Uber Extends its Partnership with Alipay to Rule the Cab Industry

The American app based cab service provider will let its customers pay through the Chinese payment app even outside China

Uber technologies is extending its 2 -year-old collaboration with a famous payment service. While chasing Chinese consumers, the American application based cab service provider is currently running after digital wallets.

On 3^rd May 2016, the ride sharing organization stated it would start to permit its Chinese customers to pay for trips using famous China based digital payments application Alipay when they visit over 400 cities and 68 states.

Under the partnership, now the service offered by Uber will also be offered through the mobile payment application of Alipay, letting the transporter cross the line and reach the 450 million Chinese customers of Alibaba’s payment service.

The measure taken by the California based organization is to help it take a dominating position in the possibly large Chinese ride sharing market, where the local cab service Didi Chuxing leads is ahead of it.

The competition between the 2 organizations has in recent times also crossed the borders of China when the Chinese taxi company announced in 2015 that it would partner with 3 other ride-sharing organizations to compete with Uber.

In March 2016, the customers of Didi Chuxing were ultimately able to begin using their mobile application to request a ride through Lyft when touring the US, and similar collaborations are proposed with local ride sharing organizations in the Southeast Asian region, through Grab and in India, through Ola.

The extended partnership of Uber with Alipay could help  CEO Travis Kalanick’s organization battle for Chinese frequent visitors due to which they won’t longer need to connect extra payment methods in Uber when moving.

Chinese riders would also be in a position to book Uber rides through the app of Alipay without downloading the application of the organization. Facilties such as Alipay are quite highly significant in the country and for suppliers, which are interested to run their operations there because a large number of Chinese consumers are without credit cards, Liu stated.

Because it is famous, the payment service also lets sellers immediately attain trust from Chinese customers when they find out that they can spend through the facility, the US chief of Alipay spoke to Fortune in the summer of 2015.

The organizations refused to disclose information regarding their economic arrangement, though Emil Michael, who serves Uber as its SVP of business pointed that the payment service provider conventionally charges commissions from transactions it provides other facilities as a hint.

Yet, the war is not won for Uber still- the payment app already supports the service offered by Didi Chuxing which can also be availed through massively famous applications such as Tencent Map, Ali trip and WeChat told the spokesman of Didi Chuxing

 

Uber Rules Taxi Industry Of London

Uber is offering rides to thousands of London residents to reign the market

In London, Uber is downloaded by 30,000 people every week to theirsmartphones and request a ride for the first time. The American application based cab service provider, which is valued at $60 billion, knows this moment “conversion”. It has used its ride-sharing platform in 400 cities across the world since it was launched in San Francisco on May 31, 2010, which indicates that it is introduced in a new transportation market every 8 hours and 5 days.

When one uses its service initially, it sets great store as Apple does by paying attention to one’s first encounter with any of its products. With the transporter, the feeling must be plenty, and one should be assured that one would always have a driver when needed.

When a user opens the application, the logo of Uber flaps briefly prior to the disclosure of the city streets around him/her, and the grey, still promising shapes of automobiles moving nearby. This invokes a sense of abundance making one think that the company has been continuously here, that its foothold in one’s neighborhood is to a certain extent ordained and natural.

However, this is not the case. To serve its customers in the city, the company flies in a small group, called as “launchers” and recruits its first local worker, who is tasked to recruit riders and find driving partners. In London, that used to be a young Scotland based banker called Richard Howard.

Richard was 27 and had recently been made redundant by HSBC Holdings, where he used to sell credit default swaps, a type of derivative, which turned notorious during economic crisis. He grew up in Glasgow, where his father used to sell musical instruments.

The bonus-driven investment-banking atmosphere did not suit Howard. In November half a decade ago, he had a feeling that tech company should be upcoming thing, When he left that job in Nov 2011, he discovered the glimmers of technology. He started to trawl tech news and like many people, was hit by reports that financing round for Uber was being held in the upcoming month.

It was not merely the money – a value of $300 million for an organization that he had continuously been running for 1 year and 5 months – but the serious attitude of the involved players: Goldman Sachs, Menlo Ventures and Amazon’s founder and CEO Jeff Bezos.

Uber technologies started as a luxury service provider. “Everyone’s Private Driver” was its tagline. The origin myth of the organization is that its two founders Travis Kalanick and Garret Camp, came out of a technology conference known as Le Web in Paris in Dec 2008 and could not get a taxi.

