Tag Archives: Uber Technologies Inc

Backup driver in deadly Arizona Uber autonomous crash charged

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Prosecutors have filed a legal cost towards the backup driver of an autonomous Uber car that fatally struck a pedestrian in suburban Phoenix

PHOENIX — The backup Uber driver concerned within the first self-driving car fatality has been charged with negligent murder for being distracted within the moments earlier than fatally placing a girl in suburban Phoenix.

Maricopa County Legal professional Allister Adel’s workplace mentioned on Tuesday that Rafaela Vasquez was charged on Aug. 27 within the 2018 crash in Tempe that killed 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg. She pleaded not responsible throughout a listening to on Tuesday. Her lawyer didn’t instantly reply to an inquiry from The Related Press.

Prosecutors declined in March 2019 to file legal costs towards Uber, as a company, in Herzberg’s demise.

Vasquez, 46, advised investigators that she didn’t use her cell telephones earlier than the crash.

However the Nationwide Transportation Security Board concluded Vasquez’s failure to observe the highway as she watched the tv present “The Voice” on her telephone was the principle reason behind the crash.

The contributing components cited by the board included Uber’s insufficient security procedures and ineffective oversight of its drivers, Herzberg’s resolution to cross the road outdoors of a crosswalk, and the Arizona Division of Transportation’s inadequate oversight of autonomous car testing.

The board additionally concluded Uber’s de-activation of its automated emergency braking system elevated the dangers related to testing automated autos on public roads. As an alternative of the system, Uber relied on the human backup driver to intervene.

The Uber system detected Herzberg 5.6 seconds earlier than the crash. Nevertheless it however failed to find out whether or not she was a bicyclist, pedestrian or unknown object, or that she was headed into the car’s path, the board mentioned.

The demise reverberated all through the auto business and Silicon Valley and compelled different corporations to sluggish what had been a quick march towards autonomous ride-hailing companies on public roads.

Uber pulled its self-driving vehicles out of Arizona the day earlier than the NTSB issued a preliminary report on the crash, eliminating the roles of about 300 individuals who served as backup drivers and carried out different jobs linked to the autos.

Gov. Doug Ducey prohibited Uber from persevering with its exams of self-driving vehicles after Herzberg was run over.

A toxicology report confirmed that Herzberg examined constructive for methamphetamine.

Vasquez had beforehand spent greater than 4 years in jail for 2 felony convictions — making false statements when acquiring unemployment advantages and tried armed theft — earlier than beginning work as an Uber driver, in keeping with court docket data.

Vasquez’s first identify was listed on a driver’s license as Rafael, however police say Vasquez identifies as a girl and goes by the primary identify of Rafaela.

The choice to not criminally cost Uber in Herzberg’s demise was made by Yavapai County Legal professional Sheila Polk, whose officer dealt with the case after the prosecutor’s workplace in metro Phoenix cited a possible battle of curiosity for having beforehand participated in a public-safety marketing campaign with Uber.

The case was returned to prosecutors in metro Phoenix after the choice to not cost Uber had eradicated the battle of curiosity.

A trial for Vasquez is scheduled for Feb. 11, 2021.

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This story has been corrected to indicate Vasquez’s age is 46.

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Krisher reported from Detroit.

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Uber adding 2,000 jobs in Chicago, mostly in Freight unit

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Uber plans to open a new office in Chicago and add 2,000 people to its area workforce over the next three years.

The office will officially house the company’s freight business and a related engineering hub.

Uber already has a significant presence in the city. It has about 1,300 workers in Chicago, some with the ride-hailing unit but most working on Freight.

Uber Freight uses the company’s app technology to link shippers with trucking firms, with Uber getting a fee in return.

The unit had been divided between San Francisco and Chicago. Uber wanted to consolidate it in Chicago because of the transportation logistics expertise in the area.

Uber said Monday that it signed a 10-year lease for the office in The Old Main Post Office in the Chicago River area. It said in a statement that it plans to spend over $200 million a year in the Chicago region on personnel, real estate and other expenses.

“Chicago is the heart of American’s transportation and logistics industry, and there is no better place to open our dedicated Freight HQ,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said.

The Chicago expansion is part of Uber’s broader move to branch out into several “talent hubs,” said spokesman Xavier Van Chau.

Last month the company announced it would open a new administrative hub in Dallas that will bring 3,000 jobs. It’s also expanding in Toronto, he said.

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Lyft posts losses regardless of income development, improves outlook

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Lyft continued to bleed cash in its second quarter however says it expects to stem a few of these losses, elevating its outlook for 2019.

The ride-hailing firm on Wednesday posted income of $867.Three million, up 72% from the identical time final 12 months.

