Jump to content

Uber

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 156.197.167.32 (talk) at 05:49, 12 February 2016. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Uber, Inc.
Company typePrivate
IndustryTechnology
FoundedMarch 2009; 15 years ago (2009-03)
FoundersTravis Kalanick, Garrett Camp
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California, U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Travis Kalanick (CEO)
ServicesTaxi, vehicles for hire
Revenue31,877,000,000 United States dollar (2022) Edit this on Wikidata
−1,832,000,000 United States dollar (2022) Edit this on Wikidata
−9,141,000,000 United States dollar (2022) Edit this on Wikidata
Number of employees
12,000 (2017) Edit this on Wikidata
Websitewww.uber.com/invite/fadym60ue

Uber Technologies Inc. is an American multinational mobile ride hail company headquartered in San Francisco, California. In the United States of America, Uber operates under the Transportation Network Company label. It develops, markets and operates the Uber mobile app, which allows consumers with smartphones to submit a trip request which is then routed to Uber drivers who use their own cars.[1][2] As of May 28, 2015, the service was available in 58 countries and 300 cities worldwide.[3][4] Since Uber's launch, several other companies have copied its business model, a trend that has come to be referred to as "Uberification".[5][6]

Uber was founded as "UberCab" by Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp in 2009 and the app was released the following June. Beginning in 2012, Uber expanded internationally. In 2014, it experimented with carpooling features and made other updates. Klout ranked the San Francisco-based company as the 48th-most powerful company in America in 2014.[7] By late-2015, Uber was estimated to be worth $62.5 billion.[8]

The legality of Uber has been challenged by governments and taxi companies, who allege that its use of drivers who are not licensed to drive taxicabs is unsafe and illegal.[9]

History

Further information: Timeline of Uber

Early history

Travis Kalanick, co-founder and CEO of Uber, in 2013

Uber was founded by Garrett Camp, the founder of StumbleUpon, and Travis Kalanick in 2009.[10][11] The company received $200,000 in seed funding that same year.[12][better source needed] In 2010, Uber raised $1.25 million in additional funding.[12][better source needed]

Following a beta launch in the summer of 2010, Uber's services and mobile app officially launched in San Francisco in 2011.[13][14] Initially, Ryan Graves was appointed as CEO, however, Kalanick replaced him in the role later that year.[13][15] Graves stepped down to become the company's COO.[16]

By the end of 2011, Uber had raised $44.5 million in funding.[17][18] That year, the company changed its name from UberCab to Uber.[19]

Expansion

The company expanded into a new city each month starting in May 2011, including New York City, Chicago and Washington, D.C.[17][18] The Uber app's coverage expanded to Paris in December 2011.[17] In May 2012, Uber launched a beta test in Philadelphia, followed by an official launch in the city that June.[20] Uber expanded rapidly into overseas markets in 2012 and 2013.[21]

Paris was the first city outside of the U.S. where Uber's service began operating in December 2011 prior to the international LeWeb Internet conference.[22] In 2012 it launched its services in Toronto, Canada,[21] a 90-driver launch in London,[23] a Sydney, Australia launch in November 2012,[24] and a soft launch in Singapore in January 2013.[25] Sydney was Uber's first launch in the Asia Pacific region.[26] Consumers in Johannesburg, South Africa, were able to use Uber after it was launched in September 2013. Uber was then started in Cape Town on October 10, 2013, after a six-week "testing phase".[27][28]

In August, the company began offering its ride services in Seoul.[29] In June 2014, Uber launched its services in Tijuana, Mexico.[30]

In June 2014, Uber announced that it had raised $1.2 billion in funding,[31] and it publicized an $18.2 billion valuation.[32] In summer 2014, Uber announced it had raised $1.5 billion in venture capital.[33]

Following a soft launch of the Uber app in the Sanlitun shopping district in March 2014, an official launch was held in Beijing, China, in mid-July 2014. The company's service operates in China’s four largest cities.[34] In July 2014 Uber announced a nationwide rollout of UberX in India. In addition to a Bangalore presence, Uber's inaugural Indian location that was publicized in August 2013, drivers in Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai and Pune made UberX available to users in those cities[35] Although the Metropolitan Government of Seoul stated in mid-2014 that it would seek to ban Uber from operating in its jurisdiction, while also developing its own Uber-like app for registered taxis to be launched in December 2014,[36] Uber introduced its UberX service in the city at the end of August 2014. According to the Wall Street Journal, UberX uses a "for-pay rideshare scheme" and "trips cost less than the same journey in an ordinary taxi". At the time of the launch, an Uber representative based in Seoul said that a charge will not apply to rides in Seoul until further notice.[37]

The company launched black car services in Warsaw, Poland[38] and uberX services in Seoul.[29] Uber also began its services in Anchorage, Alaska in September, 2014.[39]

Drivers in Warsaw began using the Uber app on August 18, 2014.[40] The service was launched in Montreal in October 2014.[41] The service was introduced in Denmark in November 2014, but only the Uber Black was available in the capital city of Copenhagen, while UberPOP was scheduled to be added at a later stage.[42] On November 28, 2014, Thailand's Department of Land Transport declared Uber's continued operation within Thailand illegal.[43]

Uber unveiled Ice Prince Zamani as the Rider Zero in Lagos, Nigeria in July 2014, signifying its launch in the largest city in Africa and most populous country in Africa.[44]

Uber launched its service in Nairobi, Kenya, on January 21, 2015. Nairobi was Uber's first city in Kenya and in the East African region.[45] On the same day as the Nairobi launch, Uber raised US$1.6 billion in convertible debt from wealth management clients of Goldman Sachs Group Inc.[46]

On September 2, 2015 Uber launched its service in Puebla City, Mexico.[47]

On 19 November 2015 Uber started operating in Vilnius, Lithuania.[48]

Additional funding

On December 12, 2014, TechCrunch reported that the Chinese search engine Baidu, the mainland's largest, is expected to make a significant investment in Uber.[49] The deal, the details of which were not shared with the media, was confirmed on December 17, 2014, following a Beijing meeting involving Kalanick and Baidu chief executive and chairman Robin Lee, who made a commitment to connect the search engine's map and mobile-search features with Uber’s app. At the time of the arrangement, Uber existed in eight Chinese mainland cities. Kalanick told the media afterward of an absence of "pressing regulatory issues" for Uber in China.[50] In May 2015, Uber revealed plans to raise between $1.5 billion and $2 billion in new funding, raising the value of the company to $50 billion or higher. [51]

Google Ventures invested $258 million in 2013.[52] The Chinese search engine Baidu made an investment in Uber in December 2014 in a deal that also involved connecting Uber with Baidu's mapping apps.[49][53]

Recent history

As Uber grew internationally, it also began to experience disputes with governments and taxi companies in those regions. In April 2014, Uber was banned by the government in Berlin, although the company remains active in other German cities. The ban is still being discussed as of December 2014.[54] Taxi drivers in London, Berlin, Paris and Madrid staged a large-scale protest against Uber on June 11, 2014.[55]

Also in February 2015, Uber announced a collaboration with Carnegie Mellon to establish the Uber Advanced Technology Center, a new facility in Pittsburgh meant to support research in the development of self-driving vehicles.[56] Additionally, Uber expanded its UberPOOL services to Los Angeles and New York City,[57] expanding further in March, to offer UberPOOL in Austin, Texas, in anticipation of the South by Southwest festival.[58] In April 2015, Uber renamed its UberFRESH program as UberEATS[59] and expanded the service to include Barcelona, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City.[60][61]

The following month, Uber launched its UberMilitary Families Coalition, a new project to support its existing UberMilitary initiative.[62] The project seeks to partner Uber with existing military family organizations and hire more military dependents, in addition to veterans, as drivers.[62] Also in May 2015, Uber updated its app to include accommodations for drivers who are deaf or hard of hearing.[63]

Uber app software and services

The Uber app software requires a smartphone.

