In a landmark court decision against Uber, the UK High Court has ruled that its business model is unlawful.

The decision — which reboots the application of London’s regulations around private hire vehicle contracts — has huge ramifications for how ride-hailing platforms like Uber can operate in the UK capital and how much UK tax they will pay.

The crux of the issue is the contract model Uber and many other ride-hailing platforms have been applying. (And, indeed, how London’s transport regulator, TfL, has been overseeing — or, well, failing to — their compliance with the law.)

Long-standing regulations, dating back to 1998, establish the conditions for a private hire vehicle booking to be lawful in London.

The Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act predates ride-hailing apps — and companies like Uber have claimed to be complying with its stipulations despite simultaneously arguing they are not contractually bound by trips booked by its platform.

Back in February, a UK Supreme Court judgement — which demolished Uber’s claim that drivers were contractors not workers — raised key questions over its ride-hailing business model, as the justice suggested that the contractual scheme devised by Uber to claim compliance with UK regulations may be unlawful.

Uber, with the support of another ride-hailing player (FreeNow), responded by litigating to seek to have its model declared lawful by the courts.

Uber has argued that the acceptance of a booking constituted a contract between the passenger and the driver — to which it claimed it was not a party — seeking to maintain that its only role was to act as a booking agent providing technology services and collecting payment as agent for the drivers. (And, therefore, to shrink the legal obligations on its business.)

In a second judicial proceeding following the Supreme Court ruling, a London taxi association also sought to have FreeNow’s operator license quashed — arguing it was not compliant with the 1998 Act in relation to the issue of ‘plying for hire’.

The High Court ruling deals with both those claims — and while the court did not agree that FreeNow’s licence should be revoked because the judges did not conclude that the app is facilitating or encouraging drivers to ply for hire (the key point of legal challenge there) — the judges have essentially struck down the prevailing ride-hailing business model that operates under a claim of a mere agent role for booking platforms.

In concluding the judgement, the High Court makes it clear platforms cannot avoid a contractual obligation — writing that “in order to operate lawfully under the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 a licensed operator who accepts a booking from a passenger is required to enter as principal into a contractual obligation with the passenger to provide the journey which is the subject of the booking”.

The implications of the ruling on ride-hailing businesses operating in the UK look significant — not least in how much tax London-licensed ride-hailing platforms will have to pay per trip.

That in turn means there are likely to be ramifications for the cost of offering a ride-hailing service — and, more broadly, how viable it may be to operate such a service at all.

After all, even with self-serving contractual workarounds and other employment law fiddles shrinking operating costs, many of these platforms have not been able to turn a profit. And the core criticism remains that the gig platform business model is inherently — and, indeed, unlawfully — exploitative of labor.

Per the App Drivers & Couriers Union (ADCU), which challenged Uber’s attempt to have its contracts declared lawful, almost all 1,832 TfL licensed operators in the private hire industry have used an Uber-style contract model since regulatory supervision began back in 2002 — hence the ruling will have industry-wide implications.

Other ride-hailing players in London include the likes of Bolt and Ola — which may also need to rework their models in light of this ruling in order to continue operating in the UK capital.

While the High Court ruling affects the ride-hailing industry in general, it was Uber that took legal action seeking the opposite outcome so there’s no doubt this is a serious blow to the company’s hopes.

In a statement Uber nonetheless sought to put out a less damaging spin — claiming to be ahead of rivals in providing benefits to workers, given it already made some changes following the Supreme Court ruling.

“This court ruling means that all the details of the Supreme Court decision are now clear. Every private hire operator in London will be impacted by this decision, and should comply with the Supreme Court verdict in full. Drivers on Uber are guaranteed at least the National Living Wage, holiday pay and a pension plan but we’re not the only player in town. Other operators must also ensure drivers are treated fairly,” an Uber spokesperson said in the statement.

(NB: Uber is still being challenged on how it calculates driver working time — as it only starts the clock when drivers accept a job, not when they’re logged into its app and available to accept a booking — so its legal risks over employment classifications have plenty more road to run.)

