end post-trip tracking of riders as part of privacy push

Global ride-hailing firm&nbsp;Uber&nbsp;Technologies will give free insurance to its 450,000 driver partners in India that will cover death, disability or hospitalisation due to accidents, the company said on Tuesday.

The San Francisco-based company, which competes with Softbank-backed local rival Ola in India, is grappling with an overhaul of its workplace culture, a range of legal troubles and most recently a bitter board dispute.

Earlier this year&nbsp;Uber&nbsp;faced a backlash from drivers in India, one of its biggest and most competitive markets, who went on strike after the company, in a bid to make money, cut back on lucrative incentives.

The insurance by ICICI Lombard General Insurance will be applicable from Sept. 1, and will provide cover ranging from 500,000 rupees ($7,814) in case of death to 50,000 rupees ($781) for outpatient treatment, the company said.

Uber&nbsp;this week picked <a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/expedia-chief-dara-khosrowshahi-set-to-be-new-uber-ceo-reports-19571">Expedia&nbsp;Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi</a> to become its new CEO, according to a memo, putting him in charge of turning around the loss-making, scandal-ridden company.

The San Francisco-based company, which competes with Softbank-backed local rival Ola in India, is grappling with an overhaul of its workplace culture, a range of legal troubles and most recently a bitter board dispute

Global ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies will give free insurance to its 450,000 driver partners in India that will cover death, disability or hospitalisation due to accidents, the company said on Tuesday. The San Francisco-based company, which competes with Softbank-backed local rival Ola in India, is grappling with an overhaul of its workplace culture, a range of legal troubles and most recently a bitter board dispute. Earlier this year Uber faced a backlash from drivers in India, one of its biggest and most competitive markets, who went on strike after the company, in a bid to make money, cut back on lucrative incentives. The insurance by ICICI Lombard General Insurance will be applicable from Sept. 1, and will provide cover ranging from 500,000 rupees ($7,814) in case of death to 50,000 rupees ($781) for outpatient treatment, the company said. Uber this week picked Expedia Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi to become its new CEO, according to a memo, putting him in charge of turning around the loss-making, scandal-ridden company.

Uber to provide free insurance for its drivers in India

Expedia chief Dara Khosrowshahi has been chosen as the<a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/investor-firm-sues-kalanick-to-force-him-off-board-18853"> next CEO at Uber</a>, The New York Times reported.

Dara, an Iranian American, 48, will replace <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/guess-who-got-into-shouting-match-with-his-uber-driver-uber-ceo-travis-kalanick-12926">Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick who stepped down in June</a> under pressure from investors over a string of governance related issues.

Dara Khosrowshahi&#39;s appointment comes just as <a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/i-have-decided-not-to-pursue-leadership-position-at-uber-jeff-immelt-19567">Jeff Immelt, chairman of General Electric Co announced on Sunday</a>&nbsp;said he was no longer in the race for the CEO&#39;s position at Uber.&nbsp;

Khosrowshahi appointment has however not been confirmed by Uber even as tech and news websites in the US have almost confirmed the Expedia CEO as the successor to Travis Kalanick at Uber.

Among other candidates, Meg Whitman, the chief executive of Hewlett Packard Enterprise was also in the race for the CEO&#39;s position&nbsp;with the Uber board frantically looking for a CEO who could quickly take charge after Kalanick&#39;s controversial last few months at the company which was plagued by several issues including reports of sexual harassment at the company, bullying of workers, unprofessional behaviour resorted to by senior employees.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/uber-fires-20-employees-over-harassment-probe-16511">Uber had fired 20 employees in June</a> following an investigation by a law firm into sexual harassment allegations and other claims.

Dara, an Iranian American, 48, will replace Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick who stepped down in June

Expedia chief Dara Khosrowshahi has been chosen as the next CEO at Uber, The New York Times reported. Dara, an Iranian American, 48, will replace Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick who stepped down in June under pressure from investors over a string of governance related issues. Dara Khosrowshahi's appointment comes just as Jeff Immelt, chairman of General Electric Co announced on Sunday said he was no longer in the race for the CEO's position at Uber. Khosrowshahi appointment has however not been confirmed by Uber even as tech and news websites in the US have almost confirmed the Expedia CEO as the successor to Travis Kalanick at Uber. Among other candidates, Meg Whitman, the chief executive of Hewlett Packard Enterprise was also in the race for the CEO's position with the Uber board frantically looking for a CEO who could quickly take charge after Kalanick's controversial last few months at the company which was plagued by several issues including reports of sexual harassment at the company, bullying of workers, unprofessional behaviour resorted to by senior employees. Uber had fired 20 employees in June following an investigation by a law firm into sexual harassment allegations and other claims.

Expedia chief Dara Khosrowshahi set to be new Uber CEO: Reports

Jeff Immelt, chairman of General Electric Co said on Sunday he was no longer in the race<a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/investor-firm-sues-kalanick-to-force-him-off-board-18853"> for the CEO&#39;s position at Uber</a>.

Uber Technologies has been hunting for a new CEO ever since its <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/guess-who-got-into-shouting-match-with-his-uber-driver-uber-ceo-travis-kalanick-12926">founder Travis Kalanick stepped down </a>over two months under pressure from investors after a string of governance related issues. 
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I have decided not to pursue a leadership position at Uber. I have immense respect for the company &amp; founders - Travis, Garrett and Ryan.
&mdash; Jeff Immelt (@JeffImmelt) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffImmelt/status/901832519913537540">August 27, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Immelt had stepped down from GE in June after company&#39;s share price fell rapidly in his long 16-year tenure even though he refashioned the company&#39;s focus to digital products.

Among other candidates in the race, Meg Whitman, the chief executive of Hewlett Packard Enterprise is in the race for CEO&#39;s position at Uber, Reuters reported.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/uber-fires-20-employees-over-harassment-probe-16511">Uber had fired 20 employees in June following an investigation </a>by a law firm into sexual harassment allegations and other claims.

Uber fired the staff following a report by law firm Perkins Coie, which Uber hired to look into claims of harassment, discrimination, bullying and other employee concerns. The law firm investigated 215 staff complaints going back as far as 2012 taking action in 58 cases and no action on 100 more. Other investigations are continuing.

Of the 215 claims, Uber said 54 were related to discrimination, 47 related to sexual harassment, 45 to unprofessional behaviour, 33 to bullying and 36 to other types of claims.

Uber is one of the most valuable companies in the world valued at $68 billion by&nbsp;Wall Street analysts.

Uber Technologies has been hunting for a new CEO ever since its founder Travis Kalanick stepped down over two months

Jeff Immelt, chairman of General Electric Co said on Sunday he was no longer in the race for the CEO's position at Uber. Uber Technologies has been hunting for a new CEO ever since its founder Travis Kalanick stepped down over two months under pressure from investors after a string of governance related issues. I have decided not to pursue a leadership position at Uber. I have immense respect for the company & founders - Travis, Garrett and Ryan. — Jeff Immelt (@JeffImmelt) August 27, 2017 × Immelt had stepped down from GE in June after company's share price fell rapidly in his long 16-year tenure even though he refashioned the company's focus to digital products. Among other candidates in the race, Meg Whitman, the chief executive of Hewlett Packard Enterprise is in the race for CEO's position at Uber, Reuters reported. Uber had fired 20 employees in June following an investigation by a law firm into sexual harassment allegations and other claims. Uber fired the staff following a report by law firm Perkins Coie, which Uber hired to look into claims of harassment, discrimination, bullying and other employee concerns. The law firm investigated 215 staff complaints going back as far as 2012 taking action in 58 cases and no action on 100 more. Other investigations are continuing. Of the 215 claims, Uber said 54 were related to discrimination, 47 related to sexual harassment, 45 to unprofessional behaviour, 33 to bullying and 36 to other types of claims. Uber is one of the most valuable companies in the world valued at $68 billion by Wall Street analysts.

I have decided not to pursue leadership position at Uber: Jeff Immelt

Uber is all set to launch the final phase of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) based facility allowing customers to use their unique IDs for ride payment.&nbsp;

The new payment option is&nbsp;in addition to the prevailing payment options that include debit/credit card, cash and paytm.&nbsp;

A report in The Economic Times stated that <a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/investor-firm-sues-kalanick-to-force-him-off-board-18853">Uber </a>will be partnering with Axis Bank and HDFC for UPI-based payments.

The company has already integrated UPI in July for Android users.&nbsp;Describing it as the &#39;first step&#39;, Uber said UPI to be the &#39;future of Indian payments&#39;.

&nbsp;

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Paying for Uber Rides is now just a click away! Check out how to use UPI <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UberForBhim?src=hash">#UberForBhim</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DigitialIndia?src=hash">#DigitialIndia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EasyPayments?src=hash">#EasyPayments</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UPI?src=hash">#UPI</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UberIndia?src=hash">#UberIndia</a> <a href="https://t.co/vFMwu5rKtJ">pic.twitter.com/vFMwu5rKtJ</a>
&mdash; Uber India (@Uber_India) <a href="https://twitter.com/Uber_India/status/900275722832330752">August 23, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Various reports have also claimed that Uber may launch its own mobile wallet.

Uber&#39;s rival Ola had&nbsp;also integrated UPI to its platform in April providing its customers an option called &quot;Pay by UPI&quot;. Ola has also successfully launched its own mobile wallet, Ola Money, in November 2015. The digital wallet has emerged as a convenient payment method for a wide variety of use including peer to peer transfers.&nbsp;

A person familiar to the matter said, &ldquo;It cannot be denied that there is a substantial volume of transactions which takes place in cash mode on Uber platform in India. But Uber is going to revolutionise the digital payments experience soon&quot;.

UPI was launched in August 2016 with 21 banks, and is currently being offered by about 53 banks.