Pricing and payments

An Uber ride in Bogotá, Colombia. Visible on the dashboard is a phone running the Uber app.

Uber's pricing is similar to that of metered taxis, although all hiring and payment is handled exclusively through Uber and not with the driver personally. In some cities, if the Uber car is travelling at a speed greater than 11 mph (18 km/h), the price is calculated on a distance basis; otherwise, the price is calculated on a time basis.[64] At the end of a ride, the complete fare is automatically billed to the customer's credit card.[65] Uber has said its prices are the premium that the customers pay for a cab service that is not only reliable, but also punctual and comfortable.[66][67][68]

In May 2015, Uber started testing cash payments in India. The pilot project was started in the Indian city Hyderabad.[69] In September 2015, Uber tied up with Airtel India to allow cab users to pay using Airtel mobile wallet service. It also allows users to use Airtel 4G data at no charges.[70]

Surge pricing

Uber uses an automated algorithm to increase prices to "surge" price levels, responding rapidly to changes of supply and demand in the market, and to attract more drivers during times of increased rider demand, but also to reduce demand.[71][72] Customers receive notice when making an Uber reservation that prices have increased.[71] The company applied for a U.S. patent on surge pricing in 2013,[73][74] but it was rejected for being obvious.

The practice has often caused passengers to become upset and invited criticism when it has happened as a result of holidays, inclement weather, or natural disasters.[75] During New Year's Eve 2011, prices were as high as seven times normal rates, causing outrage.[76] During the 2014 Sydney hostage crisis, Uber implemented surge pricing, resulting in fares of up to four times normal charges; while it defended the surge pricing at first, it later apologized and refunded the surcharges.[77] Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has responded to criticism by saying: "...because this is so new, it's going to take some time for folks to accept it. There's 70 years of conditioning around the fixed price of taxis."[76][78] Uber released a post detailing why surge pricing is in place and how it works.[79] They emphasized that without surge pricing, Uber would not have its trademark service of pushing a button and getting a ride in minutes. This is detailed in a case study around a sold-out-concert at Madison Square Garden when surge pricing took effect. During this event, the number of people who opened the app increased 4x, but the actual ride requests only rose slightly, enabling ride requests to be completed with the usual ETAs.

Rating score

Users of the app may rate drivers; in turn, drivers may rate users. A low rating might diminish the availability and convenience of the service to the user.[80]

Reception

Uber faces competition from lower-cost real-time ridesharing startups such as Lyft, Sidecar (no longer in business),[81] Ola Cabs, Didi Kuaidi and Haxi. To compete at lower price levels, Uber introduced UberGo on Nov 19, 2014,[82] UberTaxi (partnerships with local taxi commissions) and UberX (non-luxury cars such as Toyota Prius hybrids).[83] This move led to dissatisfaction among existing Uber limo drivers who saw their earnings decrease.[84]

In 2011 Marc Andreessen expressed interest in investing in Uber. He told CNET, "Uber is software eats taxis. [...] It's a killer experience. You watch the car on the map on your phone as it makes its way to you."[85] The same year, the New York Times called Uber "clever but costly", noting the cars are "particularly nice by livery standards" and pickup times were slow compared with traditional New York City taxis and black cars.[66]

In 2013 USA Today named Uber its tech company of the year.[86]

However, it has also received negative reception. In October 2014, Uber received an "F" rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), which cited complaints over unexpectedly high charges.[87][88]

UberPop and UberPool in Paris

In the first half of 2014, the UberPop version of the app was launched in Paris, France, whereby users are linked to drivers without professional taxi or chauffeur licenses, while Uber covers supplemental insurance. UberPop was expanded to other European cities over the course of the year.[89]

The UberPool service was then introduced to the Parisian market in November 2014, a month after a French court had deemed the company's UberPop service to be illegal. Uber claimed that UberPool was the next iteration of the UberPop concept. Uber's Western Europe chief told reporters at the time that it was "very confident" about overturning the court decision.[89] At the start of February 2015, the UberPool service was still operational in Paris, France, despite the regulatory opposition in that country.[90] On July 5, 2015, Uber suspended Uberpop in the face of pressure by the French government while awaiting a constitutional court decision on the legality of Uber's service.[91] On September 22, 2015, France’s highest constitutional authority rejected the challenge to a law that bans Uber's low-cost offering Uberpop, keeping the legal pressure on the company.[92] Uber stated that the decision was disappointing but they will continue to work with the French government, trying to find a solution.[93]

Development history

During the initial development of the Uber app, the company created a think tank consisting of a nuclear physicist, a computational neurosurgeon, and a machinery expert who worked on predicting demand for private hire car drivers and where demand is highest.[10][94] Later in 2012, Uber launched its Uber Garage initiative in Chicago. The experimental program allowed Uber to partner with local taxi cab drivers, alerting them when an app user requested a ride.[95][96] The company also introduced uberX in 2012, a service option which allows local drivers to respond to notifications on the Uber app by driving customers in their own non-luxury cars.[97] During 2013, Uber offered its first non-car option when it launched UBERChopper rides from New York City to the Hamptons for $3000 each.[98]

In August 2014, Uber launched UberPOOL, a carpooling service, in San Francisco and UberFRESH, a lunch delivery service, in Santa Monica.[99][100]

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has spoken about his desire to eventually move to using self-driving cars for Uber vehicles.[101] By May 2015 the company had hired a large number of CMU researchers from the vehicle autonomy department, to work at Uber's Advanced Technologies Center in Pittsburgh.[102]

Product expansion

In 2014, the company experimented with online food orders, pilot testing uberFRESH in Santa Monica, California.[103] In April 2014, Uber announced a courier package delivery service called Uber Rush, with pickup from anywhere in Manhattan.[104] While Rush only offers delivery,[105] the Uber Essentials or Corner Store service, starting testing in Washington D.C. in August 2014, allows online ordering from a list of about 100 items.[106][107] In April 2012, Uber launched the Uber Garage initiative, a project to experiment with other ideas for urban transportation services. The first project from Uber Garage was to give Uber users the option to hire a regular taxi driver, or a crowd-sourced Uber driver.[108]

The startup announced a new carpooling service called UberPool at the start of August 2014, after a beta testing phase in the San Francisco Bay Area. UberPool matches riders with another rider who is traveling in the same direction—the app will share the first name of the other rider and who is getting picked up first. If a match cannot be found, riders are offered a discount on a regular Uber trip.[109][110] In December 2014, Uber expanded the UberPool concept to New York City. The Uber blog announcement offered riders the possibility of reducing their journey costs by 20 to 50 percent, explaining: "On any given day, the vast majority of UberX trips in NYC have a 'lookalike' trip—a trip that starts near, ends near, and is happening around the same time as another trip".[111]

In June 2015, in Istanbul, Uber launched a water-taxi service called UberBOAT, allowing users to travel by Beneteau boats across the city’s central Bosporus strait.[112]

In November 2015 Uber signed a global partnership deal with Dutch satellite navigation company TomTom to provide maps and traffic data for the Uber driver app across 300 cities.[113]