However the San Francisco-based firm misplaced $644.2 million within the quarter, which was worse than the $445 million loss that analysts polled by FactSet anticipated.

Greater than a 3rd of the loss, or $296.6 million, got here from stock-based compensation Lyft paid out after its preliminary public providing in March. The corporate additionally misplaced $141.1 million on account of altering necessities for liabilities for insurance coverage.

Even so, the corporate improved its outlook for 2019. Lyft now predicts it should lose between $850 million and $875 million after bills resembling curiosity, taxes, depreciation and amortization in 2019, an enchancment from the earlier predicted lack of $1.15 billion to $1.175 billion.

With the revised steerage, the corporate estimates that 2018 might have been the height loss 12 months, and expects to lose much less cash in 2020, mentioned Brian Roberts, chief monetary officer, in a convention name with buyers.

“On account of our sturdy high line development and an bettering market setting we generated important working leverage,” mentioned Logan Inexperienced, CEO, on the convention name. “This was a milestone quarter on our path to profitability.”

The rollout of Shared Saver, which gives riders a extra inexpensive experience in the event that they stroll a brief distance to the automobile, led to enhancements in system-wide effectivity and monetization, Inexperienced mentioned. The corporate additionally has been providing public transit info in its app in eight markets, which could be mixed with Lyft’s shared bikes or scooters, he added.

Lyft has been investing to develop its share of its extra worthwhile choices resembling premium, enterprise and airport rides, Roberts mentioned.

“We’re centered on driving worthwhile development, not development in any respect prices,” Roberts mentioned.

The corporate’s development in lively riders — and income per lively rider — was higher than anticipated, which drove its income development, Inexperienced mentioned. Lyft’s income per lively rider was $39.77, up 22% in comparison with the identical time final 12 months.

The quarter turned out “a lot better than feared,” mentioned Daniel Ives, managing director of fairness analysis at Wedbush Securities Inc. “The corporate is exhibiting the place they’re slicing bills relative to expectations, and that is necessary to placing them on the eventual path to profitability,” he mentioned.

Uber, which is Lyft’s fundamental and far bigger rival, is ready to report earnings Thursday.

Lyft’s inventory value has fallen sharply since its debut. Its shares rose 3% to about $63 in after-hours buying and selling Wednesday, which is down 13% from its IPO value of $72.

It was the primary of the most important ride-hailing firms to go public, beating Uber to its inventory market debut. Early enthusiasm amongst buyers shortly fizzled, together with the inventory value. The corporate has not turned a revenue or demonstrated a path to profitability. Nonetheless, its losses have been steeper final quarter, when the corporate was hit with extra bills from inventory compensation associated to its IPO.

Its adjusted web loss, after accounting for the inventory compensation, insurance coverage change and different bills, widened to $197.Three million, from the $176.5 million adjusted web loss it posted throughout the identical quarter final 12 months.

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Shares fall once more on trade-war worries, capping a wild week

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Shares stumbled Friday as worries flared but once more that President Donald Trump’s commerce conflict with China could also be worsening. It was a becoming finish to a wild week the place markets zoomed down, up and down once more as buyers recalibrated by the minute how a lot the tensions will harm the worldwide economic system.

The S&P 500 dropped as a lot as 1.3% Friday after Trump mentioned that it will be “nice” if a gathering on commerce with China subsequent month does not occur, earlier than practically eliminating the loss. It dropped once more within the last minutes of buying and selling and ended the day at 2,918.65, down 19.44 factors, or 0.7%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Common fell 90.75, or 0.3%, to 26,287.44, and the Nasdaq misplaced 80.02, or 1%, to 7,959.14.

To anybody not paying consideration, the numbers may paint the final week as a ho-hum one for markets: The S&P 500 was down simply 0.5%. However that stretch included the worst plunge of the yr for the S&P 500, in addition to its greatest day in months.

Via the week, buyers’ temper pinballed from worry that China was elevating the stakes within the commerce conflict by weakening its foreign money to aid that the yuan’s drop wasn’t extra sharp and again to concern that the U.S. and China could not even meet subsequent month to speak about their issues. All of that was follow-up to Trump’s risk final week to impose extra tariffs on Chinese language items.

Underscoring the uncertainty, buyers mentioned they’d no good explanations for a number of the sharp swings that shares had over the past week. Whereas nowhere close to as unhealthy because it acquired throughout the Nice Recession, buyers’ worry concerning the unsure path ahead for company income and the worldwide economic system despatched gold costs leaping and bond yields tumbling.

“We do not actually see an finish to the uncertainty any time quickly,” mentioned Sameer Samana, senior world market strategist at Wells Fargo Funding Institute. Past the U.S.-China commerce conflict, he additionally pointed to the upcoming U.S. elections, the pending British exit from the European Union and a very separate commerce conflict between South Korea and Japan, amongst different issues.