&nbsp;

A report in The Economic Times stated that Uber will be partnering with Axis Bank and HDFC for UPI based payments

Uber is all set to launch the final phase of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) based facility allowing customers to use their unique IDs for ride payment. The new payment option is in addition to the prevailing payment options that include debit/credit card, cash and paytm. A report in The Economic Times stated that Uber will be partnering with Axis Bank and HDFC for UPI-based payments. The company has already integrated UPI in July for Android users. Describing it as the 'first step', Uber said UPI to be the 'future of Indian payments'. Paying for Uber Rides is now just a click away! Check out how to use UPI #UberForBhim #DigitialIndia #EasyPayments #UPI #UberIndia pic.twitter.com/vFMwu5rKtJ — Uber India (@Uber_India) August 23, 2017 × Various reports have also claimed that Uber may launch its own mobile wallet. Uber's rival Ola had also integrated UPI to its platform in April providing its customers an option called "Pay by UPI". Ola has also successfully launched its own mobile wallet, Ola Money, in November 2015. The digital wallet has emerged as a convenient payment method for a wide variety of use including peer to peer transfers. A person familiar to the matter said, “It cannot be denied that there is a substantial volume of transactions which takes place in cash mode on Uber platform in India. But Uber is going to revolutionise the digital payments experience soon". UPI was launched in August 2016 with 21 banks, and is currently being offered by about 53 banks.

Uber expands payment mode with UPI based facility in India

Venture capital firm Benchmark Capital is suing former <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/guess-who-got-into-shouting-match-with-his-uber-driver-uber-ceo-travis-kalanick-12926">Uber Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick to force him</a> off the board, Reuters reported.

The lawsuit filed Thursday accuses Kalanick of concealing a range of misdeeds from the board and scheming to retain power at the company even after he was forced to resign <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/uber-fires-20-employees-over-harassment-probe-16511">as chief executive of Uber Technologies Inc in June following a series of scandals</a>.&nbsp;

Travis Kalanick, 41, co-founder of the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/uber-ceo-travis-kalanick-resigns-under-shareholder-pressure-nyt-17092">app-based cab service resigned two months ago under pressure from investors </a>who were unhappy with the ex-CEO over issues of corporate governance and series of alleged sex&nbsp;scandals in the company.

Even as he stepped down it was widely believed he would remain part of the board but the latest development has clouded his future links with a company he founded in 2009.

Uber was blamed for &#39;&#39;toxic&quot; company culture as the company faced a series of lawsuits filed by drivers over pay and treatment. In June, Uber had fired 20 employees for incidents involving discrimination, sexual harassment and bad behaviour.

Kalanick issued a statement calling the lawsuit &quot;completely without merit and riddled with lies and false allegations.&quot; The statement accused Benchmark of &quot;acting in its own best interests contrary to the interests of Uber&quot; and denounced the legal action as a &quot;transparent attempt to deprive Travis Kalanick of his rights as a founder and shareholder.&quot;

Uber and Benchmark Capital declined to comment.

The San Francisco based company operates in over 600 cities worldwide and boosts of over 12,000 employees, after Kalanick&#39;s exit the company is currently looking for a CEO but has made little headway.

The lawsuit filed accuses Kalanick of concealing a range of misdeeds from the board and scheming to retain power at the company

Venture capital firm Benchmark Capital is suing former Uber Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick to force him off the board, Reuters reported. The lawsuit filed Thursday accuses Kalanick of concealing a range of misdeeds from the board and scheming to retain power at the company even after he was forced to resign as chief executive of Uber Technologies Inc in June following a series of scandals. Travis Kalanick, 41, co-founder of the app-based cab service resigned two months ago under pressure from investors who were unhappy with the ex-CEO over issues of corporate governance and series of alleged sex scandals in the company. Even as he stepped down it was widely believed he would remain part of the board but the latest development has clouded his future links with a company he founded in 2009. Uber was blamed for ''toxic" company culture as the company faced a series of lawsuits filed by drivers over pay and treatment. In June, Uber had fired 20 employees for incidents involving discrimination, sexual harassment and bad behaviour. Kalanick issued a statement calling the lawsuit "completely without merit and riddled with lies and false allegations." The statement accused Benchmark of "acting in its own best interests contrary to the interests of Uber" and denounced the legal action as a "transparent attempt to deprive Travis Kalanick of his rights as a founder and shareholder." Uber and Benchmark Capital declined to comment. The San Francisco based company operates in over 600 cities worldwide and boosts of over 12,000 employees, after Kalanick's exit the company is currently looking for a CEO but has made little headway.

Uber row: Investor firm sues Kalanick to force him off board

A US judge ruled that Alphabet Google&#39;s self-driving car unit Waymo must disclose documents to attorneys representing Uber Technologies about Waymo&#39;s partnership with Lyft, saying the information could be important in Waymo&#39;s lawsuit accusing Uber of stealing some of its trade secrets.

Waymo claimed in a lawsuit earlier this year that former engineer Anthony Levandowski downloaded more than 14,000 confidential files before leaving to set up a self-driving truck company, which Uber acquired soon after.

Uber denies it used any of Waymo&#39;s trade secrets. A trial is scheduled for October.

Waymo and ride-hailing service Lyft, which is a competitor to Uber, announced a partnership to get self-driving vehicles on the roads earlier this year. &nbsp;As part of its litigation defence, Uber requested documents and other information about the deal from both Waymo and Lyft.

In a ruling on Friday, US Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley ordered Waymo to disclose due diligence documents over the deal, saying Uber could use them to assess Waymo&#39;s argument that it suffered monetary damages from Uber&#39;s actions. Corley said Lyft did not have to produce any documents.

A Waymo spokesman did not have immediate comment on the ruling.

Also,&nbsp;Waymo&nbsp;said it would dismiss three out of four patent claims it had filed against Uber, while maintaining one patent claim over a circuit for its laser technology.

US District Judge William Alsup, who is overseeing the case, had previously said Waymo&#39;s patent claims appeared meritless.&nbsp;

The information could be important in Waymo's lawsuit accusing Uber of stealing some of its trade secrets

A US judge ruled that Alphabet Google's self-driving car unit Waymo must disclose documents to attorneys representing Uber Technologies about Waymo's partnership with Lyft, saying the information could be important in Waymo's lawsuit accusing Uber of stealing some of its trade secrets. Waymo claimed in a lawsuit earlier this year that former engineer Anthony Levandowski downloaded more than 14,000 confidential files before leaving to set up a self-driving truck company, which Uber acquired soon after. Uber denies it used any of Waymo's trade secrets. A trial is scheduled for October. Waymo and ride-hailing service Lyft, which is a competitor to Uber, announced a partnership to get self-driving vehicles on the roads earlier this year. As part of its litigation defence, Uber requested documents and other information about the deal from both Waymo and Lyft. In a ruling on Friday, US Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley ordered Waymo to disclose due diligence documents over the deal, saying Uber could use them to assess Waymo's argument that it suffered monetary damages from Uber's actions. Corley said Lyft did not have to produce any documents. A Waymo spokesman did not have immediate comment on the ruling. Also, Waymo said it would dismiss three out of four patent claims it had filed against Uber, while maintaining one patent claim over a circuit for its laser technology. US District Judge William Alsup, who is overseeing the case, had previously said Waymo's patent claims appeared meritless.

Waymo must disclose details of Lyft car deal to Uber - ruling

Uber played down an EU court opinion that some of its services could be illegal, saying that the case concerned only a ride-hailing app service in France which it no longer provides.

&quot;We have seen today&#39;s statement and await the final ruling later this year,&quot; an Uber spokeswoman said in an email. &quot;This case relates to a French law from 2014 and affects peer-to-peer services which we stopped in 2015. Uber today works only with professional licensed drivers in France.&quot;

An advocate general for the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) said in a non-binding opinion that illegal transport activities like UberPOP may be criminal.

Uber claimed that the case concerned only a ride-hailing app service in France which it no longer provides

Uber played down an EU court opinion that some of its services could be illegal, saying that the case concerned only a ride-hailing app service in France which it no longer provides. "We have seen today's statement and await the final ruling later this year," an Uber spokeswoman said in an email. "This case relates to a French law from 2014 and affects peer-to-peer services which we stopped in 2015. Uber today works only with professional licensed drivers in France." An advocate general for the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) said in a non-binding opinion that illegal transport activities like UberPOP may be criminal.

Uber says will await final EU court ruling later this year

Uber&nbsp;Technologies has launched its speedboat service in Croatia, connecting major tourist spots along the country&#39;s Adriatic coast.

UberBOAT, which offers speedboats for up to 12 people, has already been tested in Istanbul and Miami among other locations, and will operate in Croatia during the summer tourist season.

It will compete with other boat services along the Adriatic coast.

The service will be available, via the&nbsp;Uber&nbsp;app, from the cities of Split and Dubrovnik in the southern Adriatic as well as from the island of Hvar. The price of hiring a speed boat for up to eight people to travel from Split to Hvar, for example, will cost 2,600 kuna ($400).

&quot;UberBOAT offers two different services - transfer between the mainland and the island or speed boat rent for half-day or whole-day trips ... There is no possibility to stay overnight on the boat nor to hire the boat without captain and sailors,&quot;&nbsp;Uber&nbsp;said in a statement.

The users will be able to define their own itinerary during daily trips or opt for an organised schedule involving some of the most popular destinations.

Croatia is a popular tourist destination in Europe with tourism accounting for 18 percent of the country&#39;s gross domestic product.

UberBOAT, which offers speedboats for up to 12 people, has already been tested in Istanbul and Miami among other locations and will operate in Croatia during the summer tourist season

Uber Technologies has launched its speedboat service in Croatia, connecting major tourist spots along the country's Adriatic coast. UberBOAT, which offers speedboats for up to 12 people, has already been tested in Istanbul and Miami among other locations, and will operate in Croatia during the summer tourist season. It will compete with other boat services along the Adriatic coast. The service will be available, via the Uber app, from the cities of Split and Dubrovnik in the southern Adriatic as well as from the island of Hvar. The price of hiring a speed boat for up to eight people to travel from Split to Hvar, for example, will cost 2,600 kuna ($400). "UberBOAT offers two different services - transfer between the mainland and the island or speed boat rent for half-day or whole-day trips ... There is no possibility to stay overnight on the boat nor to hire the boat without captain and sailors," Uber said in a statement. The users will be able to define their own itinerary during daily trips or opt for an organised schedule involving some of the most popular destinations. Croatia is a popular tourist destination in Europe with tourism accounting for 18 percent of the country's gross domestic product.