Requirements for driving

In some markets, where leasing arrangements for vehicles are available, the only requirement for driving for Uber, other than appropriate age, health, and ability to drive, is passing a background check. Both a smartphone, called a "device" by Uber, and a vehicle may be leased.[114]

Marketing

Uber, led by David Plouffe, an experienced political operative, expands its operations though commencing operation, then engaging in a political campaign which mobilizes public support for the service. If, as is usually the case, its mode of doing business does not conform to local regulations, Uber, supported by a small army of lobbyists, mounts a campaign to change them.[115] Customers and potential customers are mobilized through social media including using the Uber app itself.[116] Bradley Tusk, a former campaign manager for Michael Bloomberg, has played a significant role in advising Uber with respect to cities.[117]

In July 2012, in honor of National Ice Cream Month, Uber launched an "Uber Ice Cream" program in the U.S. so that users in seven cities could summon an ice cream truck for on-demand delivery, while purchases were billed to users' accounts.[118]

In July 2014, Uber partnered with Blade to offer "UberCHOPPER" helicopter rides from New York City to the Hamptons for US$3,000,[119][120] including availability during the July 4 holiday weekend.[121]

DeLorean "time machine" provided by Uber

Short-term promotions in the second half of 2013 included: the September hire of ice-cream trucks to deliver ice cream;[122] rides in the DeLorean DMC-12 car from the Back to the Future film franchise, that were also launched in September;[123] an October National Cat Day promotion for which Uber drivers delivered kittens;[124] and a Christmas-tree delivery service.[125]

In March 2015, Uber offered luxury car-rental service in collaboration with Dream Drive in Singapore until 20 May 2015.[126]

In November 2015, Uber offered Hot air balloon rides to customers in Hyderabad, India for INR 1,000 in collaboration with GrabOn.[127]

On September 4, 2013, Uber announced its first sports deal. The company held a promotion with the NFL Players Association to promote safe rides for NFL players.[128]

In January 2015, Uber announced a marketing program Kalanick called "principled confrontation" that included reaching compromises with local municipalities to compromise on new tax regulations. Since implementing this program, Uber has seen 17 new cities pass pro-Uber ordinances.[129] Uber had worked out an arrangement with the city of Boston to share quarterly data on the duration, locations, and times of day in which riders used the app to travel in or out of the city. This information was first delivered to the city in February 2015, and the report kept all individual user data private.[130]

On March 10, 2015, Travis Kalanick, Uber’s founder and chief executive announced a partnership between Uber and the UN Women. They had intended to invest in local communities where the UN Women’s group was located hoping to create 1,000,000 jobs for women globally by 2020. However, after pressure from trade unions and women's rights organizations, UN Women declined to participate, citing Uber's legal status, safety, and privacy concerns.[131]

Benefits

Uber gives consumers a choice between regulated taxi cab companies and other forms of transportation and can potentially provide drivers with "flexible and independent jobs".[132] Users can track the car picking them up on their smartphone, which allows them to know when it will arrive. A receipt will be automatically sent to their email.[133]

As Uber does not require cars to be hailed, this means that it can more easily pick up customers in less built up neighbourhoods. For this reason, Bloomberg Review said that Uber helps the poor by making it easier for them to get a taxi.[134] It also helps reduce congestion as "because Ubers can’t accept street hails, they do much less unnecessary driving-around than either yellow cabs (who are cruising for hails) or individuals (who are looking for a parking spot)." This assumes that there is no extra traffic created by people who would otherwise have used public transport or walked.[135] One study showed that having Uber in a city reduced drunk driving rates.[136]

Competitive effects

Uber and other ride-sharing companies have brought a new element of competition to the taxi industry. One result has been a decline in the value of the limited-issue taxi licenses that have traditionally restricted the number of authorized taxis in a given locale. According to the Wall Street Journal, taxi medallion prices are plunging in some U.S. cities. For example, in New York medallions were valued at more than US$1.3 million in 2013 have decreased in value to US$700,000 to 800,000 in 2015, and in Chicago prices of more than US$360,000 in 2013 have decreased to US$240,000 in 2015.[137]

Knock-on effects to the competition by ride-sharing companies include adverse changes to the financial position of lenders who have made taxi medallion loans that are too large a part of the total loan portfolio of the financial institution. Historically, some lenders have loaned up to 90 percent of a medallions value. U.S. companies Signature Bank, Progressive Credit Union (85% of the total US$625 million loan portfolio was dedicated to taxi medallions in 2015), and Melrose Credit Union (which in 2015 has US$2 billion connected to taxi medallions) are all coming under solvency pressure. In addition, CitiGroup has initiated foreclosure proceedings on 46 taxi medallions.[137]

Criticism

Main article: Legal status of Uber's service
Taxi company protesting against Uber - Budapest, 2016.01.18
Uber drivers on strike at Montparnasse, Paris, 3 February 2016

Uber is the subject of ongoing protests and legal action from taxi drivers, taxi companies, and governments around the world who are trying to stop Uber from operating in their areas. These groups say that Uber presents unfair competition to taxis because the company does not pay taxes or licensing fees; that it endangers passengers; and that drivers are untrained, unlicensed and uninsured.[citation needed]

As of mid-2015, protests had been staged in Germany, India, Spain, Colombia, France, Italy, Denmark, Canada, China and England, among other nations, and dangerous incidents involving passengers have been documented.[138][139] Uber executives were arrested in France in June 2015. In December 2014, Uber was banned in Spain and in two cities in India. Uber continues to be involved in disputes with several governmental bodies, including local governments in the U.S., Australia and Brazil.

Governments have been largely unable to stop Uber's operations in their jurisdictions because its operations are conducted primarily over the Internet. At city jurisdictions, this might be easier to achieve.[140] In addition, Uber is said to use extremely aggressive tactics such as bullying and hiring investigators to "dig up dirt" on journalists who criticize them.[141] Portland, Oregon's transportation commissioner called Uber management "a bunch of thugs".[142] A commissioner in Virginia who opposed Uber was flooded with emails and calls after Uber distributed his personal contact information to all of its users in the state.[143]

The Australian New South Wales government created a taskforce to look into the Uber problem stating that the existing regulatory framework is "difficult to enforce", and therefore not as effective as it could be. The taskforce also noted that ride sharing services "appear to meet the criteria of a public passenger service" under the 1990 Act. This is despite the fact Uber has reaffirmed that it is not a taxi service and should not have to operate under taxi regulation.[144][145]

Lawsuits by private entities

On December 31, 2013, Uber driver Syed Muzaffar ran over and killed six year old Sofia Liu in San Francisco, severely injuring her mother and brother in the same incident. The driver was logged in and waiting for a fare, but not carrying a passenger, at the time of the accident. Liu's family filed a wrongful death claim against Uber, claiming that this made Uber responsible for the driver's actions.[146][147][148] Uber deactivated Muzaffar's account after the accident. Syed Muzaffar was arrested on the scene, and was charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter on December 8, 2014.[149] Uber said in a written statement that all drivers had undergone a "stringent" background check, and that Muzaffar's was "clear". Muzaffar had been arrested in Florida in 2004 on a reckless driving charge, but California law prohibited private background check services like Uber's from reporting arrests and crimes more than seven years old.[150] Syed Muzaffar's vehicular manslaughter trial was scheduled to start August 5, 2015. In July, 2015, Uber reached a settlement with the family for an undisclosed sum.[151]