Uber added that it is reviewing the judgement — and said it will comply with the decision of the court.

We also contacted FreeNow for a reaction and a spokesperson told us it is also reviewing the ruling.

“As Europe’s leading multi-mobility platform we take our compliance to regulation seriously so we are currently reviewing this ruling in order to fully understand its implications for our business and what next steps we may need to take,” its spokesperson said in the statement.

The ADCU was jubilant on another major win — this time against what it dubbed “bogus contract constructions” which it characterized as “typical in the gig economy and the private hire industry”.

Such contracts are “the means to misclassify workers as independent contractors”, it argued, further claiming they’ve been the vehicle used to “shield operators like Uber from employer liability, legal liability to their customers and for payment of VAT”.

The Union further dubbed the ruling a “huge embarrassment” for TfL and  the Mayor of London — which it said have “failed to regulate the trade according to the requirements of the legislation”.

“This has resulted in drivers being brutally exploited and passenger safety put at risk while operators profited from the lack of proper regulatory supervision,” it added, citing a 2016 report by former Work & Pensions Select committee chair Frank Field MP — which it said described “the desperate conditions tolerated in a trade supervised by TfL”. (Field went on to conduct an inquiry into pay and conditions for platform workers in the food delivery space — which likened those apps’ labor model to conditions experienced by workers in 20th century dockyards.)

James Farrer, the ADCU’s general secretary, and a claimant in the aforementioned successful employment tribunal against Uber, also welcomed today’s High Court ruling.

“The private hire industry under Transport for London has been a cess pit of labour abuse for decades. With this ruling in place, TfL must ensure that all private hire operators take full responsibility for every trip they book and not dump responsibility on to drivers,” he told TechCrunch.

“The knock on effect of this will be that drivers can far more easily access worker rights protections now that the confusion of misclassification has been removed, passengers will enjoy greater protection and the Treasury will stand to collect 20% on every fare,” Farrer predicted.

In a statement, Yaseen Aslam, the ADCU’s president, added: “For years, the Mayor and Transport for London told us they had no powers to protect TfL licensed drivers from brutal exploitation by licensed operators like Uber. This ruling confirms that, not only had the powers all along but, in fact, they had the duty to act on these powers but failed to do so. The Mayor of London must now order an urgent review of TfL to find out what went wrong, to bring the industry rapidly into compliance and to ensure passengers and drivers are never again put at risk like this.”

TechCrunch contacted TfL and the Mayor of London’s office for comment — but at the time of writing neither had responded.

The ruling is certainly embarrassing for London’s authorities which have claimed to be taking a tough stance against Uber on issues of safety and governance, including — since 2017 — TfL repeatedly denying Uber a full licence renewal.

If TfL had applied the regulations as intended there’s no doubt Uber’s business would have had to look very different from the get-go. Indeed, the whole private hire vehicle model might have taken a very different turn.

While this High Court ruling is specific to London/the UK, wider pro-worker changes also appear to be on the way for gig platforms across Europe — as EU lawmakers are working on legislation they say will improve working conditions for platforms workers.

Last week Bloomberg reported this forthcoming EU plan could see as many as 4.1 million people working through food delivery and ride-hailing apps reclassified as employees — which sounds like it certainly take a bunch of steam out of a very VC-inflated sector.

Uber and other gig platforms, meanwhile, have been lobbying the bloc’s lawmakers to steer the other way — pushing for a Prop-22-style legal carve out for platform work that critics argue would cement a lower standard of employment protections for workers who are already among the most vulnerable and precarious.

So UK judges’ clarity on upholding the purpose of legislation being to protect workers looks very timely and may further influence the shape of incoming pan-EU rules for gig workers.

Tesla hasn’t yet shipped the Cybertruck, or the full-size Cyberquad that made a splashy debut at the introduction of its Blade Runner-esque pickup truck, but you can get a mini Cyberquad designed for the kiddos starting in 2-4 weeks if you order one right now from its website.