Uber launches speedboat service along Croatian coast

Uber Technologies has hired a law firm to investigate how it obtained the medical records of an Indian woman who was raped by an Uber driver in 2014. The review will focus in part on accusations from some current and former employees that bribes were involved.&nbsp;

The law firm O&#39;Melveny &amp; Myers LLP was hired by the ride service after employees gave contradictory accounts of how Uber obtained the medical records. The probe is in its early stages. &nbsp;

The firm is also exploring whether former chief executive Travis Kalanick knew how Uber came into possession of the records.&nbsp;

Kalanick through a spokesman declined to comment. Uber also declined to comment, and O&#39;Melveny &amp; Myers did not respond to a request for comment.&nbsp;

Members of Uber&#39;s board were briefed about the investigation in recent days, shortly before five major Uber investors sent a letter to Kalanick to demand his resignation. The probe was likely one reason the board turned against Kalanick, who stepped down on Tuesday.

The investigation is ongoing and has not reached any conclusions on whether Uber improperly obtained the records.&nbsp;The rape victim sued Uber last week, accusing the ride service operator of improperly obtaining and sharing her medical records. The suit said that shortly after the rape occurred, former Uber Asia chief Eric Alexander &quot;met with Delhi police and intentionally obtained plaintiff&#39;s confidential medical records.&quot;

Alexander, through spokeswoman Heather Wilson, denied paying any bribes and said that the files containing the victim&#39;s records had been obtained through appropriate, legal methods.

A Delhi police spokesman was not available for any comment. &nbsp;The rapist was convicted in 2015.

According to a person familiar with conversations between Kalanick and Alexander, the two executives had discussed obtaining the victim&#39;s records because they suspected the rape might have been fabricated by an Uber rival to damage the company. Another person said Alexander showed the medical files to colleagues in New Delhi more than once.

Wilson denied that Alexander had discussed or shared the records with colleagues. She said that Alexander believed the victim was raped and never expressed the view that it was a setup. Uber fired Alexander earlier this month.

Kalanick, 40, has already announced his resignation, though he would remain on the board of Uber. He said he had accepted &quot;the investors&#39; request to step aside so that Uber can go back to building rather than be distracted by another fight.&quot;

Privately held Uber has grown from startup to a global ride service valued at $68 billion in less than a decade, driven by Kalanick, who set the tone of a company that challenged laws and norms to succeed.

Confidence in Kalanick had been strained this year by claims of sexual harassment in the company and a lawsuit accusing Uber of benefiting from trade secrets stolen from self-driving car technology from Alphabet Waymo .

Law firm O'Melveny & Myers LLP was hired by Uber after employees gave contradictory accounts of how the ride service obtained the medical records

Uber Technologies has hired a law firm to investigate how it obtained the medical records of an Indian woman who was raped by an Uber driver in 2014. The review will focus in part on accusations from some current and former employees that bribes were involved. The law firm O'Melveny & Myers LLP was hired by the ride service after employees gave contradictory accounts of how Uber obtained the medical records. The probe is in its early stages. The firm is also exploring whether former chief executive Travis Kalanick knew how Uber came into possession of the records. Kalanick through a spokesman declined to comment. Uber also declined to comment, and O'Melveny & Myers did not respond to a request for comment. Members of Uber's board were briefed about the investigation in recent days, shortly before five major Uber investors sent a letter to Kalanick to demand his resignation. The probe was likely one reason the board turned against Kalanick, who stepped down on Tuesday. The investigation is ongoing and has not reached any conclusions on whether Uber improperly obtained the records. The rape victim sued Uber last week, accusing the ride service operator of improperly obtaining and sharing her medical records. The suit said that shortly after the rape occurred, former Uber Asia chief Eric Alexander "met with Delhi police and intentionally obtained plaintiff's confidential medical records." Alexander, through spokeswoman Heather Wilson, denied paying any bribes and said that the files containing the victim's records had been obtained through appropriate, legal methods. A Delhi police spokesman was not available for any comment. The rapist was convicted in 2015. According to a person familiar with conversations between Kalanick and Alexander, the two executives had discussed obtaining the victim's records because they suspected the rape might have been fabricated by an Uber rival to damage the company. Another person said Alexander showed the medical files to colleagues in New Delhi more than once. Wilson denied that Alexander had discussed or shared the records with colleagues. She said that Alexander believed the victim was raped and never expressed the view that it was a setup. Uber fired Alexander earlier this month. Kalanick, 40, has already announced his resignation, though he would remain on the board of Uber. He said he had accepted "the investors' request to step aside so that Uber can go back to building rather than be distracted by another fight." Privately held Uber has grown from startup to a global ride service valued at $68 billion in less than a decade, driven by Kalanick, who set the tone of a company that challenged laws and norms to succeed. Confidence in Kalanick had been strained this year by claims of sexual harassment in the company and a lawsuit accusing Uber of benefiting from trade secrets stolen from self-driving car technology from Alphabet Waymo .

Uber hires law firm to probe how it handled Indian rape case

Uber Technologies Inc Chief Executive Travis Kalanick, co-founder of one of the most influential technology companies of its generation, resigned on Tuesday under pressure from investors after a string of setbacks. Kalanick&#39;s departure caps a tumultuous period for the world&#39;s largest ride-services company that has revolutionised the taxi industry and challenged transportation regulations worldwide.

The 40-year-old&#39;s pugnacious style largely defined Uber&#39;s approach and helped it become a transportation colossus valued at $68 billion, the largest private firm backed by venture capitalists in the world.

But that brashness has also been blamed for scandals this year, from the unearthing of a culture of bullying and discrimination at Uber to a US Department of Justice federal investigation and a high-stakes lawsuit filed by Alphabet Inc that threatens Uber&#39;s self-driving car ambitions.

&quot;I love Uber more than anything in the world and at this difficult moment in my personal life I have accepted the investors&#39; request to step aside so that Uber can go back to building rather than be distracted with another fight,&quot; Kalanick said in an email to employees that was seen by Reuters.

Kalanick will remain on the board. But his departure as CEO widens an already gaping hole at the top of Uber which has no chief operating officer, chief financial officer or general counsel at the moment. For now, 14 people who reported to Kalanick are running Uber.

It is not clear who will be Uber&#39;s next CEO. Facebook Inc Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg has been identified as a target in media reports, but a source close to Sandberg told Reuters she plans to stay at the online social media company.

Kalanick faced increased scrutiny for a culture of sexism and rule-breaking at the company he helped start in 2009. After a video showing Kalanick berating an Uber driver who had complained about falling wages was released in February, the CEO made a public apology and promised to seek &quot;leadership help.&quot;

It is not known publicly how much of Uber Kalanick owns, but he has until now wielded near-total control of the company, made possible by a dual-class share structure that gives him and key allies 10 votes per share.

&quot;Toxic Culture&quot;

Ultimately, it was some of Uber&#39;s main investors who forced Kalanick out, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Venture capital firm Benchmark, whose partner Bill Gurley is one of Uber&#39;s largest shareholders and sits on its board, plus investors First Round Capital, Lowercase Capital, Menlo Ventures and Fidelity Investments, all pressed Kalanick to quit.

A source close to Menlo Ventures, which led one of Uber&#39;s early financing rounds, told Reuters that the firm helped write a letter calling for Kalanick to step down.

The investors delivered the letter to Kalanick while he was in Chicago, the New York Times reported, citing people with knowledge of the situation.&nbsp;

Kalanick&#39;s decision &quot;was a surprise to everyone&quot;, a second Uber spokesman said.

In a statement sent to Reuters, the Uber board of directors called Kalanick&#39;s resignation &quot;a bold decision&quot; that &quot;gives the company room to fully embrace this new chapter in Uber&#39;s history&quot;.

The CEO&#39;s departure comes after a lengthy investigation led by former US&nbsp;Attorney General Eric Holder, which concluded that Kalanick&#39;s authority should be reduced and that board oversight and independence should increase.

Uber hired Holder&#39;s firm Covington and Burling to look into its culture and workplace practices after a female former employee, Susan Fowler, publicly accused the company of sexual harassment.

What followed was a mountain of scandals, including a criminal investigation into Uber&#39;s use of technology to evade regulators in certain cities and a trade secrets lawsuit filed by Alphabet&#39;s self-driving division, Waymo.

Uber faces other lawsuits filed by drivers over their pay and treatment, and Uber fired 20 employees for incidents involving discrimination, sexual harassment and other bad behaviour earlier this month.

Uber &quot;is the very definition of a toxic leadership culture&quot; and Kalanick &quot;set the tone&quot;, said Jason Hanold, chief executive officer and managing partner at human resources executive recruitment firm Hanold Associates.

Sweeping Power

Following the release of the damning Covington report, Kalanick said last week he would take a leave of absence to grieve for his mother, who died recently in a boating accident that also seriously injured his father, and to work on his leadership skills.

&quot;Uber couldn&#39;t make a credible claim that it was committed to the changes it has to make if he was hovering in the wings, waiting to return as CEO,&quot; said Erik Gordon, a technology and entrepreneurship expert at the University of Michigan&#39;s Ross School of Business.

Kalanick and other executives were also criticized for the handling of a crisis in India after an Uber driver was arrested for raping a passenger. Though the driver was convicted in 2015, Kalanick and other executives became convinced the crime was a set up by a local rival, former employees said.

Eric Alexander, the head of Asian business for Uber, shared medical records internally, including with Kalanick. Alexander argued they showed the woman had been assaulted but not raped, people who spoke to him said. Alexander was fired earlier this month.

Even some of Kalanick&#39;s staunchest allies have found fault with how Uber has been run. In a blog post on Medium published on Tuesday, Uber co-founder Garrett Camp, who has long aligned himself with Kalanick, called Uber&#39;s problems serious.