In September 2014, a class-action was filed by Atlanta, Georgia taxicab drivers and CPNC holders as the plaintiff class, against Uber Technologies, Inc., its subsidiary Raiser LLC (which operates UberX), and in a rare move, all of both companies' drivers as a defendant class in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia, for restitution of all metered fares collected via the Uber and UberX apps for trips originating within the Atlanta city limits.[152]

In December 2014, Checker Cab Philadelphia and 44 other taxi companies in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit in the Federal Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, alleging that Uber was operating illegally in the city.[153] On March 3, 2015, U.S. District Judge Nitza I. Quinones Alejandro denied a motion for a preliminary injunction against Uber.[154]

On January 29, 2015, a 25 year old Delhi woman who claims to have been raped by Uber driver Shiv Kumar Yadav in her city filed a lawsuit against the company for negligence in US courts.[155] The plaintiff filed a motion for voluntary dismissal of the case on September 1, 2015, which was granted September 2, 2015.[156]

In May 2015, the Milan Court banned Uberpop alleging "unfair competition" and violation of the local jurisdiction regulating taxi services. The lawsuit was originally initiated by the Italian taxi drivers union.[157]

In July 2015, a $400M class-action lawsuit was filed against UberX and UberXL in Toronto, Canada on behalf of Ontario taxi and limo drivers, brokers and owners. The statement of claim alleged that UberX and UberXL violated section 39.1 of the province’s Highway Traffic Act by having unlicensed drivers picking up passengers and transporting them for compensation.[158]

In January 2016, a $1.5M lawsuit was filed against Uber in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by Sergei Lemberg on behalf of a Philadelphia taxicab medallion owner. The suit claimed that Uber engaged in tortious interference with a prospective business advantage and engaged in false advertising under the Lanham Act.[159]

National Federation of the Blind lawsuit

A lawsuit was filed in the U.S. state of California on September 9, 2014 by the state chapter of the National Federation of the Blind, in response to the reported denial of services to "more than 30" blind customers—the lawsuit claimed that the conduct was in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and California state law. The Washington Post published a direct quote from the complaint, in which the Federation claims that its constituency "face the degrading experience of being denied a basic service that is available to all other paying customers." Two cases were described in the Post article: First, a California UberX driver allegedly stored a service dog in the trunk of his vehicle and refused to acknowledge the blind passenger's concern upon the latter's realization of what had occurred; second, a driver allegedly cursed at a blind passenger during a verbal exchange, in which the latter was explaining the nature of the guide dog. According to the complaint, the driver suddenly accelerated, and nearly injured the dog, while also striking the passenger’s blind friend with an open car door.[160]

Uber responded to a number of blind passengers who reported their experiences, stating that since Uber drivers were independent contractors, the company was unable to oversee their conduct. The Federation replied in a public statement that Uber closely monitored its drivers' work practices through the Uber app, that Uber advised blind passengers to notify drivers about their guide animals in advance, and that the Federation was proceeding with the filing of the lawsuit after Uber refused to enter into a negotiation with them to resolve the issue.[160]

Protests

A protest against Uber in Portland, Oregon in January 2015

On January 13, 2014, cab drivers in Paris attacked an Uber driver's car near Charles de Gaulle Airport, protesting competition from the transportation startup.[161] On June 11, 2014, in a concerted action, taxis blocked roads in major European cities in protest against what they perceive as a threat to their livelihoods from companies such as Uber. The cabbies contended that Uber and similar smartphone app-based services have an unfair advantage because they are not subject to the same kinds of fees and regulations placed on taxis.[162][163]

On June 25, 2015, cab drivers in Paris "locked down" Paris in an anti-Uber protest.[164] Musician Courtney Love got caught in the protest and live tweeted as her Uber cab was violently attacked and she and her driver were held hostage.[165]

On July 24, 2015 a thousand taxi drivers in Rio de Janeiro blocked traffic during the morning rush hour protesting Uber's expansion there. (Lawmakers have voted to ban Uber in São Paulo and Brasilia.).[166]

On August 21, 2015 Uber started operations in Costa Rica. That same day the government asked the taxis for "help" to locate all Uber drivers.[citation needed] This call resulted in traps set by the taxis and even the vandalism of an Uber driver's car. Uber stated that it will help and pay for all the inconvenience caused to their drivers.[167]

Sabotage against competitors

Uber issued an apology on January 24, 2014, after documents were leaked to the Valleywag and TechCrunch publications saying that, earlier in the month, Uber employees in New York City deliberately ordered rides from Gett, a newly established competitor, only to cancel them later. The purpose of the fake orders was two-fold: wasting drivers' time to obstruct legitimate customers from securing a car, and offering drivers incentives — including cash — to join Uber.[168] Uber later issued a statement about the incident on its website.[169]

In August 2014, Lyft, another ridesharing service, reported to CNNMoney that 177 Uber employees had ordered and cancelled approximately 5,560 rides since October 2013, and that it had found links to Uber recruiters by cross-referencing the phone numbers involved. The CNN Money report identified one Lyft passenger who canceled 300 rides from May 26 to June 10, 2014, and who was identified as an Uber recruiter by seven different Lyft drivers. On this occasion, Uber did not issue an apology, but suggested in a statement on its website that the recruitment attempts were possibly independent parties trying to make money.[170][171] A Lyft spokesperson stated to CNN Money: "It's unfortunate for affected community members that they have used these tactics, as it wastes a driver's time and impacts the next passenger waiting for that driver."[170]

Operation SLOG

In August 2014, the online publication The Verge reported that a secret Uber project, called "Operation SLOG" — which recruits members with the assistance of TargetCW, a San Diego, California-based employment agency — appeared to be an extension of the company's activities in relation to Lyft. As reported, on July 9, 2014 following Lyft's expansion into New York City, Uber sent an email offering what it called a "huge commission opportunity" to several contractors based on the "personal hustle" of the participants.[172] Those who responded met with Uber marketing managers who attempted, according to one of the contractors, to create a "street team" to gather intelligence about Lyft’s launch plans and recruit their drivers to Uber. Recruits were given two Uber-branded iPhones (one a backup, in case the person was identified by Lyft) and a series of valid credit card numbers to create dummy Lyft accounts.[172] After being contacted for comment, Target CW warned its contractors against talking to the media, stating that it represented a violation of a non-disclosure agreement they signed.[172]

Contractors or employees

Uber contracts with their driver partners under legal arrangements as contractors, and not employees. Since taxation, work hours, overtime benefits, and so forth may be treated differently by various political jurisdictions globally, this designation has been controversial.[173]

In the United States, the Federal government labor agency issued guidelines in July 2015 to deal with, what it considers, "misclassification" of workers. It argues that any "worker who is 'economically dependent' on the employer should be treated as an employee. By contrast, a worker must be in business for himself or herself to be an independent contractor."[174] The guideline is non-binding, but is expected to have some influence in various court cases which may establish new common law around the issue.[174][175]

In a class action lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on August 16, 2013 Uber drivers plead that they were employees who had been misclassified as independent contractors and violations of the California Labor Code and demanded that they be given any tips Uber had collected on their behalf and payment of business expenses such as gas and maintenance of their vehicles.[176] The District Judge, Edward M. Chen, ruled in the plaintiffs' favor with respect to a motion for summary judgement by defendants on March 11, 2015 holding that whether Uber drivers were employees was a disputed fact to be resolved by the jury.[177] September 1, 2015 Chen certified the class but generally limited it to drivers in California hired before June 2014 (when an opt-out arbitration clause was included in the contract) who had directly contracted with Uber. [178][179]