The Tesla ‘Cyberquad for Kids’ is available to purchase on Tesla’s site for $1,900 — a steep price relative to your average Power Wheels, but the lowest-priced vehicle in Tesla’s existing lineup by far. And the Cyberquad’s materials are a cut above your average battery electric kid car, with a “full steel frame,” along with cushioned seating and fully adjustable suspension.

It may be the cheapest Tesla you can buy, but it’s also the most limited when it comes to range: You’ll get up to around 15 miles on a full charge, which takes five hours to wooer up, according to the company. It’s also not going to break any land speed records, with a speedometer that tops out at 10 mph (which you can limit to a max of 5 mph for safety if desired). That’s still plenty fast for a kid’s ride-on vehicle, which is probably why Tesla labels this one as designed for kids at least 8 and up, with a max weight of 150 lbs.

The Cyberquad for Kids is only available in the U.S. for now, and Tesla doesn’t guarantee delivery in time for Christmas though this would be an impressive thing to unwrap under the tree (better than a whistle).

Meanwhile, the actual Cybertruck that inspired it is delayed to the end of 2022, and it’s still unclear if the full-size Cyberquad will arrive then, though Elon Musk has suggested it’ll ship alongside the all-electric pickup in the past.

The electrification of the bicycle has historically meant just that: A bike, but with an electric motor. You might find some other smart conveniences on higher-end models, but “less is more” has usually been the way. Urtopia, the latest e-bike brand from China, has other ideas. Its debut ride is, on paper, one of the most tech-heavy bikes we’ve seen. The spec sheet reads more like a phone’s than a next-gen fixie.

For example, beyond the 250W hub motor with three levels of riding assist (and an estimated 30-80 mile range), there’s an integrated dot-matrix display, a fingerprint reader, GPS, 4G (via eSIM), mmWave sensors for vehicle detection, an integrated alarm and, well… the list goes on.

The bike itself has a striking aesthetic that doesn’t bother to hide the fact that this is possibly the most technologically advanced model you’ll see this year. The frame was designed by Mathis Heller who has experience with BMW and IKEA among others, and it’s pure curves and racing lines. The stealth bomber look is further enhanced with all the cables hidden from view inside the frame. The Urtopia is pitched as a city bike and while the (removable) battery isn’t overly obvious, there’s no doubt to even the most casual of glances that you’re not wielding a regular analog pedaller.

When this thing arrived, I was dreading putting it together. Previous experience has taught me that while not complex, you’ll want to set aside some time (and space) to get things set up. Turns out, the prototype model I tested only really needed the front wheel inserted and the tires pumped and I was good to go.

James Trew / Engadget

The obvious draw here for gadget fans will be the “smartbar” — an onboard computer built right into the handlebars. The dot matrix display is the centerpiece of the bike and only dials up that “bike from the future” vibe. On the right-hand side where the bell would usually be is the fingerprint reader which interacts with the computer in a few ways (it’s also a digital bell). The left-hand side houses the four-way D-pad which is where you change modes and settings along with powering the bike on (but not off, more on that later).

Despite that long list of smart features, not all of them were available to test on the prototype I was sent. The hardware for the mmWave sensors is there, but there’s no way to activate it. The GPS and eSIM require the companion app to work and that’s not ready yet also. Sadly, those are some very interesting features we’ll have to wait and see on, but most everything else was present and correct.

Before the fun stuff, the basic e-bike functionality (power/speeds/range etc.) appears to be on par with other hub-motor bikes I’ve tried. For example, I recently tested the Tenways city bike, which has a 250W battery and motor compared to the Urtopia’s 360Wh cell. But both have 250W torque-based brushless hub motors and the same Gates carbon belt.

Things get more exciting once you turn the bike on. You’ll be greeted with a wooshing sound from the speaker in the smartbar and the company logo appearing on the display before defaulting back to the speedometer. I am informed that some of the sounds will be user-configurable and I hope that includes the option to turn them off. Before you ride, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the controls. Up and down on the D-pad will cycle through the assistance levels: Pedal mode, Eco, Comfort and Sport (there’s also a “Turbo” mode which is akin to a “throttle” mode).