“Sadly, it is robust to inform whether or not we’re at peak uncertainty, however the stage of uncertainty is excessive. What’s outstanding is how shut the markets nonetheless are to their all-time highs regardless of all of the uncertainty.”

The S&P 500 is just 2.1% beneath its file, which was set on the finish of July. It is also up 9% since Trump mentioned in March 2018 that “commerce wars are good, and straightforward to win.”

The economic system continues to be rising, and the unemployment fee stays close to its lowest stage in half a century. The worry is that every one the uncertainty that has prompted inventory costs to swing sharply may additionally make companies and customers extra cautious. In the event that they pull again on their spending, it may result in weaker income for firms, which may trigger companies to chop again on hiring, which may do actual harm to the economic system.

Such worry has been most pronounced within the bond market, the place yields have tumbled as buyers scrambled for defense. When bond costs rise, their yields fall, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury sat at 1.73% Friday, down from 1.85% per week in the past. It rose from 1.71% late Thursday and had been beneath 1.60% in the course of the week.

“The bond market has been pricing that in manner earlier and to a a lot higher diploma than the inventory market has,” Tom Martin, senior portfolio supervisor with Globalt Investments, mentioned of the trade-war risk.

Different areas of the world are dealing with even weaker financial progress, and the British authorities reported that its economic system shrank within the second quarter for the primary time since 2012.

The FTSE 100 in London slipped 0.4%, whereas Germany’s DAX misplaced 1.3% and the CAC 40 in France dropped 1.1%. In Asia, the Hold Seng in Hong Kong fell 0.7%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.4% and South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.4%.

Within the commodities markets, benchmark U.S. crude jumped $1.96 to settle at $54.50 a barrel. It had dropped as little as $50.52 earlier within the week amid worries {that a} weaker world economic system would dent demand for vitality. Brent crude, the worldwide customary, rose $1.15 to $58.53 per barrel.

Gold edged down by $1.10 to $1,496.60 per ounce. It was a comparatively quiet day following a roaring week, the place gold hit its highest value in additional than six years as buyers scrambled for security.

Silver was unchanged at $16.90 per ounce, and copper fell 2 cents to $2.58 per pound. Wholesale gasoline rose 2 cents to $1.67 per gallon. Heating oil climbed Three cents to $1.81 per gallon. Pure fuel fell 1 cent to $2.12 per 1,000 cubic toes.

The greenback slipped to 105.57 Japanese yen from 105.95 yen late Thursday. The euro strengthened to $1.1207 from $1.1185, and the British pound fell to $1.2056 from $1.2133.

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AP Enterprise Author Damian Troise contributed.

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Uber posts largest quarterly loss ever after inventory payouts

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Uber misplaced $5.24 billion within the second quarter — its largest quarterly loss ever — after making big stock-based payouts within the months following its preliminary public providing.

The ride-hailing big stated Wednesday it paid $3.9 billion in stock-based compensation and bills through the quarter. It additionally paid $298 million in inventory and money to drivers to point out appreciation in reference to its IPO.

The loss per share together with these bills totaled $4.72 whereas income jumped 14% to $3.17 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet anticipated a lack of $2.03 per share on income of $3.31 billion, on common, however these analysts sometimes exclude one-time bills reminiscent of IPO-related prices.

Uber continued to spend closely on gross sales and advertising, which incorporates expensive promotions designed to draw riders and drivers. These bills grew to $1.22 billion, up 71% in comparison with final yr. The price of worth wars and retaining drivers whereas competing with rivals reminiscent of Lyft has been a pressure on its potential to show a revenue.

“We might push the corporate to interrupt even when we needed to, frankly, however I feel what you will note from us is…decrease losses going ahead whereas on the identical time we aggressively spend money on new progress levers,” stated Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi in a convention name with reporters. “However there is no doubt in my thoughts that finally the enterprise will probably be a break even and worthwhile enterprise.”

Khosrowshahi stated he expects 2019 to be the corporate’s peak loss yr and for the losses to be smaller over the following two years.

Khosrowshahi stated he is assured within the scale of Uber’s ridesharing enterprise and its technical capabilities. He doesn’t count on the Eats meals supply enterprise to be worthwhile subsequent yr or the yr after, however stated “I feel what we’ve is a good mixture of a trip enterprise that’s going to show extra worthwhile over the following couple years, that may enable us to take a position aggressively within the Eats enterprise and likewise carry a backside line that improves.”

Uber Applied sciences Inc.’s shares fell 6% in after-hours buying and selling.

Uber noticed double-digit income progress within the U.S., Europe, Center East, Africa and Asia Pacific areas, however income fell 24% to $417 million in Latin America.