Threatening journalists

At a private dinner in November 2014, Emil Michael, senior vice president of Uber, suggested that Uber hire a team of opposition researchers and journalists, with a million-dollar budget, to dig into the personal lives and backgrounds of media figures who reported negatively about Uber. Specifically, he targeted Sarah Lacy, editor of the technology website PandoDaily, who has accused Uber of sexism and misogyny.[180] The controversy made national news and stirred criticism against Uber. "The comments, reportedly made by senior vice president for business Emil Michael at a New York dinner attended by BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith," wrote a Washington Post columnist, "ignited a powder keg of criticism about a company already perceived as cut-throat — landing Uber on the front pages of The Washington Post, USA Today and the New York Times."[181]

Michael issued a public apology.[182] Later, he sent an email to Lacy: "I was at an event and was venting, but what I said was never intended to describe actions that would ever be undertaken by me or my company toward you or anyone else. I was definitively wrong and I feel terrible about any distress I have caused you."[183]

Speaking with the Australian media publication The Conversation on November 20, 2014, European PR agency FINN partner Raf Weverbergh said that Uber does not realize exactly how upset journalists are in the wake of the Michael incident. On the same date, the publication reported that more journalists deleted their Uber apps. Uber's Brisbane spokesperson stated that journalists will not be investigated by the company in the Australian state of Queensland, in light of the legislative difficulties that were occurring at the time.[184]

User privacy

Kalanick received a letter, dated November 19, 2014, from Senator Al Franken, Chairman of the United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law, over user privacy. In addition to a list of 10 questions, Franken stated that the company had a "troubling disregard for customer privacy" and that he was "especially troubled because there appears to be evidence of practices inconsistent with the policy [Uber spokesperson] Ms. Hourajian articulated" and that "it appears that on prior occasions your company [Uber] has condoned use of customers’ data for questionable purposes." Franken concluded his letter by asking for a response by December 15, 2014.[185]

Concerns have been raised about internal misuse of the company's data, in particular the ability of Uber staff to track the movements of its customers, known as "God View". In addition to the aforementioned use of the service to track journalists and politicians, a venture capitalist disclosed in 2011 that Uber staff were using the function recreationally and viewed being tracked by Uber as a positive reflection on the subject's character.[186] An individual who had interviewed for a job at Uber said that he was given unrestricted access to Uber's customer tracking function as part of the interview process, and that he retained that access for several hours after the interview ended.[187]

On February 27, 2015, Uber admitted that it had suffered a data breach more than nine months before. Driver names and license plate information on approximately 50,000 drivers were inadvertently disclosed.[188] Uber discovered this leak in September 2014 but waited more than five months to notify the people affected.[189]

Safety

On August 4, 2014, the company announced the scheduled removal of a driver from the service pending a medical review, after the driver suffered an epileptic seizure while driving that resulted in a crash with a pedestrian in San Francisco. The 56-year-old driver was hospitalized after hitting three parked cars and then a man on the sidewalk; an Uber spokesperson said in the announcement that the driver "has an outstanding record of service and safety with no prior incidents."[190]

In December 2014, the New York Times reported on concerns regarding the manner in which the Uber app notifies drivers about new requests for pick-up from customers.[191] When a customer makes a request, drivers are notified on an official Uber mobile app and are provided the customer's location. In order to accept the request, the driver has approximately 15 seconds to tap the phone to accept the request.[192] An Uber driver reported that drivers can be temporarily suspended for ignoring these requests.[191] Deborah Hersman of the National Transportation Safety Board criticized the 15-second system, saying that it presents a significant distraction to drivers, as drivers are financially motivated to respond to fares while driving.[191] In response, Uber has stated that the app "was designed with safety in mind," and that drivers are not required to physically look at the device to accept a fare.[191]

According to South Carolina State Law (Governor's Action: June 24, 2015, Signed), Uber Transportation Network Company Partner vehicles must pass annual safety inspections and post an Uber emblem in the lower right (passenger) side of the windshield. This is a safety provision that was added to the South Carolina Statutes (SC Statutes A88, R126, H3525), Chapter 23, Title 58 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding: Section 58-23-1610.)