 

Uber Tries To Attract Conventional Cab Drivers In Africa

The American app-based cab service is trying to attract traditional taxi drivers in Africa to penetrate into the the region’s cab industry

Uber is aiming to grow in Ghana, Uganda and Tanzania in 2016 and will concentrate on convincing conventional cab drivers to serve the ride sharing business, stated an official of Uber technologies, Alon Lits. Traffic-packed roads, shortage of credit cards, and high urban crime rates are huge challenges the transporter faces in the Sub-Saharan African region, where it runs its operations in seven cities in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.

Uber’s largest problem is the one it is facing from Rio to Rome – the battle with conventional cab drivers who view the American application based cab service provider as one threatening their livelihoods.

In the capital city of Kenya, the fastest expanding market of the Californian company in the sub-Saharan African region, Uber driving partner was attack in February 2016 after the Government of Kenya rejected calls by the taxi association of Kenya to impose a ban on the organization. His car was burned.

The strategy of the organization will make the conventional cab drivers realize that they should work for the US company, while they can keep working independently, but if they don’t have a fare, they can also opt to use Uber smartphone app to offer rides to earn extra money.

Alan said the organization, which runs operations in over 400 cities across the world, will establish its West and East Africa “hubs” in Lagos and Nairobi to act as launch pads for entering in Ghana, Uganda and Tanzania, and would start running its operations in Kenya and Nigeria.

In North America and Europe, accounts of the cab service provider are connected to a credit card of a customer, which eliminates the requirement for cash. In sub-Saharan African region, where just around two-thirds of people are owners of bank accounts, low usage of credit cards has proved to be another impediment to the growth of the transporter.

Mr. Lit said the experiment of the organization in Kenya to allow riders to pay the charged fares with mobile money or cash had fuelled the growth in Nairobi, where around 100,000 people open the ride-hailing application once in a month.

Alan told the overtures of the organization to prospective full-time drivers of Uber in the sub-Saharan African region – where the taxi service was introduced three years ago – would mainly be financial. As with conventional cabs, most of the driving partners of the transporter rent their automobiles, which cuts down their income.

In Nigeria and Kenya, the taxi company seeks to make renting automobiles affordable for its driving partners.

 

Cab Drivers In Kenya Protests Against Uber

Cab drivers are launching protests against Uber to shut it down in Nairobi.

Cabbies are launching protests against the presence of Uber service provider in Nairobi, Kenya. They told its lower fares are forcing them to go out of the business and are asking the Government to shut the transportation service down. Two suspects were arrested recently as they were alleged for attacking an Uber driver in the city.

Kenya’s United Taxi Organization rejected the allegation that its members were responsible for attacking the drivers. Nevertheless, the company pledged to bring the capital of Kenya to an unending halt unless the government shuts down the cab service, which investors have valued at $50 billion.

During the past few weeks, Uber drivers have complained that they were harassed and threatened with the company doing a little for helping them. Andrew, aged 54, who worked as Uber driver for almost 12 months, told Quartz that on January 19, a group of people surrounded his vehicle and tried to pull him out of it.

Andrew only succeeded in getting away after he was able to drive through the group. He and others want the company to collaborate with the Kenyan police for setting up an emergency hotline and hire the services of a security service provider. He states that up till now, the only advice given by the organization to drivers is if their vehicles is damaged, they should take them to the Uber office in Centeral Nairobi.

Another driver, 36-year-old Stephen, former airline dispatcher, who worked with Uber for approximately six months, said he suffered from harassment twice. On January 28, he picked up a rider in the central business district of Nairobi when many vehicles surrounded him.

Stephen sped up, crossed over the median into what could have incoming traffic if it would not have been early morning. Passengers of Uber technologies are adversely affected by the battle and they are tired of the service.

When a driving partner of the Californian taxi company came to pick up social worker, Anne Chen, and her 3-year-old daughter from outside a famous shopping mall in Nairobi, a group of drivers surrounded the car and blocked her from entering it.

Anne decided not to take the car. She asked the driver to leave prior to the worsening situation. She emailed to the company complaining about the escalation of the battle.

Uber replied it is aware of the incidents and now collaborates with all the relevant parties and authorities to address the situation.

 

UberChina Raises Funding at $7 Billion Valuation

After raising funds from a number of Chinese businesses, UberChina’s valuation has reached $7 billion.