&quot;Over the years we have neglected parts of our culture as we have focused on growth. We have failed to build some of the systems that every company needs to scale successfully,&quot; Camp wrote.

Kalanick has enjoyed sweeping power at Uber, through his share ownership and voting power, as well as his commanding personality and micromanaging tendencies.

His authority is not atypical in Silicon Valley, where investors often give founders great autonomy, and Uber&#39;s board frequently voiced support of Kalanick despite mounting problems.

In March, following the start of the Holder investigation, Uber director Arianna Huffington said on a call with reporters the board had full confidence in Kalanick.

She repeated that position on Friday in an interview with Reuters by saying Kalanick&#39;s leave of absence was solely his decision.

Gurley, one of Kalanick&#39;s closest confidants, praised the CEO on Twitter following his resignation.

&quot;There will be many pages in the history books devoted to @travisk - very few entrepreneurs have had such a lasting impact on the world,&quot; Gurley wrote.

Kalanick's departure caps a tumultuous period for the world's largest ride-services company that has revolutionised the taxi industry and challenged transportation regulations worldwide

Uber Technologies Inc Chief Executive Travis Kalanick, co-founder of one of the most influential technology companies of its generation, resigned on Tuesday under pressure from investors after a string of setbacks. Kalanick's departure caps a tumultuous period for the world's largest ride-services company that has revolutionised the taxi industry and challenged transportation regulations worldwide. The 40-year-old's pugnacious style largely defined Uber's approach and helped it become a transportation colossus valued at $68 billion, the largest private firm backed by venture capitalists in the world. But that brashness has also been blamed for scandals this year, from the unearthing of a culture of bullying and discrimination at Uber to a US Department of Justice federal investigation and a high-stakes lawsuit filed by Alphabet Inc that threatens Uber's self-driving car ambitions. "I love Uber more than anything in the world and at this difficult moment in my personal life I have accepted the investors' request to step aside so that Uber can go back to building rather than be distracted with another fight," Kalanick said in an email to employees that was seen by Reuters. Kalanick will remain on the board. But his departure as CEO widens an already gaping hole at the top of Uber which has no chief operating officer, chief financial officer or general counsel at the moment. For now, 14 people who reported to Kalanick are running Uber. It is not clear who will be Uber's next CEO. Facebook Inc Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg has been identified as a target in media reports, but a source close to Sandberg told Reuters she plans to stay at the online social media company. Kalanick faced increased scrutiny for a culture of sexism and rule-breaking at the company he helped start in 2009. After a video showing Kalanick berating an Uber driver who had complained about falling wages was released in February, the CEO made a public apology and promised to seek "leadership help." It is not known publicly how much of Uber Kalanick owns, but he has until now wielded near-total control of the company, made possible by a dual-class share structure that gives him and key allies 10 votes per share. "Toxic Culture" Ultimately, it was some of Uber's main investors who forced Kalanick out, according to a source familiar with the matter. Venture capital firm Benchmark, whose partner Bill Gurley is one of Uber's largest shareholders and sits on its board, plus investors First Round Capital, Lowercase Capital, Menlo Ventures and Fidelity Investments, all pressed Kalanick to quit. A source close to Menlo Ventures, which led one of Uber's early financing rounds, told Reuters that the firm helped write a letter calling for Kalanick to step down. The investors delivered the letter to Kalanick while he was in Chicago, the New York Times reported, citing people with knowledge of the situation. Kalanick's decision "was a surprise to everyone", a second Uber spokesman said. In a statement sent to Reuters, the Uber board of directors called Kalanick's resignation "a bold decision" that "gives the company room to fully embrace this new chapter in Uber's history". The CEO's departure comes after a lengthy investigation led by former US Attorney General Eric Holder, which concluded that Kalanick's authority should be reduced and that board oversight and independence should increase. Uber hired Holder's firm Covington and Burling to look into its culture and workplace practices after a female former employee, Susan Fowler, publicly accused the company of sexual harassment. What followed was a mountain of scandals, including a criminal investigation into Uber's use of technology to evade regulators in certain cities and a trade secrets lawsuit filed by Alphabet's self-driving division, Waymo. Uber faces other lawsuits filed by drivers over their pay and treatment, and Uber fired 20 employees for incidents involving discrimination, sexual harassment and other bad behaviour earlier this month. Uber "is the very definition of a toxic leadership culture" and Kalanick "set the tone", said Jason Hanold, chief executive officer and managing partner at human resources executive recruitment firm Hanold Associates. Sweeping Power Following the release of the damning Covington report, Kalanick said last week he would take a leave of absence to grieve for his mother, who died recently in a boating accident that also seriously injured his father, and to work on his leadership skills. "Uber couldn't make a credible claim that it was committed to the changes it has to make if he was hovering in the wings, waiting to return as CEO," said Erik Gordon, a technology and entrepreneurship expert at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. Kalanick and other executives were also criticized for the handling of a crisis in India after an Uber driver was arrested for raping a passenger. Though the driver was convicted in 2015, Kalanick and other executives became convinced the crime was a set up by a local rival, former employees said. Eric Alexander, the head of Asian business for Uber, shared medical records internally, including with Kalanick. Alexander argued they showed the woman had been assaulted but not raped, people who spoke to him said. Alexander was fired earlier this month. Even some of Kalanick's staunchest allies have found fault with how Uber has been run. In a blog post on Medium published on Tuesday, Uber co-founder Garrett Camp, who has long aligned himself with Kalanick, called Uber's problems serious. "Over the years we have neglected parts of our culture as we have focused on growth. We have failed to build some of the systems that every company needs to scale successfully," Camp wrote. Kalanick has enjoyed sweeping power at Uber, through his share ownership and voting power, as well as his commanding personality and micromanaging tendencies. His authority is not atypical in Silicon Valley, where investors often give founders great autonomy, and Uber's board frequently voiced support of Kalanick despite mounting problems. In March, following the start of the Holder investigation, Uber director Arianna Huffington said on a call with reporters the board had full confidence in Kalanick. She repeated that position on Friday in an interview with Reuters by saying Kalanick's leave of absence was solely his decision. Gurley, one of Kalanick's closest confidants, praised the CEO on Twitter following his resignation. "There will be many pages in the history books devoted to @travisk - very few entrepreneurs have had such a lasting impact on the world," Gurley wrote.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick resigns under investor pressure

Uber&nbsp;co-founder Travis Kalanick stepped down as chief executive of the ride-hailing service, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.

Kalanick&#39;s exit came under major pressure from Uber&#39;s investors. The New York Times called it a &quot;shareholder revolt&quot;.

Kalanick started the ride-sharing app that has been launched in countries all around the world, but has been beset by&nbsp;numerous scandals.

Uber was not immediately available to comment outside regular US&nbsp;working hours, Reuters reports.

&nbsp;

Five major investors reportedly demanded he resign immediately, and he did

Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick stepped down as chief executive of the ride-hailing service, the New York Times reported on Wednesday. Kalanick's exit came under major pressure from Uber's investors. The New York Times called it a "shareholder revolt". Kalanick started the ride-sharing app that has been launched in countries all around the world, but has been beset by numerous scandals. Uber was not immediately available to comment outside regular US working hours, Reuters reports.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick resigns under shareholder pressure: NYT

Uber Technologies Inc will, for the first time, allow drivers to collect tips through the Uber smartphone app, the company said on Tuesday, part of a broader effort to improve its often-contentious relationship with its drivers.

Uber has for years opposed adding a tipping feature to the app, which upset drivers who have argued that tips would help compensate for decreasing wages.

Beginning on Tuesday, drivers in Houston, Minneapolis and Seattle can collect tips. The feature will be available to all drivers by the end of July, Uber said.

Tipping is part of a broader set of features San Francisco-based Uber rolled out on Tuesday, which also includes paying drivers while they wait for passengers, as the company begins a months-long push to improve working conditions for drivers.

Uber has for years opposed adding a tipping feature to the app, which upset drivers who have argued that tips would help compensate for decreasing wages

Uber Technologies Inc will, for the first time, allow drivers to collect tips through the Uber smartphone app, the company said on Tuesday, part of a broader effort to improve its often-contentious relationship with its drivers. Uber has for years opposed adding a tipping feature to the app, which upset drivers who have argued that tips would help compensate for decreasing wages. Beginning on Tuesday, drivers in Houston, Minneapolis and Seattle can collect tips. The feature will be available to all drivers by the end of July, Uber said. Tipping is part of a broader set of features San Francisco-based Uber rolled out on Tuesday, which also includes paying drivers while they wait for passengers, as the company begins a months-long push to improve working conditions for drivers.

Uber to allow tipping for drivers, reversing long-standing policy

Ride hailing giant Uber found itself in yet another controversy after an Indian woman who was raped by an Uber driver in 2014 filed a lawsuit against the company and its CEO Travis Kalanick for &quot;unlawfully&quot; obtaining her medical records.

The woman said that she was &quot;violated physically&quot; when she was raped by the Uber driver Shiv Kumar Yadav in December 2014 and then a second time when her medical records were accessed by the company and shared by its top executives.

&quot;Sadly, in the United States, Uber executives violated her a second time by unlawfully obtaining and sharing her medical records from that vicious sexual assault and have failed, as of the date of this filing, to apologise to her for this outrageous conduct,&quot; the lawsuit said

&quot;It is shocking that Travis Kalanick could publicly say that Uber would do everything to support our client and her family in her recovery when he and other executives were reviewing illegally obtained medical records and engaging in offensive and spurious conspiracy theories about the brutal rape she so tragically suffered,&quot; Douglas Wigdor, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the woman, said in an email response to PTI.

Uber CEO Kalanick has taken an indefinite leave of absence, the company said. Kalanick cited the reason of his mother&#39;s death as one of the reasons why he stepped aside. He said that he needed time off &quot;to reflect, to work on myself and to focus on building out a world-class leadership team,&quot; AFP reported.

