What’s new in the taxi world? Our bilingual ‘update’ summarises the international news of the last days and hours. As some of the links are in foreign languages, we recommend using a website translator.
International News
The City of Brussels plans far-reaching taxi reforms: We summarise the essential elements again.
http://www.taxiintelligence.com/new-brussels-taxi-plan-something-for-everyone/
UberPOP customer data on the black market: An unbelievable story from the online magazine Motherboard. Access data to thousands of user accounts are available for purchase on the Internet. In addition to user names and passwords, the data also include the last four numbers and expiry dates of credit cards.
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/stolen-uber-customer-accounts-are-for-sale-on-the-dark-web-for-1
UN Women withdraws from cooperation with Uber: After massive protests, the organisation has rescinded its partnership with Uber just one week after announcing it.
Emergency plan against air pollution: Under specific conditions, cars in Beijing can only be driven every second day and will now have to take turns circulating between even and odd number plates. Electric cars are of course the exception. This explains why there are significantly more electric taxis in China than in Europe.
http://english.cri.cn/12394/2015/03/30/4081s872212.htm
Quote of the day
“But lost amid today’s news is the fact that Uber’s most egregious law-breaking spree continues to happen here in dozens of American cities by operating as a taxi service without following the proper safety and insurance requirements.”
The U.S. taxi association comments on the Uber bans from the past two weeks.
Automobile news
Next Prius model with 15 per cent less fuel consumption: When Toyota introduces its New Global Architecture, the future models will feature significant improvements in terms of fuel consumption. This includes the new Prius, which will be 15% more efficient.
http://www.hybridcars.com/toyotas-new-powertrain-could-lead-to-58-mpg-prius/
News from Germany
Mobile payment via Taxi Deutschland app: A few weeks after taxi.eu, the Taxi Deutschland app now offers the option of paying for the ride directly via smartphone.
http://www.itespresso.de/2015/03/27/taxi-deutschland-app-akzeptiert-nun-auch-kreditkarten/
Uber’s long road to legality: Frankfurt’s taxi association comments on the announcement made by the U.S. company, which intends to offer its services in Germany on an exclusively legal basis in the future.
http://www.taxi-vereinigung-frankfurt.de/images/PMUber.pdf
News from Switzerland
Uber operating beyond major cities in Switzerland: Vehicles can also be hailed in eastern Aargau via the Uber app.
autonomous drive
Mercedes opens the discussion: Mercedes believes that “responsible autonomous driving is based on rights and ethics.” This is why Daimler encourages an open discussion on the legal and ethical concerns with regard to autonomous driving.
http://media.daimler.com/dcmedia/0-921-614316-49-1801960-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0.html
Our last words
Happy Easter! This was the 21st Taxi Times Update in 2015 and the last edition before the Easter holidays. We wish you a happy Easter and good luck on your egg hunt! The Taxi Times team
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