Price slash on Toronto's UPExpress

UPExpress at Bloor Street station
creative commons image wiki commons

As we reported in October in New hope for Toronto's UPExpress, the slick new Toronto airport train had suffered since its opening with ridership far below projections. Marketed to the business traveller, the high fares on the empty trains were unaffordable for airport workers, and an annoying indulgence that few local travellers would fork out for. As the messy back story behind the launch fares has emerged, the pressure was heating up.

Now, 9 months after the service began, the Toronto Unuion Express airport train is being reborn with lower fares. The $27.50 cash fare will be slashed to $12. Presto card holders will pay $9, versus the prior $19. Airport workers will see their monthly pass price drop from $300 to $140. The new rates come into effect on March 9th.

And Torontonians are happy: according to a survey by the Toronto Star, 51% say the fares are fair now, and will avail themselves of the rail service. Better late than never!

Related resources
Metrolinx set UP Express price high despite warnings
Torontonians on board with lowered airport train fare, poll suggests
New hope for Toronto's UPExpress
Toronto joins the 21st century with Pearson airport train
Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) transportation guide
Toronto City Billy Bishop Airport (YTZ) transportation guide

Uber news recap - February 2016

Hot commodities on eBay

Now here's good news:

• DUIs down; impaired millennials taking Uber, Lyft
• Uber and Lyft Sign Official Agreements with CLT Airport

Who knew?

• People are paying big bucks for Uber decals and Lyft mustaches on eBay
• Uber passenger falls asleep in car, racks up $171 bill (Video)
• Goldman Sachs Employees Uber to Work More Than Anyone Else

Headlines and analysis

• Can grandma learn to use Uber?
• What Uber strategist David Plouffe wants you to know about ridesharing
• Why Clayton Christensen Is Wrong About Uber And Disruptive Innovation
• Can we build a humane alternative to Uber?
• Sears CEO cites Uber, Amazon in explaining Q4 loss

Uber in Canada

• Uber drivers, supporters march on Alberta's legislature demanding changes
• Vancouver's Board of Trade pushes for Uber
• More Toronto residents riding Uber: Poll
• Erb and Erb now offers insurance coverage for Uber drivers

Global news

• Uber launches its first motorcycle service: UberMOTO will begin as a pilot program in Bangkok
• Is Uber in Pakistan risky or convenient?
• Estonia Embraces Uber and Taxify As First European Country To Legalize And Regulate Ride-Sharing
• China’s Didi Kuaidi Is Raising $1 Billion More To Battle Uber
• Has Uber Finally Met its Match? It’s a race to the bottom for Uber and its biggest Chinese rival
• UberEATS, Uber's home delivery service, is coming to Australia
• Uber's in India to learn how to rule the rest of the world

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

Pimp your (taxi) ride

There was a story in the Daily Mail on February 16th that caught our eye. It would be hard not too.

Be warned, if you read this piece, you'll be adding Mumbai to your bucketlist and planning a trip to take one of these cool rides...

Check out the photos of
these fantastic cabs in the
original article

Pimp my ride: Inside India's technicolour taxis - Daily Mail

Interesting story about artsy taxi interiors created by the Taxi Fabric, an art collective based in Mumbai.

Connecting young designers with drivers, the initiative has transformed 26 cabs so far.

One taxi has even been featured by Coldplay in their Hymn for the Weekend music video [full story]

Taxi Fabric

To learn more about Taxi Fabric, visit their website.

Are you a designer? You can even apply to design a cab...

Or follow them here:
@TaxiFabric on Twitter
Taxi Fabric Facebook page

Related resources
Taxi Fabric website
Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (BOM) transportation guide - IHateTaxis.com
Mumbai layover ideas and things to do in Mumbai - LayoverIdeas.com

Mashad Airport gets metro link

Mashhad Airport's metro link opened on February 6

Iran is upgrading its infrastructure with several new airport train connections.

In Mashhad, a new metro link to the city's airport opened on February 6.

The 6 kilometre (4 mile) extension of Metro Line 1 runs southeast from Ghadir, and makes a stop at Parvaz, before continuing on to Mashhad Hashemi Nejad International (MHD) Airport. Mashhad's metro system opened in 2011 and operates at speeds of up to 80 km/h.

Meanwhile, construction is almost complete on the extension of Tehran's metro to Mehrabad Airport, the city's second busiest air hub. The new link is projected to open in March 2016.