&quot;If we are going to work on Uber 2.0, I also need to work on Travis 2.0 to become the leader that this company needs and that you deserve,&quot; the 40-year-old Kalanick said in an email to Uber employees.

The company also unveiled plans calling for major reforms in the company based on a probe led by former US attorney general Eric Holder.

Holder initiated a probe aimed at cleaning up the work culture in the wake of accusations of harassment and discrimination.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

The woman said that she felt 'violated' the second time when her medical records relating to the rape case were illegally accessed by the company and shared among its top executives

Ride hailing giant Uber found itself in yet another controversy after an Indian woman who was raped by an Uber driver in 2014 filed a lawsuit against the company and its CEO Travis Kalanick for "unlawfully" obtaining her medical records. The woman said that she was "violated physically" when she was raped by the Uber driver Shiv Kumar Yadav in December 2014 and then a second time when her medical records were accessed by the company and shared by its top executives. "Sadly, in the United States, Uber executives violated her a second time by unlawfully obtaining and sharing her medical records from that vicious sexual assault and have failed, as of the date of this filing, to apologise to her for this outrageous conduct," the lawsuit said "It is shocking that Travis Kalanick could publicly say that Uber would do everything to support our client and her family in her recovery when he and other executives were reviewing illegally obtained medical records and engaging in offensive and spurious conspiracy theories about the brutal rape she so tragically suffered," Douglas Wigdor, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the woman, said in an email response to PTI. Uber CEO Kalanick has taken an indefinite leave of absence, the company said. Kalanick cited the reason of his mother's death as one of the reasons why he stepped aside. He said that he needed time off "to reflect, to work on myself and to focus on building out a world-class leadership team," AFP reported. "If we are going to work on Uber 2.0, I also need to work on Travis 2.0 to become the leader that this company needs and that you deserve," the 40-year-old Kalanick said in an email to Uber employees. The company also unveiled plans calling for major reforms in the company based on a probe led by former US attorney general Eric Holder. Holder initiated a probe aimed at cleaning up the work culture in the wake of accusations of harassment and discrimination.

Indian rape survivor sues Uber, CEO Kalanick for obtaining medical records illegally

Uber Technologies Inc director David Bonderman said on Tuesday that he has resigned from the company&#39;s board following a remark he made during an Uber staff meeting that was widely seen as offensive to women.

Bonderman&#39;s ill-timed remark came during an all-staff meeting Tuesday to discuss of how the ride-services company plans to transform itself following a probe into sexual harassment at the company.

<h3 style="color:#aaa;font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/uber-ceo-kalanick-says-he-will-take-leave-of-absence-16797" target="_blank">Also read:&nbsp;Uber CEO Kalanick says he will take leave of absence</a></h3>

&nbsp;

Bonderman said in a statement sent to Reuters that he did not want his comments to create distraction for Uber, which is working to rid its culture of sexual harassment and discrimination. His resignation from the board is effective Wednesday morning.

During Tuesday&#39;s meeting, Uber board member Arianna Huffington spoke to employees about the importance of adding more women to the board of directors.

&quot;There&#39;s a lot of data that shows when there&#39;s one woman on the board, it&#39;s much more likely that there will be a second woman on the board,&quot; Huffington said.

In response, Bonderman said: &quot;Actually, what it shows is that it&#39;s much more likely to be more talking.&quot;

The comment was disclosed through a recording of the meeting that was published by Yahoo. An Uber spokesman verified the authenticity and accuracy of the recording.

Bonderman, who is a founder of private equity firm TPG Capital, an Uber investor, shortly after wrote an email to Uber staff to apologize.

In his resignation statement that followed on Tuesday evening, Bonderman reiterated his regret, calling his remarks &quot;careless, inappropriate, and inexcusable&quot; and &quot;the opposite of what I intended&quot;.

&quot;I take full responsibility for that,&quot; he said. &quot;I need to hold myself to the same standards that we&#39;re asking Uber to adopt.&quot;

Bonderman and other board members had joined Tuesday&#39;s staff meeting to lay out recommendations from an investigation into sexual harassment, diversity, inclusion and other employee concerns led by former US&nbsp;Attorney General Eric Holder.

Holder&#39;s law firm was retained by Uber in February after former Uber engineer Susan Fowler wrote a public account of her time at the company, which she said was marred by sexual harassment and an ineffective response by management.

The recommendations, which were unanimously adopted by the board on Sunday, call for reducing Chief Executive Travis Kalanick&#39;s sweeping authority at the firm and instituting more controls over spending, human resources and the behavior of managers

(Reuters).

He said he didn't want his comments to create distraction for Uber, which is working to rid its culture of sexual harassment and discrimination

Uber Technologies Inc director David Bonderman said on Tuesday that he has resigned from the company's board following a remark he made during an Uber staff meeting that was widely seen as offensive to women. Bonderman's ill-timed remark came during an all-staff meeting Tuesday to discuss of how the ride-services company plans to transform itself following a probe into sexual harassment at the company. Also read: Uber CEO Kalanick says he will take leave of absence Bonderman said in a statement sent to Reuters that he did not want his comments to create distraction for Uber, which is working to rid its culture of sexual harassment and discrimination. His resignation from the board is effective Wednesday morning. During Tuesday's meeting, Uber board member Arianna Huffington spoke to employees about the importance of adding more women to the board of directors. "There's a lot of data that shows when there's one woman on the board, it's much more likely that there will be a second woman on the board," Huffington said. In response, Bonderman said: "Actually, what it shows is that it's much more likely to be more talking." The comment was disclosed through a recording of the meeting that was published by Yahoo. An Uber spokesman verified the authenticity and accuracy of the recording. Bonderman, who is a founder of private equity firm TPG Capital, an Uber investor, shortly after wrote an email to Uber staff to apologize. In his resignation statement that followed on Tuesday evening, Bonderman reiterated his regret, calling his remarks "careless, inappropriate, and inexcusable" and "the opposite of what I intended". "I take full responsibility for that," he said. "I need to hold myself to the same standards that we're asking Uber to adopt." Bonderman and other board members had joined Tuesday's staff meeting to lay out recommendations from an investigation into sexual harassment, diversity, inclusion and other employee concerns led by former US Attorney General Eric Holder. Holder's law firm was retained by Uber in February after former Uber engineer Susan Fowler wrote a public account of her time at the company, which she said was marred by sexual harassment and an ineffective response by management. The recommendations, which were unanimously adopted by the board on Sunday, call for reducing Chief Executive Travis Kalanick's sweeping authority at the firm and instituting more controls over spending, human resources and the behavior of managers (Reuters).

Uber director David Bonderman resigns from board following comment about women

Uber Technologies Inc&#39;s embattled Chief Executive Travis Kalanick told employees in an email on Tuesday that he will take time away from the company he helped to found, citing the need to grieve for his recently deceased mother, according to a copy of the memo seen by Reuters.

Uber also released the recommendations of a months-long investigation led by the law firm of former US&nbsp;Attorney General Eric Holder who was retained by Uber to look into company culture and practices

The recommendations, which were unanimously adopted by the board on Sunday, call for reducing Kalanick&#39;s sweeping authority and instituting more controls over spending, human resources and the behavior of managers.

<h3 style="color:#aaa;font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.wionews.com/business-economy/uber-director-david-bonderman-resigns-from-board-following-comment-about-women-16808" target="_blank">Also read:&nbsp;Uber director David Bonderman resigns from board following comment about women</a></h3>

&nbsp;

Specifically, the recommendations call for adding independent members to the board of directors, including an independent chair. They also spell out changes to company culture, including prohibiting romances between bosses and their reports and creating clearer guidelines around use of drugs and alcohol.

Kalanick&#39;s leave of absence follows a day-long board meeting on Sunday during which members of Uber&#39;s board of directors discussed the possibility of Kalanick temporarily stepping away from the company.

In his email, Kalanick did not specify how long he would be away from the company, but cited the need to take time off to grieve the loss of his mother, who died in a recent boating accident.

&quot;If we are going to work on Uber 2.0, I also need to work on Travis 2.0 to become the leader that this company needs and that you deserve,&quot; Kalanick wrote in his email.

Kalanick's leave of absence follows a day-long board meeting on Sunday during which members of Uber's board of directors discussed the possibility of Kalanick temporarily stepping away from the company

Uber Technologies Inc's embattled Chief Executive Travis Kalanick told employees in an email on Tuesday that he will take time away from the company he helped to found, citing the need to grieve for his recently deceased mother, according to a copy of the memo seen by Reuters. Uber also released the recommendations of a months-long investigation led by the law firm of former US Attorney General Eric Holder who was retained by Uber to look into company culture and practices The recommendations, which were unanimously adopted by the board on Sunday, call for reducing Kalanick's sweeping authority and instituting more controls over spending, human resources and the behavior of managers. Also read: Uber director David Bonderman resigns from board following comment about women Specifically, the recommendations call for adding independent members to the board of directors, including an independent chair. They also spell out changes to company culture, including prohibiting romances between bosses and their reports and creating clearer guidelines around use of drugs and alcohol. Kalanick's leave of absence follows a day-long board meeting on Sunday during which members of Uber's board of directors discussed the possibility of Kalanick temporarily stepping away from the company. In his email, Kalanick did not specify how long he would be away from the company, but cited the need to take time off to grieve the loss of his mother, who died in a recent boating accident. "If we are going to work on Uber 2.0, I also need to work on Travis 2.0 to become the leader that this company needs and that you deserve," Kalanick wrote in his email.

Uber CEO Kalanick says he will take leave of absence

Uber Technologies Inc&#39;s board will discuss Chief Executive Travis Kalanick temporarily stepping away from the embattled ride-hailing firm and consider sweeping changes to the company&#39;s management practices at a meeting on Sunday, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The source said it is not clear that the board will make any decision to change Kalanick&rsquo;s role. But they have&nbsp;voted unanimously to adopt all recommendations from the report by former US Attorney General Eric Holder following a sprawling, multi-month investigation into Uber&#39;s cultures and practices.

