Uber news recap - December 2015

Behind the wheel with Uber in Bogota

A few highlights from the world of Uber news in December:

Worried it will be hard to identify the Uber car picking you up? What if others are waiting for Uber cars too? It turns out there's now an app for that: the new Uber SPOT:

• Uber gives drivers color-coded windshield LEDs to help riders find the right vehicle - GeekWire

Criticism of Uber's surge pricing (aka 'dynamic pricing') hit a new low (or is that high?) with the story of a former happy Uber customer's experience visiting Grand Rapids. Unable to get a taxi after a game with his buddies, the Uber advocate boasted how fast and affordable the service was. After a car quickly arrived, he asked what the fare would be, and the driver said he didn't know. He got quite a shock after the relatively short drive.

• Uber customer gets handed $490 bill for an 18-mile ride - AOL

Toronto taxi drivers still don't get it. Just a week after the Canadian Competition Bureau called for a level playing field in the taxi vs Uber debate, Toronto taxi drivers staged a hunger strike. Then they went onto mass strike actions that only caused Torontonians and visitors alike crave the alternative.

• Toronto taxi drivers stage hunger strike to protest Uber - blogTO
• Uber can’t be defeated from the outside—but maybe from within - Macleans

What if you want to drive for Uber, but don't have a car? The answer just got easier, if you live in Denver:

• Uber is offering cheap rental cars to its Denver drivers - The Verge
• Whose Insurance is it Anyway? Enterprise Offering Rentals To Uber Drivers in Denver - The Truth About Cars

Of course, a little ridesharing seasonal cheer:

• Uber’s Latest Stunt Is On-Demand Christmas Spirit - Money

And on the global stage:

• Angry French Uber drivers have created their own Uber - The Verge
• Uber seems to be getting its butt kicked in China - Forbes
• As Tiger Global Plays Both Sides In Uber War, Other Investors Are 'Furious' - Forbes

Other headlines:

• You can now call an Uber in Messenger, Facebook's window to the world - Wired
• ‘Uber is part of the transportation cocktail’: Jean-Nicolas Guillemette - Financial Post
• U.S. states pass laws backing Uber's view of drivers as contractors - Reuter's
• Former Obama aide, now Uber adviser, says drivers don’t need union - Seattle Times
• Uber is accused of failing a huge number of New Yorkers - Business Insider
• Uber driver recounts nearly 3 hours spent driving shooting suspects - AJC Atlanta
• Uber Snags Another Google Mapping Exec to Lead the Product Team - Re/code

Related resources
Dear Canadian Taxi Monopoly: your Uber Boogie Man doesn't scare me
Taxi Truths campaign puts lipstick on a pig 
Canadian Taxi Monopoly is attempting to curb consumer choice
Uber provides the taxi industry a good kick in the pants