James Trew / Engadget

Tap left or right, and you’ll be presented with turn signals projected on the ground (these also remain on when the lights are on but flash when you initiate a turn). To switch the actual lights on, however, involves speaking to the bike — there’s no manual control, only voice.

This is where things get a little goofy. Urtopia warns in its press materials that the voice recognition system hasn’t been fully “trained.” Yet, for me, it worked perfectly. Perhaps they only trained it on dull-voiced Britons? Anyway, to turn the lights on you’ll need to place a digit on the fingerprint reader and wait for the face icon to appear on the screen letting you know you can issue your command like some sort of Belgian Michael Knight. It’s cool but I’d still like a physical switch so that I don’t have to talk to my bike in public, not least because when you’re riding, it’s harder for the smartbar to hear your voice thanks to the rustling wind, etc. The result is you either have to stop for a second or lean into the handlebars as you go, neither is very elegant.

The list of things you can currently control with your voice includes: Change speed mode, lock the bike, indicate a turn and change the smartbar’s volume. All of those, bar the volume (and lights) have physical controls too. It’s a cute idea and presents a hands-free option, but in practice, I do wonder how useful it is over a nice button you can mash.

Another feature that feels like technology doesn’t necessarily improve is the bell. On this bike it’s built into the fingerprint reader. A long press activates voice recognition, a short press will emit a digital “ring ring.” It works fine, but it’s not as responsive as a physical bell would be. I had times where I was approaching someone from behind and wanted to alert them to my presence, only for the bell to sound half a second after I passed them. Other times it took two or three tries for it to even trigger.

James Trew / Engadget

The experience with the alarm also needs a little smoothing out. I love the idea that I can leave the bike “locked” and if anyone moves it, it’ll issue an audible alarm. The problem is, the Urtopia will do this any time it’s locked. This might seem fine until you learn that “locked” is basically “standby” and the bike will be in this mode as soon as you connect the battery. So if you put the battery in and then start wheeling the bike out the front door, the alarm will sound.

There’s an easy fix for this, but also not entirely helpful. Simply turn the bike on and that will disable the alarm. In fairness, this is a quirk of it being a prototype. Production models will allow you to disable the alarm with the fingerprint sensor or the companion app, but this isn’t something I could test. It’s worth mentioning that, right now, there’s no actual way to turn the bike off other than by removing the battery, so fingers crossed these are some kinks that can be ironed out by launch. I asked a company representative if this was the plan and he confirmed that it was.

So, tech aside, what does this thing ride like? The sitting position puts you leaning forward in more of a racer pose than a typical town bike where you might be more upright. It’s comfortable though, even after mid to long rides (the longest I managed was 11 miles but I was up for more) although the Velo saddle could be a little easier on the butt — it’s fairly hard and doesn’t appear to be gel-lined.

In pedal mode, there’s no noticeable resistance from the motor as expected with a hub of this type. At 13Kg/30 pounds, it’s pretty light for an e-bike — mostly thanks to the carbon fiber body. This means if you don’t want to use the battery it’s still a functional regular bike. Tap up on the D-pad though and things get fun real quick. Like most e-bikes, the Urtopia is limited on its power assistance based on territories. The US version tops out at 20 MPH before you’re on your own and the EU version will cap out at 16 MPH of electric assistance.

James Trew / Engadget

The three power modes all feel pretty fast. That’s to say, even “eco” mode will help you along nicely. Step up to Comfort mode and you probably have nearly all the power you need to get where you’re going and have a good balance of exercise and assistance. In Sport mode, this thing feels really quite fast despite the standard limitations. I often found myself dropping back down to Comfort mode when other humans were near as it can feel quite lively — in a good way.

If you really are feeling like chilling out and letting the bike do all the work, there’s also that Turbo mode. Long press Up on the D-pad and even the lightest of pedaling will soon get you to 20mph. Given the racey aesthetic and the forward seating position, this is a lot of fun for not a lot of effort.