The recommendations will be released to Uber employees on Tuesday, a&nbsp;representative said.

&nbsp;

Sexual Harassment

Holder&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/uber-ceo-orders-urgent-investigation-after-allegations-of-sexism-harassment-at-company-12596" target="_blank">review&#39;s&nbsp;</a>was launched in February after former Uber engineer Susan Fowler published a blog post detailing what she described as sexual harassment and the lack of a suitable response by senior managers. Fowler now works for digital payments company Stripe.

The report was prepared by Holder and partner Tammy Albarr&aacute;n at Covington &amp; Burling. It comes shortly after another law firm, Perkins Coie, submitted a separate report on sexual harassment and other employee concerns at the company.

On Tuesday, Uber responded to that report&#39;s findings by saying it had fired 20 employees for a variety of reasons, and was increasing training and adopting new policies. Uber said that report considered 215 cases encompassing sexual harassment, discrimination, unprofessional behaviour, bullying and other employee complaints.

&nbsp;

Sexual and racial bias, bullying and retaliation

Employees and former employees interviewed by Holder&#39;s team complained about sexual and racial bias, bullying and retaliation, according to people familiar with their accounts.

They said that Kalanick and his lieutenants had favourites who played by different rules than other employees, and that even those favorites were nervous that they could fall from grace, which they sometimes did. Uber declined to comment on that characterisation.

&nbsp;

Abrasive leader, questionable culture

Uber&#39;s board will likely tell employees and the public of its decisions by Tuesday, one of the sources said. An Uber spokesman had no comment. Neither Kalanick nor Holder&#39;s law firm, Covington &amp; Burling, immediately responded to requests for comment late Saturday.

Kalanick has developed a reputation as an abrasive leader, and his approach has rubbed off on his company. The 40-year-old executive was <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/uber-ceo-says-he-must-grow-up-after-blasting-uber-driver-complaining-of-cuts-12908" target="_blank">captured </a>on video in February berating an Uber driver.

Uber board member Arianna Huffington said in March that Kalanick needed to change his leadership style from that of a &quot;scrappy entrepreneur&quot; to be more like a &quot;leader of a major global company&quot;. The board has been looking for a chief operating officer to help Kalanick run the company since March.

&nbsp;

India rape, a set-up?

One of the issues that came to Holder&rsquo;s team&#39;s attention, according to two people familiar with the matter, was the company&rsquo;s handling of a crisis in India after one of its drivers was arrested for raping a customer. Though the man, Shiv Kumar Yadav, was convicted in 2015, Kalanick and other company executives became convinced that the crime was a set-up by a local competitor, former employees said.

Eric Alexander, the head of Asian business, shared medical records internally that he argued showed that the woman had been assaulted but not raped, people who spoke to him said. Alexander was fired this week; He did not return messages seeking comment. Uber confirmed Alexander had left the company but declined to discuss the matter further.

At the time, the <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-34578477" target="_blank">BBC </a>reported that a 26-year-old was taken to a secluded area and raped after booking a ride home with&nbsp;Uber. Delhi banned Uber, accusing them of neglecting to carry out adequate background checks on drivers. Uber apologised and said &quot;it must do better&quot;. Amit Jain, the president of Uber India, welcomed the verdict.

&nbsp;

More oversight on CEO?

San Francisco-based Uber is valued at nearly $70 billion but has yet to turn a profit. Uber&nbsp;has also&nbsp;been accused of aggressively&nbsp;<a href="https://cleantechnica.com/2016/05/10/less-2-ubers-revenue-subject-us-taxes/" target="_blank">using tax loopholes</a>. For example, in the US, it&#39;s been reported&nbsp;that only two per cent of their revenue is taxable.

Some of the recommendations in Holder&#39;s firm&#39;s report would force greater controls on spending, human resources and other areas where executives led by Kalanick have had a surprising amount of autonomy for a company with more than 12,000 employees, one person familiar with the matter said. Uber&#39;s more than 1.5 million drivers worldwide are classified as independent contractors rather than employees.

Less clear is the fate of Kalanick, who with close allies has voting control of the company.

The board, according to a&nbsp;person briefed on the matter, said they&nbsp;will discuss Kalanick taking time off from the company. Another possibility is that Kalanick may return in a reduced role, one with diminished authority, said this person. This may mean a position other than CEO, or as CEO but with narrower responsibilities and subject to more oversight.

Kalanick is also facing a personal trauma: Last month his mother died&nbsp;in a boating accident, which also badly injured his father.

The company, and its CEO, has made headlines for the wrong reasons for years. A big change may finally be around the corner

Uber Technologies Inc's board will discuss Chief Executive Travis Kalanick temporarily stepping away from the embattled ride-hailing firm and consider sweeping changes to the company's management practices at a meeting on Sunday, according to a person familiar with the situation. The source said it is not clear that the board will make any decision to change Kalanick’s role. But they have voted unanimously to adopt all recommendations from the report by former US Attorney General Eric Holder following a sprawling, multi-month investigation into Uber's cultures and practices. The recommendations will be released to Uber employees on Tuesday, a representative said. Sexual Harassment Holder's review's was launched in February after former Uber engineer Susan Fowler published a blog post detailing what she described as sexual harassment and the lack of a suitable response by senior managers. Fowler now works for digital payments company Stripe. The report was prepared by Holder and partner Tammy Albarrán at Covington & Burling. It comes shortly after another law firm, Perkins Coie, submitted a separate report on sexual harassment and other employee concerns at the company. On Tuesday, Uber responded to that report's findings by saying it had fired 20 employees for a variety of reasons, and was increasing training and adopting new policies. Uber said that report considered 215 cases encompassing sexual harassment, discrimination, unprofessional behaviour, bullying and other employee complaints. Sexual and racial bias, bullying and retaliation Employees and former employees interviewed by Holder's team complained about sexual and racial bias, bullying and retaliation, according to people familiar with their accounts. They said that Kalanick and his lieutenants had favourites who played by different rules than other employees, and that even those favorites were nervous that they could fall from grace, which they sometimes did. Uber declined to comment on that characterisation. Abrasive leader, questionable culture Uber's board will likely tell employees and the public of its decisions by Tuesday, one of the sources said. An Uber spokesman had no comment. Neither Kalanick nor Holder's law firm, Covington & Burling, immediately responded to requests for comment late Saturday. Kalanick has developed a reputation as an abrasive leader, and his approach has rubbed off on his company. The 40-year-old executive was captured on video in February berating an Uber driver. Uber board member Arianna Huffington said in March that Kalanick needed to change his leadership style from that of a "scrappy entrepreneur" to be more like a "leader of a major global company". The board has been looking for a chief operating officer to help Kalanick run the company since March. India rape, a set-up? One of the issues that came to Holder’s team's attention, according to two people familiar with the matter, was the company’s handling of a crisis in India after one of its drivers was arrested for raping a customer. Though the man, Shiv Kumar Yadav, was convicted in 2015, Kalanick and other company executives became convinced that the crime was a set-up by a local competitor, former employees said. Eric Alexander, the head of Asian business, shared medical records internally that he argued showed that the woman had been assaulted but not raped, people who spoke to him said. Alexander was fired this week; He did not return messages seeking comment. Uber confirmed Alexander had left the company but declined to discuss the matter further. At the time, the BBC reported that a 26-year-old was taken to a secluded area and raped after booking a ride home with Uber. Delhi banned Uber, accusing them of neglecting to carry out adequate background checks on drivers. Uber apologised and said "it must do better". Amit Jain, the president of Uber India, welcomed the verdict. More oversight on CEO? San Francisco-based Uber is valued at nearly $70 billion but has yet to turn a profit. Uber has also been accused of aggressively using tax loopholes. For example, in the US, it's been reported that only two per cent of their revenue is taxable. Some of the recommendations in Holder's firm's report would force greater controls on spending, human resources and other areas where executives led by Kalanick have had a surprising amount of autonomy for a company with more than 12,000 employees, one person familiar with the matter said. Uber's more than 1.5 million drivers worldwide are classified as independent contractors rather than employees. Less clear is the fate of Kalanick, who with close allies has voting control of the company. The board, according to a person briefed on the matter, said they will discuss Kalanick taking time off from the company. Another possibility is that Kalanick may return in a reduced role, one with diminished authority, said this person. This may mean a position other than CEO, or as CEO but with narrower responsibilities and subject to more oversight. Kalanick is also facing a personal trauma: Last month his mother died in a boating accident, which also badly injured his father.

Uber CEO Kalanick to temporarily step down?

Car service Uber is using a gap in EU and UK tax rules to avoid incurring sales tax on the booking fees it charges drivers in Britain, a practice a senior politician said was unfair to competitors and defied the intent of the law.

San Francisco-based Uber charges lower fares than rival ride hailing apps. In Britain, its competitors&#39; fares include 20 per cent value added tax (VAT) on booking fees, but Uber&#39;s fares do not.

Uber is able to avoid VAT by exploiting a loophole in how the tax is collected for business-to-business sales across EU borders, which arises because it treats its 40,000 UK drivers as separate businesses, each too small to register for VAT.

It confirmed to Reuters that it does not pay value added tax on the fees it charges British drivers. By contrast, two of its main UK rivals, Gett and mytaxi, both said they do pay VAT on their fees. They declined to comment on Uber&#39;s practice.

The loophole applies in other European countries too, but is particularly important for Uber in Britain which accounts for a third of its European business. Other EU countries have put tighter rules in place to close or narrow the loophole.

Paying VAT on Uber&#39;s fees would cost the company about 1,000 pounds a year on average for each of its UK drivers, based on information Uber has given about the size of its British business, which is growing rapidly under its expansion plans.

Uber told Reuters it respected the tax rules in all the countries where it operated. Asked whether avoiding paying value added tax gave the company an unfair advantage over its rivals, a spokesman said: &quot;The same rules apply to any international service provider with customers in the UK.&quot;

Her Majesty&rsquo;s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the UK tax authority, declined to comment on Uber, citing confidentiality rules. A spokesman said: &quot;Everyone has to pay the tax due under the law and we make sure they do.&quot;

Three European tax experts consulted by Reuters said Uber&#39;s practice probably complies with the way Britain has decided to implement EU rules.