See also

References

  1. ^ Rusli, Evelyn (June 6, 2014). "Uber Dispatches trips". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  2. ^ Goode, Lauren (June 17, 2011). "Worth It? An App to Get a Cab". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company.
  3. ^ "Where is Uber Currently Available?". Uber.com. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  4. ^ "Amman,you are UBER's 300th city!". Uber.com. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  5. ^ "Apple Pay's Real Killer App: The Uber-ification of Local Services". Huffington Post. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  6. ^ "Uberification of the US Service Economy". Schlaf. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  7. ^ "The 50 most powerful companies in America". Yahoo Singapore Finance. September 28, 2015.
  8. ^ Newcomer, Eric (December 3, 2015). "Uber Raises Funding at $62.5 Billion Valuation – The ride-hailing company is said to seek $2.1 billion in a new funding round". Bloomberg News. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  9. ^ Cameron Atfield (November 19, 2014). "Taxi Council of Queensland declares war on Uber". Brisbane Times. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  10. ^ a b James Bacon (February 3, 2012). "Innovation Uber Alles; Personal-Driver Service Can Revolutionize Transportation Services". The Washington Times. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  11. ^ Christine Lagorio-Chafkin. "Resistance is Futile". INC.com. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  12. ^ a b "First Round Uber". First Round Capital. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  13. ^ a b Christine Lagorio-Chafkin. "How Uber Is Going To Hire 1,000 People This Year". INC.com. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  14. ^ Ellen Huet (December 11, 2014). "Uber's Global Expansion In Five Seconds". Forbes. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  15. ^ Brian Lund (July 3, 2014). "From Dead-End Job to Uber Billionaire: Meet Ryan Graves". Daily Finance. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  16. ^ Rory Cellan-Jones (June 24, 2014). "Uber and Indiegogo - tales of disruption". BBC News. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  17. ^ a b c Krystal Peak (December 7, 2011). "Uber pulls in another $32M for app-based car service". Vator News. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  18. ^ a b Michael Sinan (December 15, 2011). "On heels of new funding and global expansion, car service Uber launches in D.C. today". Venture Beat. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  19. ^ Danny O'Brien (January 13, 2012). "New York cab fleecing holds lesson on data versus intuition". The Irish Times. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  20. ^ Liz Spikol (June 6, 2012). "Uber Launches in Philly TODAY, Though We Have No Idea Why". Curbed Philadelphia. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  21. ^ a b Jim Bell (October 18, 2012). "Uber: A Lone Rogue in Toronto". Toronto Sun. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  22. ^ Tsotsis, Alexia (December 5, 2011). "Uber Launches Its First International Efforts In Paris". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  23. ^ Paul Sawers (June 29, 2012). "Uber officially launches its private 'driver for hire' service in London". The Next Web. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  24. ^ Seamus Byrne (November 28, 2012). "Car service Uber launches in Sydney". CNet Magazine, CBS. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  25. ^ Jon Russell (January 22, 2013). "Uber finally drives into Asia as the private car service begins testing in Singapore". The Next Web. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  26. ^ Russell, Jon (November 30, 2012). "Uber goes official in Australia as it ends 6 weeks of testing and launches in Sydney". The Next Web. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  27. ^ Cutcher, Richard (October 10, 2013). "Uber exploring M-Pesa payment integration for Nairobi service". HumanIPO. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  28. ^ Russell, Jon (August 2, 2013). "Uber job vacancies hint at plans to enter Africa, the Middle East and Latin America". The Next Web. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  29. ^ a b Jeyup Kwaak (October 23, 2014). "Uber Ties Up With Cab Drivers in Seoul". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  30. ^ Julie Collazo (October 16, 2014). "Uber: The answer to Mexico City's transportation problems?". The Latin Correspondent. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  31. ^ Heather Somerville (June 6, 2014). "Uber Valued at a Whopping $18.2 Billion". The Oakland Tribune. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  32. ^ Evelyn M. Rusli (June 6, 2014). "Uber Gets an Uber-Valuation". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  33. ^ Ryan Lawler (June 6, 2014). "Uber Raises Giant $1.2 Billion Funding Round At A $17 Billion Valuation". TechCrunch. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  34. ^ Tejada, Carlos (July 15, 2014). "Uber Launches in Beijing, Will Face Uber-Heavy Traffic Jams". The Wall Street Journal - China. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  35. ^ Bagga, Avani (June 26, 2014). "Uber launches cheaper cab booking service in India". The Times of India. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  36. ^ Kwaak, Jeyup S. (July 21, 2014). "Seoul Moves to Ban Uber, Plans Own App". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  37. ^ Kwaak, Jeyup S. (August 28, 2014). "Uber Launches Ride-Share Service for Seoul". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  38. ^ "Uber taxi giant takes on Poland". Polskie Radio. August 18, 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  39. ^ Sean Doogan (October 19, 2014). "As Uber and its ilk expand, cities like Anchorage struggle to regulate the 'sharing economy'". Alaska Dispatch News. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  40. ^ "Uber taxi giant takes on Poland". PolksieRadio.pl. August 19, 2014. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  41. ^ "uberX illegal, says Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre". CBC. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  42. ^ "Denmark seeks to block Uber taxi service". SBS News. November 20, 2014. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  43. ^ "Uber declared illegal in Thailand". Bangkok Post. November 28, 2014. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  44. ^ "Ice Prince Zamani is "Rider Zero" for Uber as it launches in Lagos". Innovation Village. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
  45. ^ Stevis, Matina (January 22, 2015). "Kenya Says Karibu (Welcome) to Uber". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  46. ^ McBride, Sarah (January 21, 2015). "Uber to raise $1.6 billion in convertible debt: source". Reuters. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  47. ^ "Con primer viaje gratuito, Uber inició operaciones en Puebla". Zwars. September 2, 2015.
  48. ^ ""Uber" pradeda veikti Vilniuje". DELFI. November 19, 2015.
  49. ^ a b "China's Baidu Set To Partner With Uber and Reportedly Invest Up to $600M". TechCrunch. December 12, 2014.
  50. ^ "Uber facing rough road to cracking Chinese market". New York Post. Reuters. December 17, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  51. ^ MacMillan, Douglas; Demos, Telis (May 9, 2015). "Uber Eyes $50 Billion Valuation in New Funding". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  52. ^ O'Connell, Ainsley (February 3, 2015). "Google-Uber Spat Exposes Uber's Achilles Heel". Fast Company. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  53. ^ Reuters (December 17, 2014). "Uber facing rough road to cracking Chinese market". New York Post. Retrieved December 18, 2014. {{cite news}}: |author1= has generic name (help)
  54. ^ Mark Scott (September 26, 2014). "Court Upholds Ban on Uber in Berlin". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  55. ^ Elizabeth Hu (June 12, 2014). "Uber's Rapid Growth Pits Innovation Against Existing Laws". NPR Morning Edition. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  56. ^ Devin Coldeway (February 2, 2015). "Uber Teams Up With Carnegie Mellon on Self-Driving Car Research". NBCNews. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  57. ^ Tracy Lien (February 18, 2015). "Uber to launch carpooling service in Los Angeles on Thursday". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  58. ^ Ryan Lawler (March 9, 2015). "Uber And Lyft Urge Users To Share Rides With Other Passengers During SXSW". TechCrunch. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  59. ^ Chris O'Brien (February 19, 2015). "Uber launches its first international meal delivery service with UberEATS in Barcelona". VentureBeat. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  60. ^ Alex Fitzpatrick (April 29, 2015). "Uber Is About to Change Dramatically". Time. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  61. ^ Jon Fingas (April 28, 2015). "Uber's food delivery service launches in four cities". EnGadget. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  62. ^ a b Marco della Cava (May 13, 2015). "Uber hopes to draft more military families". USA Today. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  63. ^ Davey Alba (May 28, 2015). "Uber unveils app update to help its deaf drivers". Wired. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  64. ^ "Uber pulls in another $32M for app-based car service". VatorNews. December 7, 2011.