With that in mind, I should mention the range. Urtopia claims you should be good for anything between 30 and 80 assisted miles. This will obviously depend on the terrain and which power mode you’re in, and it’s quite a wide estimate. I haven’t run the battery down yet, but the indicator on the smartbar did seem to get quite low even on a 10-mile ride. It’s hard to know if this is a prototype quirk or just that the battery is draining fast (which, again, could be something that changes in final hardware with final firmware? Hard to know).

This is why I saved the section on GPS and the 4G connectivity until now. One of the more interesting selling points here for me is that you will be able to track and locate the bike on a map at almost any time. The company tells me it plans to offer data bundles for the 4G connectivity for about $30 a year — which seems pretty reasonable for the peace of mind of being able to locate your bike anywhere if it were to go missing. My question is… what impact might this have on the battery if it’s pinging GPS and running 4G while idle? Alas, a question I can’t answer until we get to try the final model.

The same question goes for the mmWave sensors. Another thing I am currently unable to test.

James Trew / Engadget

What I do know is that as the bike is right now, it’s incredibly fun to ride and thanks to the weight, fairly easy to handle (I live in a fifth-floor apartment, so wrangling it into the small elevator is thankfully more manageable). The techno styling might not be to everyone’s taste, but I’m quite fond of it. And most importantly, it’s nice to see something so tech-forward, even if some of the headline features weren’t ready. I am eager to try them once they are and after speaking with the company I got the sense there is more to come. I jokingly suggested they should allow music through the smartbar speaker (the bike has Bluetooth) and they suggested that was possible as are the required OTA updates to deliver such new features.

Right now, the Urtopia is available for pre-order via Indiegogo. As such, the standard caveats apply, but given how close to final the prototype I have is, it doesn’t seem like there’s any more development to be done, just some fine-tuning on those remaining features. If you do pre-order you’ll be able to pick one up for $2,000 which is a really competitive price even for the bike without those extra features enabled. According to the campaign, that price will almost double once it goes to retail, so if you’re taken by what you see, there’s a decent incentive to get on board sooner rather than later.

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on Engadget.

Formula E has announced what it claims is the planet’s most efficient race car. Teams will use the third-generation (Gen3) electric car in the 2022-23 season and can start testing it in the spring.

Not only is the Gen3 lighter and smaller than the Gen2, Formula E and the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) say that at least 40 percent of energy used in a race will be produced through regenerative braking. As such, Gen3 will be the first formula car without rear hydraulic brakes.

The Gen3 is also the first formula car with powertrains at both the front and the rear. The rear 350kW powertrain will be complemented by a 250kW one at the front. With a total of 600kW, they’ll more than double the regenerative capability of the Gen2.

In addition, the motor can provide up to 350kW of power (470 brake horsepower) and a top speed of 200mph. Formula E and the FIA say the power-to-weight ratio is twice as efficient as an equivalent combustion engine.

Formula E

The Gen3 was designed for sustainability. It is net-zero carbon and broken carbon fiber parts will be recycled. Tires, meanwhile, will use 26 percent sustainable materials.

“In designing the Gen3 car, we set out to demonstrate that high performance, efficiency and sustainability can co-exist without compromise,” Formula E CEO Jamie Reigle said in a statement. “Together with the FIA, we have built the world’s most efficient and sustainable high performance race car. The Gen3 is our fastest, lightest, most powerful and efficient racing car yet.”

Formula E hasn’t fully shown off the design of the Gen3 yet. It only released some teaser images. However, since teams will be testing the car in a few months, it shouldn’t be too long before we get a proper look at the vehicle.

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on Engadget.

Nissan will invest 2 trillion yen ($17.6 billion) over the next five years developing new EVs and battery technology as part of a grand plan it calls “Ambition 2030,” the company announced. It aims to release 15 new EVs total by 2030, with electrified vehicles making up half its vehicle lineup at that point.

