German city of Hamburg is the latest to try and ban taxi app Uber July 23, 2014 Yet another city that doesn't like Uber. The German city of Hamburg has become the latest to try and ban the smartphone taxi app service, further indication of the increasing pressure the US company is facing from local regulators and cab drivers. The San-Francisco based firm, which operates in more than 149 cities in 42 [...]
Uber for Business is coming to London as sharing economy eyes corporate travel expansion July 29, 2014 Business travel looks like the next big market to be disrupted by the sharing economy as its poster children Uber and Airbnb unveiled plans to grow the number of business travellers using its services. Uber has launched Uber for Business, available initially in the US and Canada but with trials taking place in the UK [...]
Uber’s accelerating expansion stalled in Seoul as city seeks ban July 21, 2014 THE FAST expansion of Uber, the mobile app for hailing private hire cars, hit a roadblock yesterday as Seoul’s city council said it would ban the service. Uber, valued at $18.2bn (£10.6bn) in June, launched in the South Korean capital in August last year, but the Seoul city council said yesterday it considers Uber to [...]
Banking brain drain: Why finance risks losing its best talent to the FinTech sector May 27, 2015 Britain's FinTech sector is a particularly bright spot in the UK’s recovering economy. Investment in London FinTech grew by 136 per cent last year, with the capital receiving 42 per cent of all European FinTech investment in 2014. But one less-discussed aspect of this is the potential impact on talent within the wider financial services [...]
Is there a role for leadership in flat organisations? June 3, 2015 Time-sensitive and strategic decisions are best left in expert hands. For some time now, companies like Google and online retailer Zappos have championed flat organisational structures – where authority is widely distributed, everyone works together in a large space, and employees are encouraged to collaborate. This has certainly transformed leadership and management styles, [...]
Uber surge pricing curbed by New York attorney general July 8, 2014 Uber will no longer apply surge pricing to its service during emergencies and other extreme events to avoid falling foul of price gouging laws in the US. The controversial taxi service hikes fares in line with higher demand, but doing so during incidents such as a hurricane Sandy caused lawmakers to consider the regulations in more [...]
Hailo taxi app appoints Andrew Pinnington its third chief executive in three months January 13, 2015 Taxi app company Hailo has appointed its third chief executive in as many months. Andrew Pinnington, former head of operating officer at Carphone Warehouse, will be heading the British taxi hailing company, according to FT's Sally Davies. The Hailo app matches taxi drivers to passengers and has been on the London scene since 2011. Hailo [...]
TfL court ruling delayed as Uber drivers are sued July 3, 2014 The battle over Uber’s controversial car hire app escalated yesterday as Transport for London (TfL) said its attempt to get a High Court ruling on the dispute would be seriously delayed following news that the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA) was taking its own legal action against Uber drivers. The dispute focuses on whether Uber’s [...]
These are the FinTech startups being backed by Citi May 29, 2015 Four FinTech startups have won $100,000 (£65,400) backing from Citi after a search for new technology and innovation to transform banking and business. London-based Swave, an app that encourages users to monitor spending and make saving easier, trading platform Trade It, a supply chain solution created by Umati Capital and textbook subscription app Kytabu were [...]
Apple Watch apps: The most useful apps for your commute, work, travel and staying informed April 24, 2015 People are finally able to get their hands on the Apple Watch today as pre-orders begin shipping and a handful of shops – Apple stores, Selfridges and Dover Street Market in London – will begin selling the smartwatch offline. But with a mind-boggling 3,000 apps to get playing with, where do you start? Here's our [...]