Uber said on Monday that it has received fresh funds that have benefited its growing China division with $7bn, as it brought in local collaborators for aiding its war against a local Chinese competitor.

The global cab company, which is fighting a ferocious battle with a Chinese startup ‘Didi Kuaidi Joint Co. for capturing a market share, told it now counts Chinese car manufacturer ‘Guangzhou Automobile Company Group’, China’s largest life insurance company ‘China Life Insurance’, and airline operator ‘HNA Group’, as investors in its China division, UberChina.

China is a rare overseas market where the American company has lagged behind a local competitor. CEO Travis Kalanick has made China a focal point for the rapid global growth of the company, earmarking $1bn in 2015 for that state alone and establishing an independent Chinese organization, UberChina, with the help of the local mapping and search engine company ‘Baidu’.

Uber told that the $7bn valuation for its division in China was before its success in raising extra funds from the second round of UberChina, which follows a first fundraising round in 2015 that raised $1.2bn to finance its growth plans.

Mr. Travis revealed the Chinese investors in his speech in Beijing. Didi Kuaidi, which was established by merging two competing cab apps, early in 2015, has formidably challenged the transporter in receiving funds and operations.

Didi Kuaidi succeeded in closing a $3bn funding round in 2015 at a valuation of $16bn in the largest single placement raised by a venture capital-backed business. It has counted Alibaba and Tencent as its major shareholders. Both parties in China’s ride-sharing battle sought support of big homegrown partners to push them up in financing and growing operations.

Uber technologies has sought help from two Chinese insurance companies, China Taiping Insurance and China Life, while the Beijing-based company received support from Ping0020An Insurance Group and $740bn sovereign-wealth fund China Investment Corporation.

Both organizations have disbursed most of the funds received on subsidies to lure Chinese riders and motorists to their services. Uber succeeded with its private car offerings and Didi leads the homegrown cab-hailing business.

Didi is also challenging Uber on its local turf by making an investment of $100m into a primary Uber rival, Lyft. Didi along with some other Asian taxi companies, have established a coalition, called in technology circles as the “anti-Uber alliance,” to let every app user hire cabs from using the app of their home country while travelling overseas.

 

 

 

Seattle City Council Empowers Lyft And Uber Drivers To Unionize

Uber’s driving partners might negotiate their working conditions and compensation in the future.

App-based taxi service provider, Uber’s driving partners might be able to establish a union. After destroying his Kia Soul’s clutch in 2014, Don Creery purchased a new vehicle with an auto transmission. He came in debt for the automobile because he thought it was an investment. He had recently started to drive fulltime in Seattle for the cab companies, Uber and Lyft, and was earning money.

Since the two ride-sharing enterprises have lowered the fares, they charge riders for riders and ended the incentives offered to hire drivers. Mr. Don stated he now has to drive for 10 to 12 hours per day to receive the funds he previously did when he worked for 6 to 8 hours.

Uber news reported that today, the Seattle City Council aims to carry out voting on a tabled legislation to give on-demand freelance drivers, such  as Don, the right to jointly negotiate on working conditions and pay – a right which is already reserved for daily workers. Mr. Don and many other fellow motorists in the city played a role in pushing the bill. The hope, he stated, is to equip the motorists with a bargaining ability as far as the amount they would be paid is concerned.

“Early on, these companies were really great,” stated Mr. Don, 62, a lifelong resident of Seattle whose key source of income is driving for Lyft and Uber. “But when it comes down to it, they keep lowering their rates on us.”

If Mr. Don and his fellows are successful – and initial indications are optimistic – the group they are a part of, the App-Based Drivers Association (ABDA), would turn into the first association of on-demand contract employees in the US to get an unequivocal right to unionize which can run afoul of federal legislation.

If employees in other American cities also push to empower themselves as Creery and his fellows have done, it can spur a possible shift in the American contract employees’ rights, one that can affect the bottom line of Uber and its $62.5 billion estimation.

The proposed legislation is the most recent worker issue to trouble Uber, which is known for letting persons hire rides through a smartphone application and earns an approximately 20 to 30% share of every fare. The most valued startup has been questioned regarding the classification of its employees as full time workers instead of contractors, and Uber has been involved in the lawsuit.

Uber technologies informed that the Office of the California Labor Commissioner’s ruling classified transportation service provider’s former driver as a worker. The Californian organization has filed an appeal against the decision.

