Ride-sharing startup Lyft this morning announced that it is kicking off the roadshow for its IPO — setting the clock ticking for its IPO likely in around two weeks. Around that, it also filled in some more details. The stock will trade as “LYFT” on Nasdaq and the IPO range is currently set for between […]
View More Lyft sets $62-68 price range for its IPO to raise $2B, will trade as LYFT on NasdaqCategory: ride-sharing
Usain Bolt promotes e-scooters in New York, where it’s illegal to ride them
The world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt, stood on the steps of New York City Hall on Tuesday to promote the national launch of e-scooter sharing company, Bolt Mobility.
The two Bolts share a name, so it only made sense that Bolt the company would bring Bolt the human onboard as its official brand ambassador. At the conference, standing next to Bolt the man was the company’s newly unveiled “Chariot,” a scooter model large enough to store a rider’s bags and comes complete with two cup holders.
Bolt Mobility brand ambassador Usain Bolt poses atop the “Chariot” model e-scooter, which he could not actually legally ride at the New York press conference.
Image: matt binder / mashable Read more…
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Lyft is launching a rider loyalty program in December
Ride-sharing service Lyft is today announcing its new plan to encourage repeat use: the launch of a loyalty program for riders, Lyft Rewards. The program, which will begin rolling out next month to select riders across the U.S., will let riders earn points for each dollar spent, which can then be used for upgrades to […]
View More Lyft is launching a rider loyalty program in DecemberLime brings electric bike and scooter sharing to Australia
Electric scooter and bike sharing company Lime has rolled into Australia, launching in Sydney on Friday.
The Californian company’s bright green, dockless electric vehicles have been released into the streets, with 300 e-bikes distributed through Sydn…
Uber launches program to reward high-performing drivers
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Driving for Uber isn’t always the most rewarding experience. Strangers puke in your car. Riders tip poorly. You might not break even if you’re leasing a car. A recent driver survey from ride-sharing guide Ridester showed the average hourly wage is not even $15.
So Uber has devised a reward program called Uber Pro to motivate and recognize hard-working and committed drivers — and it’s not just about cramming the most rides into a day. Uber wants to reward drivers who offer a high-quality experience and are dedicated to their driving duties.
On Thursday, Uber Pro debuted its pilot program in Seattle, Chicago, New Orleans, Orlando, Tampa, Phoenix, Denver, and New Jersey. Based on how it goes, Uber hopes to expand across the country and eventually internationally. Read more…
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Waze offers carpool rides like Lyft and Uber, but for way less
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The carpool lane looks so alluring, but as a lone driver it’s very much off limits. Unless you pick someone up to ride along with you.
That’s what the aptly named Waze Carpool service hopes to do: pair riders and drivers looking to share a ride and whiz through traffic — or at least slog through it a bit faster.
On Wednesday, Google-owned navigation app Waze finally expanded its Carpool service throughout the U.S. The low-cost ride-sharing option first rolled out in 2016 in a few U.S. cities and later opened up in California, Massachusetts, Texas, Washington, Illinois, and Nevada. Now it’s in all 50 states. Carpool is also available in Brazil and Israel (Waze started as an Israeli company). Read more…
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View More Waze offers carpool rides like Lyft and Uber, but for way lessAre you obligated to talk in the UberPOOL?
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Shared rides on Uber and Lyft are a fairly easy way to save some cash on your Saturday night trip home. There’s just one caveat: While you are sitting in the car, one or two other people — strangers — are sitting in the car, too. What’s more, they might want to talk to you.
Are you obligated to talk to them?
Of course, people with different propensities for socializing will probably have different answers to this question. And if your fellow rider tries to strike up a convo, answering is (usually, but not always) the polite thing to do.
But what general vibe should you be emitting here? Do you have to be “on,” or is it OK to stare out the window and pretend that you are not alive? Read more…
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Ola raises $50M at a $4.3B valuation from two Chinese funds
Ola, the arch-rival of Uber in India, has raised $50 million at a valuation of about $4.3 billion from Sailing Capital, a Hong Kong-based private equity firm, and the China-Eurasian Economic Cooperation Fund (CEECF), a state-backed Chinese fund. The funding was disclosed in regulatory documents sourced by Paper.vc and reviewed by Indian financial publication Mint. […]
View More Ola raises $50M at a $4.3B valuation from two Chinese fundsUber appoints Coca-Cola veteran Rebecca Messina as its chief marketing officer
Uber announced today that it has hired Coca-Cola veteran Rebecca Messina to serve as its chief marketing officer. Messina is the first person to hold that title at Uber and will work with its international marketing teams on Uber’s branding and marketing strategies. Messina will oversee marketing for Uber as it gets ready for an […]
View More Uber appoints Coca-Cola veteran Rebecca Messina as its chief marketing officerRide-share companies offered New York $100M to drop proposed regulations
Lyft, Uber and Via yesterday made an offer to succor New York City’s beleaguered taxi medallion owners: a $100M relief fund paid over five years to cover the plight of these poor souls. But the city, in its arrogance, refused this generosity! How could they? Perhaps because it was because the money was contingent on New York dropping its proposed regulations of the ride-sharing industry. In this light it’s hard to perceive it as much more than city officials rejecting a bribe.
View More Ride-share companies offered New York $100M to drop proposed regulationsBus-sharing app Shuttl gets $11M Series B from investors including Amazon India
Shuttl, a service that lets Indian city dwellers find seats on multiple bus routes through one app, announced today that it has raised a $11 million Series B led by Amazon India, Amazon Alexa Fund and Dentsu Ventures. Returning investors Sequoia Capital, Times Internet and Lightspeed Ventures also participated. The Gurgaon-based startup’s last round of […]
View More Bus-sharing app Shuttl gets $11M Series B from investors including Amazon IndiaUber hit 10 billion rides even after boycotts, tumultuous leadership
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Ten billion.
That’s a big number no matter how you break it down. For Uber, it’s now the number of trips that have been taken using the service since the app launched in 2010. And since 2014 that growing number also includes Uber Eat food deliveries.
The San Francisco-based company hit the 10 billion trip milestone last month when 173 trips took off in 21 countries and people ordered food in five countries — some of those orders included noodles, burgers, tacos, sushi, and a McDonald’s meal.
How you get to 10 billion.
Image: Uber
Of those simultaneous rides (all of which helped Uber hit the milestone), the shortest was an Uber Eats delivery of just over a half-mile. The longest was a 41-mile ride to the Denver airport. Within the group of rides that helped Uber reach 10 billion trips, five riders were on their first Uber trip ever. Took them a while. Read more…
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View More Uber hit 10 billion rides even after boycotts, tumultuous leadership