But Margaret Hodge, a member of Britain&#39;s Labour Party who has long led parliamentary investigations into corporate tax avoidance, criticised Uber&rsquo;s practice of not paying VAT on its fees, when told of it by Reuters.

&quot;It is yet another example of how large companies find loopholes and use the law for a purpose for which it was never intended,&quot; she said. &quot;There is a failure to pay tax that should be due. That reduces the money available for public services and is unfair on Uber&rsquo;s competitors.&quot;

The same loophole is used by other companies such as Google and Facebook to avoid VAT on certain transactions involving small businesses, but the benefit is more important for Uber, since the fees it charges drivers are its main source of income.

Even as Uber has become a transportation powerhouse around the world, opponents, including established taxi operators, have mounted legal and public relations attacks on the Silicon Valley company, saying it owes its success to bending the rules.

Several high level executives have left Uber in recent months, and its CEO was forced to apologise after being filmed haranguing one of its drivers. It has hired former US&nbsp;Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate its corporate culture, including accusations of sexual harassment.

In Europe, the lead advocate to the European Court of Justice concluded in May that Uber is a transportation service, not an information platform, and therefore open to far greater regulation.

In the United States it also faces a Justice Department criminal investigation into software used to prevent law enforcement officials from hailing Uber cars, to shield the company from regulators.

Despite those troubles, Uber has been growing rapidly, rolling out its service in new cities month by month.

&nbsp;

REVERSE CHARGE

Uber avoids having to charge British value added tax on its booking fees by treating each driver as an individual business and then billing drivers across EU borders from its Dutch subsidiary, using an EU VAT provision called the &quot;reverse charge&quot;.

The rule lets businesses sell goods or services to other businesses across EU borders without paying VAT. There is usually no loss of tax revenue, because the importing business collects VAT from its own customers.

But since Uber drivers mostly generate less than the 85,000 pounds a year sales threshold to register for VAT in Britain, they don&#39;t have to collect it.

Gett and mytaxi both bill their drivers from companies within Britain. As the reverse charge does not apply to domestic sales, that means that unlike Uber they must charge drivers VAT.

Uber is not the only big American firm to use EU reverse charge rules to reduce the VAT tab when billing small business clients across EU borders. Google and Facebook use the same approach when selling from their Irish regional headquarters.

That means British plumbers or guesthouse owners who are not registered for VAT can buy advertisements from Google or Facebook without being charged the tax, even though they would pay it when placing an advertisement in a local newspaper.

&quot;It is a system failure because the rules are not harmonised in respect of dealing with small businesses,&quot; said Pascal Schrijver, a partner with Deloitte in Amsterdam. Google said it followed all tax rules. Facebook declined comment.

The EU&#39;s reverse charge regime was intended to cut paperwork required to distribute VAT revenue among EU countries by placing the responsibility for collecting it on the importing country. It was not intended to allow companies to escape VAT altogether, said Laurent Lattmann, a VAT partner with advisory Taxand in Zurich.

&quot;A supplier should not use the reverse charge if they are selling to a customer without a VAT registration,&quot; Lattmann said.

Other EU countries often have lower sales thresholds to register for VAT, and several have systems in place to ensure that buyers that are not VAT-registered pay the missing tax when they import goods or services VAT-free across EU borders.

Germany has imposed a requirement on non-VAT registered businesses to complete a special form and pay the tax when they import reverse-charged goods or services, said Barbara Fleckenstein-Weiland, tax lawyer with Flick Gocke Schaumburg in Frankfurt. Erwin Boumans, Brussels-based tax partner at accountants BDO said Belgium had a similar system.

&quot;The cultural attitude of tax authorities is very different from country to country. The UK has historically taken a light touch approach,&quot; said Nicholas Hallam, Chief Executive of UK VAT advisory Accordance.

&nbsp;

&quot;TREADING WATER&quot;

Uber is privately-held and does not publish accounts, but says it has more than 40,000 drivers in Britain who each bring in an average of around 560 pounds a week in gross fares. It normally charges fees of 20-25 per cent of the fare.

That suggests the company is collecting more than 200 million pounds a year in fees on more than 1 billion in UK fares, and saving at least 40 million by not paying VAT. Uber declined to comment when presented with those calculations.

If Uber were forced to pay VAT on its fees and tried to pass the extra cost on to drivers, many would quit, said Jason Shepherd, a London Uber driver who moved with his wife and kids into his in-laws&#39; house to make ends meet.

&quot;Most Uber drivers are just treading water,&quot; he said. &quot;If Uber put up its fees I would immediately consider other options and I&#39;m sure most other drivers would too.&quot;

James Farrar, an Uber driver trying to organise fellow drivers into a union, said typical drivers earn only around 6 pounds an hour after car rental, insurance and other costs.

&quot;Even with surge fares, it&rsquo;s less than the minimum wage&quot; of 7.50 an hour, he said. Uber says drivers who rent their cars earn more than 8 pounds an hour on average.

(Reuters)

Unlike its competition, Uber treats its 40,000 UK drivers as separate businesses, each too small to register for VAT

Car service Uber is using a gap in EU and UK tax rules to avoid incurring sales tax on the booking fees it charges drivers in Britain, a practice a senior politician said was unfair to competitors and defied the intent of the law. San Francisco-based Uber charges lower fares than rival ride hailing apps. In Britain, its competitors' fares include 20 per cent value added tax (VAT) on booking fees, but Uber's fares do not. Uber is able to avoid VAT by exploiting a loophole in how the tax is collected for business-to-business sales across EU borders, which arises because it treats its 40,000 UK drivers as separate businesses, each too small to register for VAT. It confirmed to Reuters that it does not pay value added tax on the fees it charges British drivers. By contrast, two of its main UK rivals, Gett and mytaxi, both said they do pay VAT on their fees. They declined to comment on Uber's practice. The loophole applies in other European countries too, but is particularly important for Uber in Britain which accounts for a third of its European business. Other EU countries have put tighter rules in place to close or narrow the loophole. Paying VAT on Uber's fees would cost the company about 1,000 pounds a year on average for each of its UK drivers, based on information Uber has given about the size of its British business, which is growing rapidly under its expansion plans. Uber told Reuters it respected the tax rules in all the countries where it operated. Asked whether avoiding paying value added tax gave the company an unfair advantage over its rivals, a spokesman said: "The same rules apply to any international service provider with customers in the UK." Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the UK tax authority, declined to comment on Uber, citing confidentiality rules. A spokesman said: "Everyone has to pay the tax due under the law and we make sure they do." Three European tax experts consulted by Reuters said Uber's practice probably complies with the way Britain has decided to implement EU rules. But Margaret Hodge, a member of Britain's Labour Party who has long led parliamentary investigations into corporate tax avoidance, criticised Uber’s practice of not paying VAT on its fees, when told of it by Reuters. "It is yet another example of how large companies find loopholes and use the law for a purpose for which it was never intended," she said. "There is a failure to pay tax that should be due. That reduces the money available for public services and is unfair on Uber’s competitors." The same loophole is used by other companies such as Google and Facebook to avoid VAT on certain transactions involving small businesses, but the benefit is more important for Uber, since the fees it charges drivers are its main source of income. Even as Uber has become a transportation powerhouse around the world, opponents, including established taxi operators, have mounted legal and public relations attacks on the Silicon Valley company, saying it owes its success to bending the rules. Several high level executives have left Uber in recent months, and its CEO was forced to apologise after being filmed haranguing one of its drivers. It has hired former US Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate its corporate culture, including accusations of sexual harassment. In Europe, the lead advocate to the European Court of Justice concluded in May that Uber is a transportation service, not an information platform, and therefore open to far greater regulation. In the United States it also faces a Justice Department criminal investigation into software used to prevent law enforcement officials from hailing Uber cars, to shield the company from regulators. Despite those troubles, Uber has been growing rapidly, rolling out its service in new cities month by month. REVERSE CHARGE Uber avoids having to charge British value added tax on its booking fees by treating each driver as an individual business and then billing drivers across EU borders from its Dutch subsidiary, using an EU VAT provision called the "reverse charge". The rule lets businesses sell goods or services to other businesses across EU borders without paying VAT. There is usually no loss of tax revenue, because the importing business collects VAT from its own customers. But since Uber drivers mostly generate less than the 85,000 pounds a year sales threshold to register for VAT in Britain, they don't have to collect it. Gett and mytaxi both bill their drivers from companies within Britain. As the reverse charge does not apply to domestic sales, that means that unlike Uber they must charge drivers VAT. Uber is not the only big American firm to use EU reverse charge rules to reduce the VAT tab when billing small business clients across EU borders. Google and Facebook use the same approach when selling from their Irish regional headquarters. That means British plumbers or guesthouse owners who are not registered for VAT can buy advertisements from Google or Facebook without being charged the tax, even though they would pay it when placing an advertisement in a local newspaper. "It is a system failure because the rules are not harmonised in respect of dealing with small businesses," said Pascal Schrijver, a partner with Deloitte in Amsterdam. Google said it followed all tax rules. Facebook declined comment. The EU's reverse charge regime was intended to cut paperwork required to distribute VAT revenue among EU countries by placing the responsibility for collecting it on the importing country. It was not intended to allow companies to escape VAT altogether, said Laurent Lattmann, a VAT partner with advisory Taxand in Zurich. "A supplier should not use the reverse charge if they are selling to a customer without a VAT registration," Lattmann said. Other EU countries often have lower sales thresholds to register for VAT, and several have systems in place to ensure that buyers that are not VAT-registered pay the missing tax when they import goods or services VAT-free across EU borders. Germany has imposed a requirement on non-VAT registered businesses to complete a special form and pay the tax when they import reverse-charged goods or services, said Barbara Fleckenstein-Weiland, tax lawyer with Flick Gocke Schaumburg in Frankfurt. Erwin Boumans, Brussels-based tax partner at accountants BDO said Belgium had a similar system. "The cultural attitude of tax authorities is very different from country to country. The UK has historically taken a light touch approach," said Nicholas Hallam, Chief Executive of UK VAT advisory Accordance. "TREADING WATER" Uber is privately-held and does not publish accounts, but says it has more than 40,000 drivers in Britain who each bring in an average of around 560 pounds a week in gross fares. It normally charges fees of 20-25 per cent of the fare. That suggests the company is collecting more than 200 million pounds a year in fees on more than 1 billion in UK fares, and saving at least 40 million by not paying VAT. Uber declined to comment when presented with those calculations. If Uber were forced to pay VAT on its fees and tried to pass the extra cost on to drivers, many would quit, said Jason Shepherd, a London Uber driver who moved with his wife and kids into his in-laws' house to make ends meet. "Most Uber drivers are just treading water," he said. "If Uber put up its fees I would immediately consider other options and I'm sure most other drivers would too." James Farrar, an Uber driver trying to organise fellow drivers into a union, said typical drivers earn only around 6 pounds an hour after car rental, insurance and other costs. "Even with surge fares, it’s less than the minimum wage" of 7.50 an hour, he said. Uber says drivers who rent their cars earn more than 8 pounds an hour on average. (Reuters)

Uber uses loophole to avoid UK tax, undercut rivals

Uber Technologies Inc said on Tuesday it fired 20 employees and was improving management training following an investigation by a law firm into sexual harassment allegations and other claims at the ride-hailing company.

