Uber Wins Battle Against NYC

Via USA Today:

A proposed cap on Uber and other for-hire vehicles in New York City has been put on ice after the $40 billion start-up agreed to "not flood the streets" until questions about the impact of its growth on traffic can be determined. A bill to limit Uber and other for-hire taxis had been slated to go to a vote before the New York City Council on Thursday. The cap was to limit Uber and other for-hire vehicles until city officials could study their impact on the city's already clogged streets. In March, the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) reported that the number of Uber cars in NYC had outpaced yellow taxis for the first time. At the time, there were There are 14,088 cars, including luxury SUVs, affiliated with Uber in the city's five boroughs, compared with 13,587 yellow cabs, TLC said. That raised concerns about congestion, pollution and street parking.

COURT: Uber Drivers Are Employees

Via USA Today:

In a ruling that could significantly raise costs for ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft, the California Labor Commission ruled this week that a driver who filed a complaint against Uber Technologies was an employee, not an independent contractor. The driver, Barbara Berwick, was awarded a mere $4,152 — chump change for Uber. But the technology giant is appealing the ruling because it could significantly increase the $40 billion startup's costs.  Uber currently saddles its drivers with major vehicle costs — including the vehicle itself, maintenance, insurance and gas — by labeling its drivers independent contractors rather than employees. If Uber is forced to treat drivers as employees, it could bear a greater share of those costs, which will eat into its profits.  Uber has consistently held its global fleet of drivers at arms length by claiming it is merely matching drivers with riders. But the California Labor Commission this week said Uber also maintains a good deal of control over its drivers, which makes it more of an employer than "a neutral technological platform, designed simply to enable drivers and passengers to transact the business of transportation."

Uber plans to appeal the ruling, which they say is "non-binding and only applies to one driver."

NEW YORK CITY: Uber Temporarily Undercuts Fares Of Yellow Cabs

Uber has temporarily slashed its rates to just below those of New York City's licensed yellow cabs.

“UberX is now cheaper than an NYC taxi,” Uber proclaimed on its website on Monday. “From Brooklyn to the Bronx, and everywhere in between, UberX is now the most affordable ride in the city.” The move — an aggressive bid to capture an even bigger share of the city’s taxi riders — is a slap in the face to taxi drivers, whose prices are regulated. “Uber is taking over,” cabbie Ricardo Lopez, 60, a Staten Island resident, said after hearing the news about the Uber price cuts. “Uber is our biggest competition. They are making all the money for themselves.” “This is the type of competition that yellow taxis and green borough taxis cannot fairly compete with,” David King, an assistant professor of urban planning at Columbia University, told the Daily News.

Uber's new fares are from $1 - $5 lower than yellow cabs, depending on the length of the ride. The company won't say how much longer the lower fares will last.

RELATED: There are currently about 13,500 licensed yellow cabs on the streets of New York City. The price of a taxi medallion can exceed one million dollars.

Angry Cab Drivers Gridlock Major European Cities In Protest Over Uber App

Via the Guardian:

Several major European cities ground to a halt on Wednesday as licensed taxi drivers took to the streets in mass protests against the smartphone taxi app Uber. Demonstrations in London, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Milan and Rome caused travel chaos and long tailbacks, as taxi drivers protested against the app, which they argue is unregulated and threatens their livelihood. In London, Trafalgar Square and Whitehall were jammed from the start of the planned "go slow" at 2pm, as thousands of black cabs gathered honking their horns, bringing total gridlock to the centre of the capital, while supporters waved banners and started occasionally chanting: "Boris, out!" A spokeswoman for Uber, the US start-up which links minicab drivers to passengers via a GPS-based smartphone app, said the protests had boosted new users in London by 850%, as people tried to cope with the gridlock.

Uber App Is Now Worth $18B

Only four years after its launch, the company behind the car service app Uber is now worth more than Avis and Hertz combined. Via Forbes:

Uber’s meteoric rise has led to a recent round of valuation-guessing, which started at $12 billion and edged up to Friday, when the Wall Street Journal reported the company said it’s raising $1.2 billion — more than most startups are ever worth — at an $18.2 billion valuation. That valuation likely makes CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick a billionaire. It also means Uber, which raised $360 million in August at a $3.8 billion valuation, has almost quintupled its valuation in the past year. Uber is second, behind Facebook, in a list of most valuable venture-backed companies. Facebook raised a round in 2011 that valued it at $50 billion.

Uber's market cap now also exceeds those of United Continental Airlines, Sony,  and Fiat.