The emergence of app-based ride-sharing platforms like Uber and Lyft transformed the way people in cities get around — and not always for the better. It nearly decimated the taxi industry while offering riders a more seamless way to travel. But it also choked many cities with car traffic and disrupted labor with the popularization of gig work. The Verge covers all the news and analysis related to ride-sharing as well as what the future holds for this mode of transportation.
Takeout on demand first expanded to groceries, and then to other retail, but the branding hasn’t always kept up. With Uber Eats now delivering from Best Buy, that opens the door to some pretty strange dinner orders,
jackcousteau:
Not confusing at all. I’m going to grubhub my next network appliance.
Get the day’s best comment and more in my free newsletter, The Verge Daily.
That’s how frequent Uber received a report of sexual assault or sexual misconduct in the US between 2017 and 2022, on average, according to a new investigation by The New York Times. That amounts to a staggering total of 400,181 Uber trips that involve reports of assault or misconduct. Uber’s official number of “serious sexual assault and misconduct” over that period is only 12,522; the company estimates that 75 percent of those 400,000 cases involve “less serious” incidents of harassing comments or flirting. Still, Uber says its working on the problem, but anonymous employees say the company is ignoring promising solutions.
[nytimes.com]
After a ride, you’ll be able to mark a driver as a favorite and Lyft will prioritize matching you with them when possible.
Uber and one of the ridehail company’s many robotaxi partners, Wayve, announced today that they will begin testing Level 4 autonomous vehicles in London on public roads as soon as 2026. The timing coincides with the UK Secretary of State for Transport’s announcement of “an accelerated framework for self-driving commercial pilots, following the Automated Vehicles Act becoming law last month. Trials have been underway for a while, but always with a safety driver in the front seat. Now the companies can remove the driver from the vehicle, but in doing so they will accept full liability if the vehicle crashes.
The head of Uber on autonomous cars, shared rides, and the future of mobility.
Waymo’s robotaxis are available exclusively on the Uber app in the Texas capital, and today the ridehailing company provided some color on how that partnership is going since its launch in early March. Waymo’s approximately 100 vehicles in Austin are “busier than over 99% of all drivers in Austin in terms of completed trips per day,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in prepared remarks during the company’s Q1 earnings call. He added, “So far, this launch has exceeded our expectations.”
[s23.q4cdn.com]
Uber and China’s WeRide are currently operating a small fleet of autonomous cars in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, and plan on launching soon in Dubai. Now they expect to deploy robotaxi service to 15 additional cities, some of which will be in Europe, over the next five years.
Momenta will deploy its autonomous vehicles on Uber’s ridehailing platform starting in 2026, initially with safety drivers on board. For availability, Uber is only saying they’ll be in “international markets outside of the US and China.”
Momenta has received investment funding from a number of noteworthy supporters, including China’s state-owned SAIC Motor, GM, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, and Bosch. Meanwhile, Uber has robotaxi deals with (deep breath) May Mobility, Waymo, Motional, Avride, WeRide, and Volkswagen for self-driving cars, and Serve, Cartken, and Nuro for delivery robots.
Waymo and other robotaxi operators argue they need to charge higher fares to control demand. Are they risking public backlash?
Users on the Uber app can sign up to gain early access to the robotaxi service, which will take people across 65 square miles of Atlanta, including Downtown, Buckhead, and Capitol View. Waymo says “select riders” who join the waitlist “may get access to Waymo rides ahead of the public launch.”
Last month, Waymo similarly launched in Austin exclusively through Uber.
The ridehail company’s partnership with AV developer WeRide is launching in Dubai, after several months of successful trips in Abu Dhabi. The vehicles still include safety drivers and won’t be fully driverless until later this year, Uber says. Uber is also working with Waymo in Austin, Texas, and has several other AV partnerships in the works.
The new partnership will create integrations across the Uber Eats, Uber, and OpenTable apps to “offer dining reservation access and seamless transportation options, membership benefits, and more.” The companies plan to roll out these integrations in “phases” throughout 2025.
The popular online grocer will now offer same-day delivery in New York City via Uber Eats, the companies announced today. It’s the first time that Fresh Direct’s catalog will be available on a third-party app. And it will provide Uber Eats more ammunition in its war against Amazon, Instacart, Walmart, and other players in the online grocery delivery space. Especially now as all those super-rapid venture-backed grocery delivery startups evaporated.
Avride’s fleet of sidewalk delivery robots has arrived in Jersey City, New Jersey, where they will begin ferrying Uber Eats orders starting this week. The bots have a range of 31 miles and can drive at up to 5mph, even through rain or snow.
They’ll only deliver at select restaurants in the area to start, including Jiangnan, Rumi Turkish Grill, and others. Avride has also launched its delivery robots in Dallas and Austin as part of its partnership with Uber.
The rideshare company just reported its first full year of profitability (based on generally accepted accounting principles). And it only took *checks notes* 13 years! (Uber accomplished this last year.) Net income for 2024 was $22.8 million on adjusted earnings of $382.4 million, compared to a net loss of $340.3 million in 2023. Gross bookings were up 17 percent, and revenue was up 31 percent. But shares were down in after-market trading based on a slightly gloomier than expected outlook for 2025. Still, a significant milestone for the historically money-losing rideshare company.
[investor.lyft.com]
