Uber’s CEO insists the Waymo partnership is fine. Record bookings and a $10 billion AV bet. Lyft rides record demand for premium trips. A surveillance company pitched turning hundreds of thousands of rideshare cars into roving license-plate scanners. Uber sold itself as the safe way home, but in court its lawyers ask what you were wearing. We break it all down for you.
Uber’s CEO Says the Waymo Partnership Is Still Strong
SOURCE – The Verge
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi used this week’s earnings call to tamp down speculation that the company’s relationship with Waymo is coming apart, calling the on-the-ground partnership “very strong” even as the two keep diverging on strategy.
- The companies ended their Phoenix tie-up earlier this year and will wind down their exclusive arrangement in Austin and Atlanta by early 2028, but Uber says it plans to keep operating Waymo rides in both cities into next year.
- Khosrowshahi is deliberately spreading Uber’s bets, naming Zoox, Wayve, Avride, Nuro, Motional, and Waabi as partners so the platform isn’t dependent on any single AV provider.
- For drivers, the near-term threat is still contained: robotaxis account for less than 0.5% of Uber’s trips, though early data shows Waymo pulling market share from both Uber and Lyft where it operates.
Uber’s Bookings Hit $58 Billion as It Doubles Down on Robotaxis
SOURCE – CNBC
Uber grew second-quarter revenue 12% to $14.19 billion and cleared $58 billion in total bookings, though a softer forecast for the current quarter tempered the results. The bigger signal for drivers is where the company is putting its money: autonomous vehicles.
- Mobility bookings rose 22% to $28.99 billion and delivery jumped 26%, helped by more than 8 million tourists taking World Cup rides across the US, Canada, and Mexico.
- Uber reiterated plans to commit more than $10 billion to bring AVs to market at scale, and cleared a regulatory hurdle to launch Wayve robotaxis in London, with safety drivers on board and more than 100,000 people already signed up to ride.
- The company also pointed to its $14.8 billion deal to acquire Germany’s Delivery Hero, which would widen the markets where Uber delivers food and groceries.
Lyft’s Bookings Climb 23%, but It Warns Growth Will Slow
SOURCE – The Wall Street Journal
Lyft’s gross bookings rose 23% to $5.5 billion last quarter, beating Wall Street on strong demand for premium rides. But the company told investors to expect a slower pace ahead, guiding to bookings growth of 15% to 19% for the current quarter.
- Active riders hit a record 30.5 million, up 17% from a year earlier, and rides climbed 12% to 262.4 million, with strength across North America, the Freenow business in Europe, and bike-sharing.
- The premium push is paying off: Lyft’s luxury chauffeuring unit posted its best month on record in June, and its XXL option drew travelers hauling luggage, gear, and large groups.
- Quarterly profit rose to $50.3 million, though earnings still landed just shy of analyst expectations, and the moderated outlook suggests the recent growth surge is cooling.
Flock Pitched Turning Uber and Lyft Drivers Into Roaming License-Plate Scanners
SOURCE – 404 Media
A leaked presentation shows surveillance company Flock pitched a plan to tap dashcams in hundreds of thousands of Uber, Lyft, and delivery drivers’ cars to scan the license plates of every vehicle they passed, effectively turning working drivers into a mobile surveillance network.
- The plan hinged on a partnership with dashcam maker Nexar covering an estimated 350,000 rideshare and delivery devices; Flock says it never executed the deal but was actively pitching it to customers, including a state attorney general’s office.
- It isn’t clear whether Uber, Lyft, or the drivers themselves would have known their cameras were feeding a license-plate database accessible to law enforcement and private customers.
- The episode is a reminder that the dashcams drivers buy for their own protection can double as data-collection tools; a hacker breached Nexar last year and accessed terabytes of customer video.
Uber’s Courtroom Playbook in Assault Suits: ‘What Were You Wearing?’
SOURCE – The New York Times
Uber publicly markets itself as a “survivor-centric” company and one of the safest ways home, but a New York Times review of court records shows its lawyers are fighting thousands of sexual assault lawsuits with an aggressive strategy that scrutinizes accusers’ clothing, drinking, and sexual histories.
- More than 4,000 lawsuits have been filed by passengers who say they were assaulted during rides; the suits argue Uber failed to adequately screen and supervise drivers, some with prior violent convictions.
- In depositions and at trial, Uber’s lawyers have pressed women on what they wore, how much they drank, and past traumas, tactics that legal and safety experts say contradict the company’s own driver-training materials stating assault is never the survivor’s fault.
- Uber has won one of the three trials that have reached a jury and recently agreed to settle hundreds of cases, but it continues to fight others, including some in which drivers were criminally convicted.
QUICK HITS
- Uber Eats app is getting a visual enhancement. – Mashable
- DoorDash projects strong growth as delivery demand holds firm. – Reuters
- Bloomberg profiles the Gouldings, a London black-cab family spanning three generations, as they confront the looming arrival of driverless taxis from Waymo, Wayve, and Baidu. – Bloomberg
- For more coverage of the autonomous-vehicle industry, subscribe to The Driverless Digest, Harry’s newsletter and podcast covering robotaxis and AVs.
Must Listen Or Watch RSG Content
Here are this week’s featured podcast episode and YouTube videos:
- RSG269: This $12K EV Could Change Uber Driving Forever With Bingo Tech
- Uber Replaces Customer Service With AI
- Uber Can Still Deactivate Drivers Without Warning
- Uber and Waymo Just Broke Up… Good For Drivers?
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