Uber fired the staff following a report by law firm Perkins Coie, which Uber hired to look into claims of harassment, discrimination, bullying and other employee concerns.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/senior-uber-executive-fired-for-not-disclosing-sexual-harassment-case-at-google-12879">Also Read:&nbsp;Senior Uber executive fired for not disclosing sexual harassment case at Google</a>

The law firm has been working in parallel with a broader investigation by former US&nbsp;Attorney General Eric Holder into company culture and practices.

Perkins Coie investigated 215 staff complaints going back as far as 2012, Uber said, taking action in 58 cases and no action on 100 more. Other investigations are continuing.

Of the 215 claims, Uber said 54 were related to discrimination, 47 related to sexual harassment, 45 to unprofessional behaviour, 33 to bullying and 36 to other types of claims.

It said the majority of the claims came from employees based at Uber&#39;s San Francisco headquarters.

The world&#39;s highest-valued venture-backed company - worth $68 billion at its last funding round - also told staff on Tuesday it would expand its employee relations unit to better investigate claims and that it would dramatically increase management training since most Uber managers were first-time bosses, a person familiar with the matter said.

On Monday, Uber said it hired Harvard Business School professor Frances Frei to train all managers, reporting to Uber Chief Executive Travis Kalanick. On Tuesday, it said Bozoma Saint John, prominent in some Apple Inc product launches, joined the company as chief brand officer.

Uber also said it is offering a confidential helpline for employees to report concerns and has implemented a system to log and track all complaints.

Uber&#39;s firing of employees comes after a series of events this year that have raised questions about Uber&#39;s business model and leadership.

In February, former Uber engineer Susan Fowler said in a widely read blog post that managers and human resources officers had not punished her manager after she reported his unwanted sexual advances.

In addition, Uber was caught using technology to avoid regulator crackdowns, a video surfaced showing Kalanick berating an Uber driver, and the company is caught up in legal battles around the world over the way its ride-services business operates.

Uber is also facing a lawsuit from Alphabet Inc&#39;s self-driving car division, Waymo, alleging trade secret theft.

The company declined to comment further on the move to fire staff. Some saw it as a step in the right direction for Uber to repair its tarnished reputation.

&quot;They are heading the right way, both with action and reaction,&quot; said Jason Hanold, manager partner at human resources executive recruitment firm Hanold Associates. He added it was &quot;not nearly a complete and final surgery to heal a troubled culture.&quot;

The move follows a string of executive departures at Uber, including the company president, heads of finance and product, an East Coast general manager and several high-level engineers.

For the last three months, Uber has been seeking a chief operating officer to work alongside Kalanick, who has earned a reputation as a pugnacious leader. Uber board member Bill Gurley is overseeing the search.

Uber has also been under the microscope of Holder and Tammy Albarran, partners at the law firm Covington &amp; Burling, who were asked to conduct a broad review of sexual harassment at Uber as well as general questions about diversity and inclusion. Their report was completed at the end of May and has been shared with a subcommittee of the Uber board of directors, a company representative said.

In March, Uber board member Arianna Huffington pledged to make the findings of Holder&#39;s investigation available to the public. Initially, the company had expected to make a public announcement this week, but that timing has been pushed back.

Uber is expected to discuss it with staff next week, a person familiar with the matter said.

(Reuters)

Uber fired the staff following a report by law firm Perkins Coie, which Uber hired to look into claims of harassment, discrimination & bullying

Uber Technologies Inc said on Tuesday it fired 20 employees and was improving management training following an investigation by a law firm into sexual harassment allegations and other claims at the ride-hailing company. Uber fired the staff following a report by law firm Perkins Coie, which Uber hired to look into claims of harassment, discrimination, bullying and other employee concerns. Also Read: Senior Uber executive fired for not disclosing sexual harassment case at Google The law firm has been working in parallel with a broader investigation by former US Attorney General Eric Holder into company culture and practices. Perkins Coie investigated 215 staff complaints going back as far as 2012, Uber said, taking action in 58 cases and no action on 100 more. Other investigations are continuing. Of the 215 claims, Uber said 54 were related to discrimination, 47 related to sexual harassment, 45 to unprofessional behaviour, 33 to bullying and 36 to other types of claims. It said the majority of the claims came from employees based at Uber's San Francisco headquarters. The world's highest-valued venture-backed company - worth $68 billion at its last funding round - also told staff on Tuesday it would expand its employee relations unit to better investigate claims and that it would dramatically increase management training since most Uber managers were first-time bosses, a person familiar with the matter said. On Monday, Uber said it hired Harvard Business School professor Frances Frei to train all managers, reporting to Uber Chief Executive Travis Kalanick. On Tuesday, it said Bozoma Saint John, prominent in some Apple Inc product launches, joined the company as chief brand officer. Uber also said it is offering a confidential helpline for employees to report concerns and has implemented a system to log and track all complaints. Uber's firing of employees comes after a series of events this year that have raised questions about Uber's business model and leadership. In February, former Uber engineer Susan Fowler said in a widely read blog post that managers and human resources officers had not punished her manager after she reported his unwanted sexual advances. In addition, Uber was caught using technology to avoid regulator crackdowns, a video surfaced showing Kalanick berating an Uber driver, and the company is caught up in legal battles around the world over the way its ride-services business operates. Uber is also facing a lawsuit from Alphabet Inc's self-driving car division, Waymo, alleging trade secret theft. The company declined to comment further on the move to fire staff. Some saw it as a step in the right direction for Uber to repair its tarnished reputation. "They are heading the right way, both with action and reaction," said Jason Hanold, manager partner at human resources executive recruitment firm Hanold Associates. He added it was "not nearly a complete and final surgery to heal a troubled culture." The move follows a string of executive departures at Uber, including the company president, heads of finance and product, an East Coast general manager and several high-level engineers. For the last three months, Uber has been seeking a chief operating officer to work alongside Kalanick, who has earned a reputation as a pugnacious leader. Uber board member Bill Gurley is overseeing the search. Uber has also been under the microscope of Holder and Tammy Albarran, partners at the law firm Covington & Burling, who were asked to conduct a broad review of sexual harassment at Uber as well as general questions about diversity and inclusion. Their report was completed at the end of May and has been shared with a subcommittee of the Uber board of directors, a company representative said. In March, Uber board member Arianna Huffington pledged to make the findings of Holder's investigation available to the public. Initially, the company had expected to make a public announcement this week, but that timing has been pushed back. Uber is expected to discuss it with staff next week, a person familiar with the matter said. (Reuters)

Uber fires 20 employees over harassment probe

Uber Technologies Inc&#39;s head of finance is leaving as the ride-hailing company reported continued big losses for the first quarter, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

The ride-hailing company&#39;s first-quarter revenue was $3.4 billion, up 18 per cent from the fourth quarter, the newspaper reported.&nbsp;

Uber&#39;s first-quarter loss, excluding employee stock compensation and other items, was $708 million, narrower than the $991 million reported three months earlier, the Journal said.

Uber&#39;s head of finance, Gautam Gupta, is leaving the company in July to join another startup in San Francisco, adding to an exodus of top officials, the report said.

As a private company, Uber does not report its financial results publicly but at times has confirmed figures reported in the media.

Uber was not immediately available to comment.

The ride-hailing company is in the lookout for a chief operating officer to help change the Silicon Valley firm&#39;s now-notorious &quot;bro&quot; culture and with the latest exit sets the stage for a second major executive search.

The company on Tuesday 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 Inc&#39;s Waymo unit.&nbsp;

(Reuters)

The ride-hailing company's first-quarter revenue was $3.4 billion, up 18 per cent from the fourth quarter, the newspaper reported

Uber Technologies Inc's head of finance is leaving as the ride-hailing company reported continued big losses for the first quarter, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The ride-hailing company's first-quarter revenue was $3.4 billion, up 18 per cent from the fourth quarter, the newspaper reported. Uber's first-quarter loss, excluding employee stock compensation and other items, was $708 million, narrower than the $991 million reported three months earlier, the Journal said. Uber's head of finance, Gautam Gupta, is leaving the company in July to join another startup in San Francisco, adding to an exodus of top officials, the report said. As a private company, Uber does not report its financial results publicly but at times has confirmed figures reported in the media. Uber was not immediately available to comment. The ride-hailing company is in the lookout for a chief operating officer to help change the Silicon Valley firm's now-notorious "bro" culture and with the latest exit sets the stage for a second major executive search. The company on Tuesday 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 Inc's Waymo unit. (Reuters)

Uber posts $708 million loss, finance head leaves: WSJ

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