Uber now has mapping cars in five continents following launch in Singapore

Uber is taking one more step forward with its mapping initiative by bringing map cars to Southeast Asia through its launch in Singapore. By having these cartographic cars, which basically have drivers ride around the city state with mapping tech on top of the cars, they are trying to collect data about Singapore based on real trips. They’ve done this here in the country, in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Australia, and South Africa.

Uber’s been working on trying to get its own data on its trips instead of having to rely on Google. At the same time, it’ll help in giving exact details about a drop-off point in certain buildings and areas. However, Uber promises riders who catch these vehicles in the country will not have their pick-up and drop-off points retained and these imagery will not be made public. Plus, Uber isn’t shy to admit this could also help in pushing its self-driving initiative further.

Source:  Engadget

Uber CEO quits Trump’s advisory council

Following the onslaught of criticism from Uber users and even its own employees, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick plans to step down from his seat in US President Donald Trump’s advisory council. The ride-sharing service has been under attack after being accused by people that it sought to make profit from giving rides to airport customers while a weekend protest was happening against President Trump’s immigration order. The criticism wasn’t limited to Uber users, even his employees were wondering how he could still advise the US President after that immigration ban was ordered.

During an all-hands meeting at Uber this week, at least two employees asked Kalanick what it would take to have him quit the economic council. By Thursday, Kalanick announced to his employees that he was going to step down because he didn’t want his involvement in the council to mean he was endorsing the President and his agenda. “There are many ways we will continue to advocate for just change on immigration, but staying on the council was going to get in the way of that,” Kalanick wrote in an email to his staff, which was obtained by The New York Times.

Uber sets up US$3 million defense fund for drivers affected by immigration ban

It might not be enough to placate Uber’s critics but it’s at least a good place to start. The ride-sharing company is said to be creating a US$3 million defense fund to help cover the legal, translation, and immigration fees its drivers might need following U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel and immigration ban. Uber CEO and founder Travis Kalanick calls the ban “wrong and unjust” in a new note he shared on his Facebook and Uber’s newsroom. According to the post, Kalanick says they are reaching out to their employees who have been affected by the measures and they hope to help these people. Kalanick has said he plans to bring the measures to Trump’s attention during this Friday’s meeting of the White House economic advisory group, which he is part of.

Uber received tons of flak after it continued service at JFK during a one-hour taxi service strike that protested Trump’s immigration ban on January 28. Users have been deleting their accounts in protest of this. Uber has apologized for the “confusion” and said they turned off surge pricing or the JFK rides at the time because they wanted to let people know that it was possible to get to JFK “at normal prices, especially last night [ which was the night of the protest]”. 

Sourcce: TechCrunch

Uber’s working with Volvo to further its autonomous driving initiative

Uber and Volvo have announced a new industrial partnership to help with the ride-hailing company’s autonomous driving program. Volvo has already sent some of the 100 cars they plan to send Uber before the year ends, plus they are working to create new vehicles designed to incorporate autonomous driving technology. But Volvo won’t be supplying the self-driving tech, Uber will be using the technology they’ve developed on their own, which the company plans to start public trials soon.

The new autonomous they will be working on will be using Volvo’s Scalable Product Architecture, which is the same platform used by its XC90, S90, and V90 cars. This will be the main focus of the collaboration between the two companies. And both will be using said vehicle for their own autonomous vehicle development.

Source: The Verge