  65. ^ Rao, Leena (September 22, 2011). "Uber Brings Its Disruptive Car Service to Chicago". TechCrunch. AOL.
  66. ^ a b Brustein, Joshua (May 16, 2011). "The Smartphone Way to Beckon a Car". The New York Times. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  67. ^ voytek (April 11, 2011). "Uberdata: The Hidden Cost of Cabs". Uber Blog. Uber.
  68. ^ Arrington, Michael (March 2, 2011). "A Week With Uber And This Blogger Is Totally Hooked". TechCrunch. AOL.
  69. ^ Russell, Jon (May 11, 2015). "Uber Is Testing Cash Payments In India". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  70. ^ "Airtel-Uber tie-up". The hindu. September 15, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  71. ^ a b Clay, Kelly (October 27, 2011). "Is Uber Really a Good Alternative to Taxis?". LockerGnome. Lockergnome.
  72. ^ Harris, David (April 24, 2014). "That time Uber almost charged me $1,099 for a Boston-to-Cambridge trip". Boston Business Journal.
  73. ^ "Uber Seeks to Patent Pricing Surges That Critics Call Gouging". Bloomberg L.P. December 19, 2014.
  74. ^ "Uber Is Trying to Patent Its Surge Pricing Technology". Time. December 19, 2014.
  75. ^ Dan Kedmey (December 15, 2014). "This Is How Uber's 'Surge Pricing' Works". Time Magazine.
  76. ^ a b Bilton, Nreick (January 8, 2012). "Disruptions: Taxi Supply and Demand, Priced by the Mile". The New York Times.
  77. ^ Lapowsky, Issie (December 15, 2014). "What Uber's Sydney Surge Pricing Debacle Says About Its Public Image". Wired Magazine. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  78. ^ Surowiecki, James (August 19, 2014). "In Praise of Efficient Price Gouging". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  79. ^ "The Effects Of Uber's Surge Pricing".
  80. ^ Price, Rob (February 23, 2015). "Uber drivers tell us how to get a 5-star passenger rating". Business Insider. Retrieved May 24, 2015. After every ride, customers are rated by their Uber drivers, just like how customers rate their drivers.
  81. ^ Sunil Paul. "So long Sidecar and thanks". Medium.
  82. ^ Saad (November 19, 2014). "Ubergo Is Officially The Cheapest Ride In Town | Uber Blog". Blog.uber.com. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  83. ^ "Uber Opens Up Platform To Non-Limo Vehicles With "Uber X," Service Will Be 35% Less Expensive". TechCrunch. July 1, 2012. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  84. ^ "See, Uber — This Is What Happens When You Cannibalize Yourself". TechCrunch. March 15, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  85. ^ Sloan, Paul (December 19, 2011). "Marc Andreessen: Predictions for 2012 (and beyond)". CNET News. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  86. ^ Wolff, Michael (December 22, 2013). "Wolff: The tech company of the year is Uber". USA Today. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  87. ^ Isaac, Mike (October 9, 2014). "Uber Flunks the Better Business Bureau Test". The New York Times. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  88. ^ "Customer Complaints Summary". Better Business Bureau: San Francisco Bay Area and Northern Coastal California BBB. Golden Gate Better Business Bureau. October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  89. ^ a b Schechner, Sam (November 13, 2014). "Uber Launches Car Pooling Service in Paris". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  90. ^ Stone, Brad (January 30, 2015). "The Future of Uber and Lyft: A Crowded Back Seat". BloombergBusiness. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  91. ^ Schechner, Sam (July 5, 2015). "Uber to Suspend One of Its Main Services in France". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  92. ^ Schechner, Sam (September 22, 2015). "French Constitutional Council Rejects Uber Appeal of Law Banning Uberpop,". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  93. ^ Schechner, Sam (September 22, 2015). "French court confirms ban". Yahoo news.
  94. ^ Sarah Lacy (June 15, 2011). "Uber Out-Maths Google on NYC ETAs". TechCrunch. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  95. ^ Terrence O'Brien (April 18, 2012). "Uber tackles Taxis in Chicago with Uber Garage experiment". Engadget. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  96. ^ "Changing Course". Chicago-Sun Times. November 18, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  97. ^ Fritz Hahn (December 4, 2012). "D.C. Council Expected to Approve Uber Act (Posted 2012-12-04 19:44:29) ; as a Staff Full of Night Owls, We Agree That the Mobile App-Powered Uber Can Be a Godsend for Getting Home after a Night Out". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  98. ^ Dan Amira (July 1, 2013). "Uber Will Ferry Hampton-Goers Via Helicopter This July 3rd". New York Magazine. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  99. ^ Ryan Lawler (September 2, 2014). "Uber Opens Up UberPool To All San Francisco Users". Tech Crunch. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  100. ^ Darrell Etherington (August 26, 2014). "Uber Begins Testing Lunch Delivery With UberFRESH". Tech Crunch. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  101. ^ "Here's your first look at Uber's self-driving test car (and why you'll see it around Pittsburgh)". Pittsburgh Business Times. May 21, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  102. ^ Lowensohn, Josh (May 19, 2015). "Uber gutted Carnegie Mellon's top robotics lab to build self-driving cars - A 'partnership' based on poaching". The Verge. Retrieved May 22, 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  103. ^ "Uber Trials Fast Food Delivery Service 'UberFRESH'". Forbes. August 26, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  104. ^ Kimiko (April 7, 2014). "Announcing UberRush | NYC Courier Service". Blog.uber.com. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  105. ^ Gross, Doug (April 8, 2014). "Uber gets into delivery game with Rush". CNN.com. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  106. ^ Reisinger, Don (August 19, 2014). "Uber tests local delivery with Corner Store". CNET. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  107. ^ "The Everyday Items You Need in 10 Minutes or Less | Uber Blog". Blog.uber.com. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  108. ^ Rao, Leena (April 18, 2012). "Uber Experiments With Lower-Priced Taxis In Chicago Through Newly Launched Labs Group, 'Garage'". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  109. ^ Ong, Josh (August 6, 2014). "Uber announces UberPool, a carpooling experiment with 40% lower prices than UberX". The Next Web. The Next Web. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  110. ^ "Uber underlying technologies".
  111. ^ Lowensohn, Josh (December 2, 2014). "Uber begins testing out its carpooling service in New York next week". The Verge. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  112. ^ "Uber Crosses Continents With Istanbul Water-Taxi Service". Bloomberg. June 25, 2015.
  113. ^ "Tomtom To Provide Data For Uber Driver App".
  114. ^ Carmel DeAmicis (July 29, 2015). "Uber Starts Directly Leasing Cars in Program That Could Appeal to Short-Term Drivers". Re/code. Retrieved July 30, 2015. Uber says the pilot program will initially run in California, Maryland and Georgia.
  115. ^ Karen Weise (June 24, 2015). "How Uber Took Over Portland". Bloomberg Business. Retrieved June 25, 2015. Uber had been working on the council members for months.
  116. ^ Edward T. Walker (August 7, 2015). "The Uber-ization of Activism". The New York Times. Retrieved August 7, 2015. Uber mobilized its customers, leveraging the power of its app to prompt a populist social-media assault…..
  117. ^ Dino Grandoni (August 2, 2015). "Political Consultant for Uber to Advise Other Start-Ups". The New York Times. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  118. ^ Albanesius, Chloe (July 12, 2012). "Uber Rolling Out On-Demand Ice Cream Trucks". PC Magazine. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  119. ^ Jen Kirby. "This App Will Helicopter You to the Hamptons -- NYMag". Daily Intelligencer.
  120. ^ "Uber Helicopter Rides From NYC". Business Insider. July 2, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  121. ^ Amira, Dan (July 1, 2013), Uber Will Ferry Hampton-Goers Via Helicopter This July 3rd, retrieved September 7, 2013
  122. ^ Ortutay, Barbara (September 3, 2013). "Uber brings back on-demand ice cream trucks". Retrieved September 7, 2013.
  123. ^ Statt, Nick (September 6, 2013). "Uber offering rides back in time with DeLorean promotion". CNET. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
  124. ^ "Uber is delivering kittens for National Cat Day". CNN. October 29, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2013.
  125. ^ "Uber Is Delivering Christmas Trees On-Demand For $135". Business Insider. December 4, 2013.
  126. ^ Hongzuo Liu. "Uber offers rides in Lamborghinis, Maseratis in Singapore", CNET, March 23, 2015. Retrieved on 2015-03-25.
  127. ^ "On-Demand Hot Air Balloon : Supported by GrabOn", November 7, 2015. Retrieved on 2015-11-26.
  128. ^ Lunden, Ingrid (September 4, 2013). "Uber Inks Its First Sports Deal, Partners With The NFL To Promote Safe Rides For Pro Footballers". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  129. ^ Douglas MacMillan (January 29, 2015). "How Sharp-Elbowed Uber Is Trying to Make Nice". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  130. ^ Nicole Dungca (January 13, 2015). "In first, Uber to share ride data with Boston". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  131. ^ Neate, Rupert (March 23, 2015). "UN backs out of Uber collaboration over concern that app fails to protect women". The Guardian. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  132. ^ "The gig-economy: Uber good or Uber bad?".