 

 

 

Uber Should Play By The Rules To Grow In Belgium

Belgian city, Charleroi, welcomes Uber but requires the company to play by the rules.

Uber has a chance to grow in the European Union. Since its arrival in Feb 2014, the transporter has been troubled in Belgium. In the EU member state, its driving partners have not only been recurrently attacked by angry cab drivers but have also faced the hostility of enthusiastic regulatory bodies who have imposed fines worth €10,000 on it and impounded it drivers’ vehicles.

A demonstration by the city’s authorized cabs blocked the city center. In the meantime, Uber’s workers were even followed home by angry cab drivers. In September, a judge gave a ruling that UberPop – an inexpensive ride-sharing service known for letting part-time drivers transport commuters around cities – had to cease its operations. Uber news affirmed that it discontinued the service in October.

The country has proved to be tough market for the company. Ever after being struck in Brussels, it has planned to introduce its services in Charleroi and Wallonia’s picturesque capital, Namur, the once prospering but now troubled industrial region in South of Belgium. It would probably be challenged by the same issues that troubled it in the Belgian capital because well-known cab groups are hesitant to let the smartphone driven cab service enter their market.

Regulatory bodies and politicians have indicated that the company may be greeted there if it complies with the regulations. Head of Wallonia’s local government, Mayor Paul Magnette, stated, “In Charleroi, the problem emerged well before Uber because of the airport”.

Uber news today exclaimed that the Southern Belgian city is home of an airport known as “Brussels South Charleroi” which is known for underplaying the 60 minutes long travelling time between the EU center and the runway. Although inexpensive flights from airlines, such as Ryanair, enter the airbase daily, transportation links responsible for connecting Brussels with the airport are not up to the mark.

Accordingly, high fares to Brussels are essential and at €60 per ride, profitable portion of the ride-hailing business in Charleroi, which the company would be interested in undertaking. However, it would not be the only one to challenge the city’s established cabs. Other organizations have already made efforts to act in a similar manner, stated Magnette.

Uber technologies informed that the mayor stated, “We had a kind of free Uber situation years ago: a black economy of people inventing Uber before Uber, offering those services before Uber, and so on. This has been apparent for quite a number of years.”

It could be assumed that it would succeed in growing in Belgium.

 

 

Uber’s Luxury Cab Services In Calgary

Uber might fail to launch its luxury cab services in Calgary, as it states that amendments to reduce fares are not enough to penetrate into the transportation market.

Uber’s services are proving to be quite expensive. The Californian organization has stated that recommended amendments to reduce fares of limousine and luxurious sedan facilities are not enough to penetrate into the transportation market of the Canadian city, Calgary.

Uber Canada’s communication lead, Xavier Van Chau, stated, “What we urge council to consider would be that there is no minimum fare and that the market could set it. As a business, what we could then do is evaluate within the market what price point would best serve those drivers in terms of fares and riders in terms of cost of trip.”

Uber news affirmed that the city committee has closely endorsed suggestions earlier by the Taxi and Limousine Advisory Committee to relax bylaws around luxury sedans and limousines. Councilors voted 4-3 to dismiss an existing half-hour pre-booking legislation, cut the minimum charges from $85 to $25, and increase the versions of automobiles that are considered as a limo or sedan. The newly introduced minimum charge would not be applied for sedans or limousines that are providing services within the airport zone.

Uber news today exclaimed that the recommended amendments would also get rid of the current fare and launch a new distance-based fare program, based on a $2.10 per kilometer charge. Operators would compute that distance utilizing a GPS-enabled smartphone application. The plan would be voted in council on Monday.

Some claimed that alterations would promote a more competitive marketplace and enhance client service. Others argued that it would play its role in developing an unregulated industrial sector and attract many taxis currently battling to earn an income from the business. Chau stated that customers are trying to find out more transportation services at an affordable charge.

Uber technologies confirmed that Uber Black facility could be availed nowadays by the residents of Toronto who are being charged a base rate of $8, along with fifty cents charged for each minute and another $2.70 charged for each kilometer. Calgary’s chief inspector supported the plan to fix the minimum charge for luxury sedans and limo at $25 and charge another $2.10 per kilometer to defend riders and cab operators.

It is probable that this initiative would not be welcomed by the residents of Calgary and threatens its rivals. The Canadian authorities have taken the anti-Uber decision at a time when the transporter’s rivals have joined to battle with it in the taxi markets around the world.