The automaker said it will develop 23 electrified vehicles in total over the next eight years, with 20 of those coming in the next five years alone. It’s shooting for a market mix of 75 percent electrified (EV and e-Power PHEV/hybrids) in Europe, 55 percent in Japan and 40 percent in the US and China by 2030.

The other part of that mix, would presumably be internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. It’s worth noting that in early 2021, Nissan said that it planned to electrify every all-new car it launches by the early 2030s. Presumably, then, any ICE vehicles still available would be legacy models.

Nissan will launch EVs with all-solid-state batteries (ASSB) by 2028 and ready a pilot plant in Yokohama as early as 2024, it said. That technology promises benefits like reduced charging times, but has yet to arrive to market as expected. The company also wants to bring the cost of battery packs down to $75 per kWh by 2028 with a reduction to $65 kWh further down the road. That would be about half of what EV batteries cost last year, according to Bloomberg. By 2030, Nissan hopes to be producing 130 GWh of batteries.

The company said it plans to expand its ProPilot driver assistance technology to over 2.5 million Nissan and Infiniti vehicles by 2026. It will also incorporate next-generation LIDAR systems “on virtually every new model by fiscal year 2030.”

Nissan

As part of Ambition 2030, Nissan also unveiled no less than four concept cars: the Chill-Out, Surf-Out, Hang-Out and Max-Out. Like most concepts, they’re meant to give a taste of Nissan’s future technology including self-driving, interior features and just far-out designs. However, Nissan has only shown images of the Chill-Out as a real vehicle, with renders of the other three vehicles.

The Chill-Out (top and above) is a smallish crossover that could be an early preview of the next-generation Leaf, which Nissan previously confirmed would move from a hatch to a crossover style body. It will use the Ariya’s CMF-EV platform and e-4orce electric all-wheel drive system, and could arrive by 2025.

Nissan

The Surf-Out, meanwhile, is a small electric single cab pickup with a decent-sized bed and removable canopy. It would come with a dual-motor AWD setup and a variety of power outputs, offering off-road performance, utility power and extended cargo space.

Nissan

Then there’s the Hang-Out, which is more like a small camper van/SUV designed to “provide a new way of spending time on the move.” It has a completely flat floor and movable, theater-like seats, offering “the comfort of your living room in a mobile space” — something we’ve seen with other recent EV concepts. It also offers e-4orce and advanced ProPilot features.

Nissan

Finally, the Max-Out is a concept convertible sports car that offers “superlative stability and comfort.” Body roll is limited to deliver “dynamic cornering and steering response” to optimize handling and occupant comfort. It’s supposedly lightweight with a very low center of gravity, and also offers advanced e-4orce.

Nissan’s new plan comes as the company has grappled with internal problems, including the arrest and subsequent flight of former CEO Carlos Ghosn. In the short term, the company plans to cut 300 billion yen ($2.65 billion) in fixed costs and reduce production capacity by 20 percent as part of its “Nissan Next” plan unveiled last year.

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on Engadget.

Uber will halt its ride-hailing service in most of Belgium tomorrow following a court ruling Wednesday that extends a 2015 order banning its p2p UberPop service to also cover professional drivers providing its ride-hailing service.

Uber told us that it is studying the detail of the ruling to decide whether to appeal the decision with the country’s Supreme Court.

The move also follows a temporary suspension of Uber’s service in Brussels in September — an action the tech giant called “exceptional and unprecedented”, saying it was only taking the step to protest the lack of reform of rules which prohibit drivers from using smartphones.

Following the ruling by the Brussels Appeal Court this week, private hire vehicle drivers have also been blocking a major tunnel in the Belgian capital.

In a statement on Friday’s looming shutdown, Uber’s country chief, Laurent Slits, once again attacked the Belgian government for not delivering a reform it’s been lobbying for, writing: “This decision was made based on outdated regulations written in a time before smartphones, which the government has promised and failed to reform for the last seven years.”

Per Bloomberg, which reported on Uber’s shutdown earlier, it will not apply to a small number of drivers who are licensed in a Flemish region of the country — and who will therefore still be allowed to use the app.