  133. ^ "Uber is here to stay, and that's a good thing". The Globe and Mail.
  134. ^ Megan McArdle (July 20, 2015). "Uber Serves the Poor by Going Where Taxis Don't". BloombergView.com.
  135. ^ "New Yorkers love Uber. But is Uber good for New York? - Fusion". Fusion.
  136. ^ "Uber Prevents Drunk Driving: Advantage Over Taxis". Lyft Uber Newsletter.
  137. ^ a b Sidel, Robin (October 21, 2015). "Uber's Rise Presses Taxi Lenders". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  138. ^ Kevin Rawlinson (September 2, 2014). "Uber banned in Germany by Frankfurt court". BBC News. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  139. ^ "Popular Taxi App Uber Disallowed by Frankfurt Court in Germany". Germany News.Net. September 2, 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2014. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  140. ^ "Uber ride-sharing service targeted as Toronto seeks injunction".
  141. ^ "Portland makes Uber and Lyft legal -- for now". Oregon Live. April 21, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  142. ^ "Uber on a collision course with China's taxi drivers and cartels". South China Morning Post. July 9, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  143. ^ "Uber's aggressive lobbying of state, local officials pays off". Standard Examiner. December 13, 2014. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  144. ^ "NSW transport taskforce pushes for regulatory framework changes | ZDNet". ZDNet. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  145. ^ "Point to Point Transport Taskforce" (PDF). Government of New South Wales. August 2015. Retrieved August 2015. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  146. ^ Conger, Kate (May 6, 2014). "Uber files defense in Sofia Liu wrongful death lawsuit". SF Examiner. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  147. ^ Uber’s Denial Of Liability In Girl’s Death Raises Accident Accountability Questions // Techcrunch, January 2, 2014
  148. ^ Melendez, Lyanne (January 27, 2014) "Uber sued for wrongful death of 6-year-old girl in San Francisco." ABC News. (Retrieved December 6, 2014.)
  149. ^ Gayle, Damien (December 9, 2014). "Uber driver who ran over and killed six-year-old girl on New Year's Eve is finally charged". DailyMail.com. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  150. ^ Kirchner, Elyce (January 15, 2014). "UberX Driver Involved in New Year's Eve Manslaughter Had a Record of Reckless Driving". NBC Bay Area. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  151. ^ Barmann, Jay (July 15, 2015). "Uber Reaches Wrongful Death Settlement With Family of Sofia Liu". sfist. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  152. ^ "Atlanta taxicab drivers sue Uber ride-sharing service". September 10, 2014. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  153. ^ Erin Arvedlund (December 25, 2014). "Uber slapped with suit by 45 Phila. taxi companies". Philadelphia Enquirer.
  154. ^ "Judge Nixes Attempt To Keep Uber Out Of Philly". March 4, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  155. ^ Sean Farrell (January 15, 2015). "Delhi woman who said she was raped by Uber driver to sue in US". The Guardian.
  156. ^ Isaac, Mike (September 2, 2015). "Uber Rebuffed by Judge in Ruling on Drivers' Suit". New York Times. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  157. ^ "Esplora il significato del termine: Il Tribunale blocca UberPop in tutta Italia: "Vittoria dei tassisti". May 26, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  158. ^ Alyshah Hasham (July 23, 2015). "Taxi, limo drivers launch $400M class-action lawsuit against UberX, UberXL". Toronto Star.
  159. ^ "Uber Lawsuit". Scribd. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  160. ^ a b Sullivan, Gail (September 10, 2014). "Uber sued for allegedly refusing rides to the blind and putting a dog in the trunk". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
  161. ^ "Protesting Taxi Drivers Attack Uber Car Near Paris". TechCrunch. January 13, 2014.
  162. ^ "Taxi drivers in European capitals strike over Uber", The Guardian, June 11, 2014
  163. ^ "Photos: Taxis Blockade European Cities in Uber Strike", The Wall Street Journal, June 11, 2014
  164. ^ Amar Toor. "French taxi drivers lock down Paris in huge anti-Uber protest". The Verge. Vox Media.
  165. ^ "French Uber protesters smash up Courtney Love's cab 'and take driver hostage' - Daily Mail Online". Mail Online.
  166. ^ "Over a thousand Rio taxi drivers block main city route to protest Uber". The Guardian. Reuters. July 24, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2015. In Rio, cabbies parked their yellow taxis in a chain stretching for three miles along one of the city's main thoroughfares that connects the affluent south zone with the central business district.
  167. ^ "Uber driver attacked and cars stopped during Costa Rica launch".
  168. ^ D'Orazio, Dante (January 24, 2014). "Uber employees spammed competing car service with fake orders". The Verge. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  169. ^ Nairi (January 24, 2014). "Statement on NYC driver outreach". Uber. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  170. ^ a b Fink, Erica (August 12, 2014). "Uber's dirty tricks quantified: Rival counts 5,560 canceled rides". CNN Money. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  171. ^ Khaw, Cassandra (August 12, 2014). "Uber accused of booking 5,560 fake Lyft rides". The Verge. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  172. ^ a b c Newton, Casey (August 26, 2014). "This is Uber's playbook for sabotaging Lyft". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  173. ^ "Taxi medallions have been the best investment in America for years. Now Uber may be changing that". Washington Post. November 27, 2014. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  174. ^ a b Rugabar, Christopher S. (July 15, 2015). "Labor Department Tries to Clarify Hiring Rules for Gig Economy". Inc. Inc. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  175. ^ Tansey (July 17, 2015). "Sharing Economy Companies Sharing the Heat In Contractor Controversy". xeconomy. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  176. ^ "SECOND AMENDED CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT AND JURY DEMAND DOUGLAS O'CONNOR, THOMAS COLOPY, MATTHEW MANAHAN, and ELIE GURFINKEL, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. UBER TECHNOLOGIES, INC," (PDF file of Legal pleading). uberlawsuit.com. November 17, 2014. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  177. ^ "Order Denying Motion for Summary Judgement O'Connor v. Uber" (PDF). uberlawsuit.com. March 11, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  178. ^ Mike Isaac (September 1, 2015). "Uber Rebuffed by Judge in Ruling on Drivers' Suit". The New York Times. Retrieved September 2, 2015. In his ruling, the judge certified just a portion of the class that the plaintiffs were seeking, narrowing it to drivers who directly contract with Uber and largely to those who were drivers before June 2014
  179. ^ "O'Connor v. Uber Technologies, Inc. et al., C13-3826 EMC" (Link to PDF files of rulings in the case). cand.uscourts.gov. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  180. ^ Smith, Ben (November 17, 2014) "Uber Executive Suggests Digging Up Dirt On Journalists." Buzzfeed. (Retrieved Nov 18, 2014.)
  181. ^ Peterson, Andrea (November 19, 2014) "Uber’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day." Washington Post. (Retrieved Nov 24, 2014.)
  182. ^ Isaac, Mike (November 18, 2014) "Uber Executive Proposes Digging Into Journalists’ Private Lives." New York Times. (Retrieved Nov 18, 2014.)
  183. ^ Lacy, Sarah (November 17, 2014) "The moment I learned just how far Uber will go to silence journalists and attack women." PandoDaily. (Retrieved Nov 18, 2014.)
  184. ^ Valencia, Faith (November 20, 2014). "Love it or loathe it, Uber is punching above its weight". The Conversation. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  185. ^ Biggs, John (November 19, 2014). "Senator Al Franken Asks Uber's CEO Tough Questions On User Privacy". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
  186. ^ ""God View": Uber Investigates Its Top New York Executive For Privacy Violations". BuzzFeed. November 18, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  187. ^ "Is Uber's rider database a sitting duck for hackers?". Washington Post. December 1, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  188. ^ Guess, Megan. "50,000 Uber driver names, license plate numbers exposed in a data breach". ArsTechnica. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  189. ^ Tassi, Katherine. "Uber Statement". blog.uber.com. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  190. ^ "Driver who crashed after seizure to be removed from Uber app | www.ktvu.com". ktvu.com. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  191. ^ a b c d Richtel, Matt (December 22, 2014). "Distracted Driving and Ride-Hailing Apps". New York Times. p. B5.
  192. ^ Cook, James (December 22, 2014). "People Are Asking Whether Uber Drivers Cause More Accidents Because They're Distracted Behind The Wheel". Business Insider. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Uber (company).
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Uber&oldid=704560908"