Transportation Alternatives

Richard Branson's Virgin Hyperloop has completed the world's first passenger ride on a super high-speed levitating pod system, the company said on Sunday, a key safety test for technology it hopes will transform human and cargo transportation. Virgin Hyperloop executives Josh Giegel, its Chief Technology Officer, and Sara Luchian, Director of Passenger Experience, reached speeds of up to 107 miles per hour (172 km per hour) at the company's DevLoop test site in Las Vegas, Nevada, the company sa

Companies describe the contest as a matter of ensuring flexibility for a new generation of workers who want to choose when and how they work. Opponents see an effort to exploit workers and avoid employee-related costs that could amount to more than $392 million each for Uber Technologies Inc, Lyft Inc, a Reuters calculation showed.

The two ride-hailing companies would each face more than $392 million in annual payroll taxes and workers' compensation costs even if they drastically cut the number of drivers on their platforms, a Reuters calculation showed. The companies say they would need to significantly hike prices to offset at least some of those additional costs, which in turn would likely cause a decrease in consumer demand, but cushion the blow of the added costs to the bottom line.

Zoox, the automated vehicle technology startup that was acquired by Amazon this year, has been issued a permit from California regulators that will allow it to test driverless vehicles on public roads. The permit is not for all public roads in the state, but it's still notable, considering the company will be able to test its vehicles without a human safety operator behind the wheel. The California Department of Motor Vehicles, the agency that regulates automated vehicle testing in the state,

Lyft in a blog post on Thursday said it would suspend its California operations at midnight. Uber in a blogpost said it would have to temporarily shut down unless the appeals court intervenes. Lyft shares dropped 6.2% to $26.41, while Uber shares were down 2.3% to $28.74.

Uber recorded an adjusted loss in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $837 million in the second quarter. Ride-hailing trips, in the past responsible for nearly two-thirds of Uber's revenue, increased 5 percentage points from their low in April, but gross bookings remained down 75% from last year. Uber's chief executive officer, Dara Khosrowshahi, told analysts on a conference call on Thursday that rides recovery depended on the ability of different countries to

Lyft users can book a designated car through the ride-hailing app, add insurance and extras and directly pick up the car from the rental lot without waiting at the counter. Lyft already runs a limited rental car program in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area without the involvement of any car rental companies. "COVID has caused a change in behavior and people need different transportation options," Cal Lankton, Lyft's vice president of Fleet & Global Operations, said in an interview.

Ride-sharing scooter startup Revel said Tuesday it is suspending operations in New York City after a second fatal crash in less than two weeks. Revel tweeted that service “will be shut down until further notice” as it reviews safety and rider accountability measures. Mayor Bill de Blasio said city officials spoke to Revel executives on Tuesday and made clear the company’s safety record is “an unacceptable state of affairs.”

Urban transportation's transformation has shifted up a gear as the coronavirus crisis turns travel habits on their head, with Uber making allies of public transit systems by now offering to sell them its software expertise. This means Marin County's Transportation Authority will next month allow passengers in the San Francisco Bay area to book a trip through the Uber app, but rather than someone's private car they will ride wheelchair-accessible public vans. From the streets of Utah's Salt Lak

Toyota Motor Corp holds a $293 million stake in Uber Technologies, as it partners with the ride-hailing company to further expand into new mobility services, Toyota's latest corporate governance report released on Wednesday showed. The Japanese automaker has also unloaded shares in some of its suppliers, adjusting its portfolio to reflect partnerships with rival automakers and technology firms as it transforms into a mobility services company, the report showed. Reporting the total size of its