 

 

Drivers Sue Uber While Challenging Fundamental Business Model

Uber is fighting a legal war with its three drivers, who believe that they should be treated as its employees.

Uber has taken a step to defend its operations. Uber news affirmed that the Californian enterprise has appealed against a federal judge’s certification of a class-action petition that tends to challenge its basic commercial platform.

Uber news today revealed that a federal judge approved class-action status to a petition brought forward by three driving partners who have claimed that they are the organization’s workers, not contracted operators, and therefore have the right to healthcare benefits and other charges normally paid by an employer. The U.S District Judge, Edward Chen’s ruling declared that the petition should be applied to all Uber employees in California, who have not renounced their right to the class-action arbitration.

Uber breaking news informed that the enterprise opposed with a 22-page appealing request claiming that Mr. Edward’s decision is “manifestly erroneous” and the court should reconsider its judgment. In the lawsuit, Uber’s lawyer, Ted Boutrous, raised the question that how a petition applicable to three driving partners could be a representative of many others, as their backgrounds differ from each other and how they employ a facility, an idea at which Uber’s legal team has focused in a hearing last month.

The company’s market value has increased to $51,000,000,000 on the ground that it is operating an application-based network linking passengers and drivers, rather than a taxi company that owns vehicles and hires drivers.

If the litigation is successful enough, Uber could be compelled to pay employees compensation, health insurance, and work expenditures, such as car repairs, fuel, and tolls. The legal battle is being given extraordinary importance in Silicon Valley where a significant number of emerging enterprises are relying on independent contractual workers to supply food, do tasks and chores, and wash houses. Several other businesses have been challenged by similar legal actions, and a few have changed their commercial model partly resulting from potential legal wars.

The lawyer representing the three drivers, Shannon Liss-Riordan, stated that the transporter’s appeal is impulsive because Mr. Edward is still trying to determine the latitude of the class certification.

“I would be very surprised for it to be reversed,” she stated in an e-mail. “There is nothing novel about certifying these claims; independent contractor misclassification cases are typically addressed on a classwide basis.”

It is probable that conventional taxi companies and their drivers would enjoy the legal dispute. Industry experts have claimed that the recent development would damage Uber’s reputation.

The corporate executives of the company should ensure that its appeal succeeds to retain its position in the highly competitive market.

 

Uber Faces Strong Criticism Amidst Strikes And Demonstrations

Protests are being held against the American app-based Uber’s policy.

Driving partners are troubling the American app-based taxi service, Uber. Uber news affirmed that after conversing with the company’s executives in Dallas for 2 hours about new plans, which have been opposed by many SUVs’ drivers, one of the many protestors came out of the company’s downtown Dallas office and stated that the ride-sharing platform operating company’s representatives would consider their issues.

Kirubel Kebede addressed a crowd of about 70 protestors whose numbers crossed 200 previously in the day. Uber technologies revealed that its executives would inform the cab operators by 5 p.m. today whether they would review the decision to require UberBlack to avail rides from the much affordable Uber X network’s users.

Majority of the demonstrators who came today on the West End remained uncertain that the firm would address their issues. They stated that they have planned to stay on the sidewalk outside the company’s Dallas office until it reviews the recently introduced strategy. Yessuf Shebeshe stated, “They can individually let us go, but with a group like us, they are losing money. They can’t lose us.”

The San Francisco based company’s drivers are demonstrating against what they perceived as unjust conduct. In front of its West End offices on Market Street, drivers have held  signs that state, among others , “ Stop exploiting drivers,” “ Stop cheating your drivers,” “Where is my tip” and “ We didn’t sign up for this”.

Uber news today reported that the operators of UberBlack are doomed because they procured costly black SUVs just before the organization pooled the market with the UberX, which is much cheaper than the limousine-like Black service. The company is also cutting down the fare of UberX rides to battle with Lyft.

The operators of UberBlack have also stated that they are being compelled to offer rides to UberX passengers. Industrial analysts believe that the recently launched protests would not only damage the company’s reputation but also play a significant role in cutting down its market share, sales revenue, and profits. It is probable that the transporter’s rivals would welcome the protests, as it would help them replace Uber.

Officials at Uber should see that the transporter’s concerns are addressed to retain its position in the highly competitive market. Any sort of delay by the management would injure its credibility due to prolonged strikes and demonstrations. However, the company assured drivers about the resolution of their issues but this is not the first time it has faced such circumstances.