Lyft surges to the top 10 on Apple’s App Store following the #DeleteUber campaign | TechCrunch

January 30, 2017 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Lyft’s app has surged in the App Store thanks to the “Delete Uber” campaign which took place via social media over the weekend. People were angry that Uber appeared to be taking advantage of a taxi strike at JFK in order to promote its car-hailing service. The company had tweeted that surge pricing at JFK had been switched off, shortly after the NY Taxi Workers Alliance called for a stop on pickups at the airport in response to what they said was the “inhumane, unconstitutional ban of Muslim refugees and travelers.”

The Taxi Workers Alliance had asked all drivers, Uber included, to not pick up at JFK on Saturday, January 28th from 6 PM to 7 PM as a means of protesting Trump’s immigration and refugee ban.

“We cannot be silent. We go to work to welcome people to a land that once welcomed us,” the taxi union had written on Twitter.

The ‘Uber for X’ Fad Will Pass Because Only Uber Is Uber | WIRED

December 12, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

“UBER FOR X” has been the headline of more than four hundred news articles. Thousands of would-be entrepreneurs used the phrase to describe their companies in their pitch decks. On one site alone—AngelList, where startups can court angel investors and employees—526 companies included “Uber for” in their listings. As a judge for various emerging technology startup competitions, I saw “Uber for” so many times that at some point, I developed perceptual blindness.

Nearly all the organizations I advised at that time wanted to know about the “Uber for” of their respective industries. A university wanted to develop an “Uber for tutoring”; a government agency was hoping to solve an impending transit issue with an “Uber for parking.” I knew that “Uber for” had reached critical mass when one large media organization, in need of a sustainable profit center, pitched me their “Uber for news strategy.”

24% Of Americans Have Now Worked In The Platform Economy | Co.Exist

November 28, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Fully 24% of Americans have participated in the peer-to-peer or “sharing economy,” according to a new Pew Research report. Which is perhaps bigger than we thought.

Pew counts everyone who’s taken a task on a digital platform (like TaskRabbit), sold something to another community member (eBay), made something and sold it online (Etsy), driven their own cab (Uber), or rented a house (e.g. Airbnb). “These platforms also allow users to earn money in a range of other ways, such as sharing their possessions with others or selling their used goods or personal creations,” it says.

Can We Design An On-Demand Economy That Will Work For Everyone? | Co.Exist

October 6, 2016October 5, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

On weekends, LaNeisha, a 33-year-old in San Francisco, borrows a friend’s car to drive for Uber. When she discovered that she could rent out her closet for $290 through a startup called Roost, she turned it into a storage unit. She finds other gigs on Craiglist. For LaNeisha, who struggled to find work otherwise, it’s a way to survive. But it’s not easy.

A new report looks at the workers of the on-demand economy—from Lyft drivers and EatWith chefs to former McKinsey consultants who now use Catalant to find clients—and argues that we need to redesign platforms and policies so all of those workers can have sustainable livelihoods.

Judge rejects $100 million settlement between Uber and drivers | Money CNN

August 19, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

A federal judge has rejected a proposed $100 million settlement between Uber and its drivers.

The deal between Uber and drivers in California and Massachusetts did not compensate drivers enough, the judge ruled.

The April settlement was three years in the making. Its rejection could force Uber to dig deeper to reach a deal.

The lawsuits had charged that the drivers should be treated as employees, rather than independent contractors. That would have entitled the drivers to a variety of benefits, including overtime and health insurance. It also might have put Uber on the hook for some of the drivers expenses, such as gas and tolls.

Is the On-Demand Economy Helping or Hurting Entrepreneurship? | Business News Daily

June 16, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

On-demand services like Uber are becoming increasingly popular with consumers, but they’re also having a significant impact on entrepreneurship, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of Michigan, University of Minnesota and Temple University discovered that within one year of Uber and Postmates entering a new geographic location, entrepreneurial activity in those cities declined.

Uber teases a first look at its self-driving car | Mashable

May 19, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Get ready, Pittsburgh. Uber’s self-driving car is about to hit the road.

The ride-hailing company announced on Thursday that it will soon begin real-world testing of a car capable of driving without the aid of a human.

It also gave us our first peek at what that might look like:

London’s Black Cabs Turn To Crowdfunding To Fight Uber | TechCrunch

January 18, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The battle between London’s black cabs and upstart incomer Uber has been a relatively subdued affair thus far — aside from the odd scuffle and some roadblocking demonstrations last year. Not for Brits the violent displays of anger seen over the channel in France last summer.

But despite the lack of open street warfare in London there’s still no love lost between London’s distinctive — and heavily regulated — Black Cabs and the Silicon Valley upstart.

And now a group of London Black Cab supporters, called Action for Cabbies, is hoping to step up the fight by launching a crowdfunding campaign to push for a judicial review of Transport for London’s 2012 decision to grant Uber a licence to operate in the city.

It’s arguing that the procedures followed were wrong and that TfL has subsequently failed to enforce the law. The group is led by Artemis Mercer, the wife of a cabbie, who has also been running a campaign group on Facebook.

Operator! Operator! The UberRush Logistics Layer Has Arrived | TechCrunch

December 16, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The real goldmine for Uber is in becoming the transportation backend for tons of other services, not just its own apps. Now this logistics layer strategy is coming to fruition through a partnership with Operator, the chat-based shopping assistant backed by Uber co-founder Garret Camp.

Together, Uber and Operator they could compete with Amazon’s massive warehouses by aggregating inventory for instant delivery from local shops that are closer nearby.

Today, UberRush begins powering 1-hour delivery for Operator in San Francisco. At first, over 100 of the most popular gifts from the Westfield San Francisco Centre mall and Saks Fifth Avenue will be available for immediate arrival.

Inside Seattle’s Bold Plan to Let Its Uber Drivers Organize | WIRED

December 15, 2015 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

THE CLASH OVER classifying Uber drivers as independent contractors versus bona fide employees is the signature controversy of the on-demand economy. According to Uber, Lyft, and other on-demand driver companies, the independent contractor model offers the promise of a bright and flexible future in which each worker is a micro-entrepreneur—choosing her own hours and acting as her own boss. The problem, according to Uber detractors: these workers don’t receive benefits. And they can’t unionize.