Gross bookings, which is the entire greenback worth of rides and Uber Eats meals and the quantity paid by freight shippers, reached $15.76 billion, up 31% — or 37% in fixed foreign money — in contrast with the identical time final yr.

The variety of month-to-month lively Uber Eats customers grew greater than 140% in comparison with final yr, and greater than 40% of latest Eats prospects had by no means used Uber’s platform earlier than. The Eats enterprise is booming in Japan, Khosrowshahi stated.

Income for the Uber Eats service rose 72% to $595 million, whereas ridesharing income grew simply 2% to $2.35 billion due to the one-time driver appreciation funds, the corporate stated.

California lawmakers are pushing a invoice to categorise ridesharing drivers as staff. Khosrowshahi, on a convention name with buyers, stated he believes there’s a greater path ahead, the place drivers may very well be given minimal earnings, advantages and a voice in choices that have an effect on their livelihood.

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Fatal Uber shooting stemmed from ‘vomit’ in car

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A ride-hailing driver shot and killed a New Mexico passenger earlier this year during an argument over “a large amount of vomit” in his Uber vehicle, prosecutors said in new documents.

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Court documents submitted by the Bernalillo County district attorney last week said the vomit and an argument over a cleanup fee led to the shooting, the Albuquerque Journal reported .

Police say driver Clayton Benedict fatally shot passenger James Porter, 27, after stopping along a highway in Albuquerque on March 17. Benedict has not been charged and has declined to comment.

A charging decision may come in the next few weeks, district attorney spokesman Michael Patrick said.

“Prosecutors are currently going over hundreds of documents and videos,” Patrick said.

Benedict picked up Porter and his friend from a bar on the evening of St. Patrick’s Day, according to a search warrant affidavit seeking details from Uber about Benedict’s trips and other information.

The friend, Jonathan Reyes, later told police the two had been at the bar since 2 p.m. and although he typically doesn’t drink, he had six or seven drinks that day.

Benedict — who had been driving for Uber for a year and a half — told detectives they were traveling south on Interstate 25 when Reyes threw up in the backseat.

“At this point, the other passenger and Clayton start to go back and forth about a potential ‘clean-up fee,'” the detective wrote in the affidavit. “James is the male arguing/pleading with Clayton not to charge him for a ‘clean-up fee.'”

That’s when Benedict said he pulled over and asked the men to get out of the car. He said he ended the ride and gave Porter a review of “one star.” He said Porter slammed the door and the two argued outside the car.

Benedict said Porter was yelling and moved toward the open driver’s side door, threatening to run Benedict over with his own car. Benedict said he fired “an unknown amount of rounds” toward Porter.

Porter’s family sued Uber and Benedict last month. The San Francisco-based Uber told the newspaper in a statement that Benedict no longer has access to the Uber app as a driver.

Last year, an Uber driver in Denver was charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a passenger on a Colorado highway. Police have said driver Michael Hancock, 29, shot and killed Hyun Kim, 45, following an altercation in the car. Hancock’s family has said he only shot in self-defense.

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Uber gets hit again; shares below $40

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Uber shares sunk even further after its disappointing stock market debut as doubts lingered over the company’s ability to turn a profit and trade tensions dragged down the overall market.

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The ride-hailing giant’s stock fell 10% and hovered around $37 Monday afternoon on Uber‘s first full day of trading.

The mounting losses followed Uber’s disappointing initial public offering. On Friday, it took a $617 million hit — the largest loss on the first day of trading by a U.S.-based company in recent history, according to Renaissance Capital.

Uber’s earliest investors are still making money off the IPO, but “for late-round investors, it’s possible by the time they exit they will end up with a loss,” said Jay Ritter, finance professor at the University of South Florida.

Among the recent big investors — and perhaps losers — is PayPal, which had disclosed plans to buy $500 million in Uber stock at the IPO price of $45.

Uber has had no trouble convincing venture capitalists to pour money into its earlier funding rounds, but with its unclear path to profitability, it’s having a more difficult time with Wall Street investors.

“It’s clearly a high-risk, high-reward scenario. You’re betting on something that may happen 10 years down the road,” said Matt Kennedy, senior IPO market strategist at Renaissance Capital, a manager of IPO exchange traded funds. “Public investors are looking at profits and not seeing any, and the company’s growth in the last quarter was relatively strong, but I don’t think it blew anyone away.”

Uber’s main U.S. rival, Lyft, is in a similar spiral. Its stock was trading below $48 on Friday, down 33% from its IPO price of $72.

It’s rare to see shares in a tech company hit so hard upon going public. Over the past five years, just 10% of similar companies finished their first day of trading below their IPO price, Kennedy said.

Uber’s revenue last year surged 42% to $11.3 billion, but the company admits it could be years before it turns a profit.

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