Related resources
Mashad Airport (MHD) transportation guide
Mashad airport metro link open - Railway Gazette
Light rail reaches Mashhad airport - Rail Journal

Uber news recap - January 2016

A California carsharing driver sports Lyft, Sidecar and Uber identities

Here are a few ridesharing news highlights that started our year:

Lyft is lifting

• Lyft defies predictions by continuing to grow as a rival to Uber
• Lyft Raises $1 Billion, Adds GM as Investor and Partner For Driverless Cars

Sidecar is side-lined

• Sidecar: ‘We failed because Uber is willing to win at any cost’
• GM buys Uber rival Sidecar, which shut down in December

Uber headlines and analysis

• Customers complain as Uber prices surge near 10X on New Years Eve
• BusinessUber and Lyft Are Still Trying to Avoid Acting Like Regular Employers

Uber in the sky

• Uber grounds helicopter flights around Sundance Film Festival
• Uber will keep running helicopter flights at the Sundance Film Festival despite orders to stop
• Uber and Airbus are working together on a new trial helicopter service

Global Uber news

• French taxi drivers shut down Paris as protests over Uber turn violent
• Uber LAX pickup service gets green light
• Taxis block traffic in Budapest, demanding a ban on Uber
• Uber Settles Investigation Into Creepy 'God View' Tracking Program

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

Uber's year of unexpected partnerships

Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD):
just one of Uber's many community partnerships

Uber continues to surprise us with out-of-the-box thinking on partnerships. It's innovative, and it's shaking up traditional taxi-model thinking. Here are a few from 2015 that caught our eye:

• Uber press release on Amber Alert partnership 
• Uber Expands Partnership with SafetiPin to Enhance Safety Around the World 
• Uber + MADD Partner to Keep Drunk Drivers Off The Road 
• YWCA + Uber: Drive to Thrive
• Uber Teams Up with AARP’s Life Reimagined to Offer Economic Opportunities to Members
• Support the Athletes That Inspire Us (Special Olympics) 
• UN Women + Uber: A Vision for Equality
• Uber and Carnegie Mellon University: A Deeper Partnership
• Uber + HackingEDU: Gaining Momentum in Education
• Getting To The Show is Easy With Uber + Live Nation
• A New Partnershp With Europe

And a few others..

• Bharti Airtel and Uber Announce First-of-its-Kind Strategic Partnership 
• Uber and Hilton Team Up for Seamless Travel 
• Uber + InterContinental Hotel Group: More Rewarding Rides
• InterContinental Hotels Group teams up with Uber 
• Revving Up Rider Rewards With Starwood Hotels

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

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

Christmas taxis

Ho ho ho!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and your family a happy and safe holiday season.

And, yes, that wish includes taxi drivers:)

Related resources

• Do we really hate taxis?

creative commons image, click for source information

Tijuana Airport's new Cross Border Xpress (CBX) terminal

Tijuana Airport's new CBX terminal opens
 in San Diego on December 9, 2015

For the past 2 years, San Diego residents have watched a new building take shape next to the USA/Mexican border, complete with an overhead walkway. It's a new portal, of sorts, into Mexico.

When the new Tijuana Airport Cross Border Xpress terminal (CBX) opens on December 9, 2015, making it the only airport in the world to have terminals in two countries.

 "CBX", situated in San Diego, California, USA, is connected to Tijuana International Airport's Terminal 1 by a passenger foot bridge. Eligible passengers will pay USD 18 for access to the 525 foot bridge.

The Terminal 2 building will serve as a check-in and processing facility for departing passengers only, with its own parking and customs offices. There are no gates or arrival facilities. The structural scheme of CBX is intended to allow greater access to flights out of Tijuana Airport for both domestic and international air carriers.

The design of the joint binational Terminal 2 is the work of late Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta.

Related resources
Cross-border airport? New California terminal extends to Mexico
Tijuana International Airport (TIJ) transportation guide
San Diego International Airport (SAN) transportation guide

Uber news recap - November 2015

creativecommons image afagen on Flickr

Here's a bit of what was happening in the Uber vs taxi war in November.

Canada’s Competition Bureau calls for modernized taxi rules 

 Canada Competition Bureau wants to see a level playing field for taxis and ridesharing services, such as Uber. Commissioner John Pecman has called on regulators to ease price controls, eliminate taxi plate restrictions, permit street hail pick-ups, and provide incentives for accessible vehicles:

• Competition Bureau Favours Uber Over Taxis, Says Regulations Should Be Relaxed - Techvibes 
• Competition Bureau urges relaxed taxi rules to level playing field with Uber - Globe and Mail 
• Don’t regulate Uber, competition watchdog says - The Star

The hoopla over surge pricing

Another Halloween, another uproar over Uber's surge pricing. No one much likes it, except perhaps the drivers, but it seems this aspect of the Uber business model is here to stay.

• Stop complaining about Uber's surge pricing - Business Insider
• Avoiding Uber’s Surge Pricing – Stay Put or Take a Walk - Bidness etc

What? Taxis drop their fares to compete with Uber?

How revolutionary: taxi meters in Toronto have been reprogrammed with lower base fares in an attempt to compete with ridesharing services. While surely welcomed by passengers, it may also be annoying to realize that one has been paying inflated rates, along with all the rumbling...

• Toronto taxi base fares drop to compete with Uber - Hamilton Spectator

How ridesharing is making a difference

While the Western world argues the merits of ridesharing services, and pours energy into stopping the organic growth that users are seeking, it's a good news story elsewhere in the world. Take India...

• How Uber, Ola are changing drivers' lives - Times of India

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