by admin | May 25, 2021 | Markets, Networking, Technology
San Francisco : Google has reportedly killed the ability of direct Uber ride booking from inside Google Maps without giving any reason.
The feature allowing users to book Uber rides through Google Maps was added in January last year, with which users could enter a location, identify their route, check Uber prices and request a ride without leaving the Maps app.
On one Google Maps Help page, Google simply says “you can no longer book Uber rides directly in Google Maps”, Android Police reported late on Monday.
Uber integration was pulled from Google Maps on iOS earlier then on Android, according to the report.
The ability to book an Uber through Maps allowed users to avoid the official Uber app, which has previously been criticised for its aggressive location tracking.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Toronto : In a case of Uber surge pricing rear its ugly head to one unfortunate Canadian, a rider was charged a whopping 18,518.50 Canadian dollars ($14,400) for a 20-minute ride in rush hour in Toronto.
Rider Hisham Salama took an Uber X on December 8 for a ride which would have cost him around $20 after surge prices. However, when he arrived at his destination, the trip charges showed 18,518.50 Canadian dollars as bill, CNET reported.
“Then about 20 minutes (later), when I was with my friend, I thought I should probably check my credit card to make sure everything was OK. It wasn’t — the charge was pending,” VICE quoted him as saying.
He said that he unsuccessfully tried to contact Uber, but received a call the next day, wherein an Uber representative informed him that the charge was right.
He also received a message from a support rep telling him that “based on the pickup and drop off locations of the trip you took, this fare is correct.”
Salama and his friends then took to social media to raise the voice against the issue. Salama was then refunded $150.
Since the refund was a minuscule amount compared to the giant sum he was charged, Salama’s friend Emily Kennard tweeted on December 9 that her friend was charged $18,518.50 Canadian dollars for a 20-minute ride through Toronto.
By then, multiple people had reached out to Uber on his behalf.
Only after people took to social media did Uber realise its mistake and issues full refund of the ride.
“There was an error, and we have provided a full refund. We sincerely apologise to this rider for his experience. We have safeguards in place to help prevent something like this from happening, and we are working to understand how this occurred,” an Uber spokesperson said.
Uber added that the issue “has been resolved”.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, Corporate Buzz, World
Tel Aviv : An Israeli court has ordered global ride-hailing app Uber to stop two of its services here in the absence of proper travel insurance.
The court banned UberDay and UberNight, the company’s private-car services, while UberTaxi that takes requests via licensed taxi drivers has not been affected, Jerusalem Post reported late on Monday.
“If they won’t get insurance, I won’t let them drive a meter,” Tel Aviv District Court Chief Justice Eitan Orenstein was quoted as saying.
The ruling came after the Ministry of Transportation issued an indictment against Uber in May, alleging it was operating without a government license.
“It remains illegal for unregistered private drivers to ferry passengers in return for payment, as many of the private Uber drivers operate without studying safety regulations and undergoing any form of testing,” the report added.
“We are committed to continuing to cooperate with the authorities, to examine how our technology can provide reliable, cost-effective and safe transportation options,” Uber Israel said in a statement.
In September, Uber was banned from operating in London for flouting safety regulations.
The company is under scrutiny after it revealed in November that two hackers “inappropriately accessed” names, email addresses and phone numbers of 57 million customers and drivers and the license numbers of around 600,000 drivers.
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said that the company in late 2016 became aware that two individuals outside the company had inappropriately accessed user data stored on a third-party cloud-based service that it uses.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Investing, Markets, Technology
San Francisco : Google has been reluctant about sharing how much it spends on self-driving technology but now, the number — over $1 billion — has been accidentally revealed while reviewing documents in the ongoing legal tussle between Google’s Waymo and Uber.
Google spent a whopping $1.1 billion on developing its self-driving software and hardware, says the recent deposition of Shawn Bananzadeh, a financial analyst at Waymo which was first reported by IEEE Spectrum’s Mark Harris.
Bananzadeh was testifying in the ongoing Waymo’s lawsuit against Uber which claims the ride-hailing company stole intellectual property and trade secrets to develop its own autonomous technology.
According to reports, throughout Bananzadeh’s deposition, every dollar amount was redacted to protect Waymo’s confidential commercial information.
Waymo has patented a technology that will make its self-driving cars soft on the outside if it comes across a situation where there is a possibility of an accident with a human.
Self-driving vehicles constantly communicate with one another to prevent crashes but this is the first time that an industry player came out with a solution to save pedestrians from accident.
Last month, the legal tussle between ride-hailing company Uber and Google’s parent company Alphabet escalated when the court allowed Uber to seek deposition of Alphabet CEO Larry Page for up to four hours.
Waymo filed a lawsuit against Uber earlier in 2017, alleging that the stolen information became the technological basis for the company’s self-driving cars.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Riyadh, (IINA) – The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), the Kingdom’s long-term sovereign investment arm, announced Thursday that it invested $3.5 billion in Uber, SPA reported.
The investment is one of PIF’s single largest international transactions to date, and it is the first since the Kingdom announced its Vision 2030, the overarching plan for diversifying the Kingdom’s economy. As part of this investment, PIF will take a seat on Uber’s Board of Directors.
Travis Kalanick, CEO and co-founder of Uber said: “We appreciate the vote of confidence in our business as we continue to expand our global presence”.
“Our experience in Saudi Arabia is a great example of how Uber can benefit riders, drivers, and cities. We appreciate the vote of confidence in our business and look forward to partnering with the Kingdom to support their economic and social reforms”, he added.
Uber currently serves nine countries and 15 cities across the Middle East and North Africa. In Saudi Arabia, Uber serves Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah, and the Eastern Province.
Uber is a technology platform that is evolving the way the world moves. By seamlessly connecting riders to drivers through its apps, Uber makes cities more accessible, opening up more possibilities for riders and more business for drivers. From its founding in 2009 to its launches in more than 400 cities today, Uber’s rapidly expanding global presence continues to bring people and their cities closer.