Uber confirmed the Appeal Court ruling only affects drivers with Brussels licences.

In the statement, Slits added that the tech giant is “deeply concerned” about the 2,000 holders of LVC licenses (aka rental car with driver licences) who he said will “lose their ability to generate earnings [via Uber’s platform] from Friday”.

That phrasing — “generate earnings” — refers to the fact Uber does not employ drivers directly in Belgium; instead it classifies them as independent contractors. So it cannot claim that 2,000 ‘jobs’ are about to be lost since it does not provide employment contracts to the LVC drivers in question in the first place.

“We urge the government to move quickly to reform the taxi and LVC sector once and for all so that drivers can continue working to provide for their families,” Slits added.

Back in March the local government in Brussels banned Uber drivers from picking up rides via smartphones and geolocation.

Since then Uber drivers in the city have been operating in a legal grey zone — where they risk sanctions by continuing to drive using its app. However the company suggests drivers have been given mixed messages, claiming authorities are sometimes telling drivers — in private — that they can continue driving.

A spokesman for Uber called the government’s March order “mistaken” — pointing out that it had promised a reform of the law before the summer. Per Reuters, a draft law to reform the rules was set out by the Belgian government in September. But, according to Uber, the sector as a whole has yet to see the text.

Uber suggested there is widespread backing in Belgium for reforming the 1995 rules — not just from LVC drivers who serve customers via its platform but also from traditional taxi firms.

However local taxi firms in Brussels have their own reform ideas — and have also said they are keen to poach Uber drivers to plug a shortage of taxi drivers.

A sector spokesman recently told TaxiPro there’s a shortfall of 600+ taxi drivers in the capital which could be filled by LVC holders that have been driving for Uber.

“The big advantage is that we offer a solution to these Uber drivers,” Sam Bouchal told the publication in September [translated to English via Google Translate], saying that the Uber drivers could be offered permanent contracts, and adding: “We’re getting them out of illegality.”

Bouchal also told TaxiPro that the taxi sector wants to avoid what he couched as “a social massacre.”

Concern over gig working conditions has been a fiery topic across Europe for years, leading to scores of legal challenges — and a 2017 ruling by Europe’s top court that Uber is a transport service and so cannot simply dodge local taxi regulations.

In the UK, Uber was also recently been forced to recognize drivers as workers after losing the last of a long line of employment challenges at the country’s Supreme Court.

However, in Belgium — a core centre of power for the European Commission — the ride-hailing giant is continuing to lobby for favorably changes to the law to grease the engines of its platform business.

Uber is also lobbying the Commission to address ride-hailing regulations across the bloc’s single market in an upcoming urban mobility framework — which the EU exec has said it wants to support the development of urban transport systems that are “safe, accessible, inclusive, affordable, smart, resilient and emission-free”. 

Uber’s hope here is that EU lawmakers will seek to apply rules that override city level regulations — setting a pan-EU enabling framework for ride-hailing services which would mean it could just ignore local authority demands.

However the Commission has also said it wants the urban mobility framework to tackle “transport pollution and congestion” — so it’s not clear how removing regulatory barriers to ride-hailing would be anything other than counterproductive on that front.

Cars remain the least efficient way to transport people around dense urban environments given how much space they require and how relatively few people can be moved around in the space occupied by a single car vs a train, bus, cycling, scooting, walking etc. The rise of micromobility has also fuelled the range of available car alternatives — so the arguments in favor of cars in cities are shrinking rapidly.

The coronavirus pandemic has also led to a number of European cities to dial up their focus on transforming street infrastructure to be more pedestrian and locally focused, also leveraging the rise of micromobility to enact policies that deliberately de-emphasize the car. Simply put, cleaner air and more vibrant local streets (and school bike trains) are hard to argue against.

While Brussels has not been at the forefront of those developments the city has been seeking to reduce the number of cars on its infamously congested, pollution-smogged roads in recent years. So Belgium’s government may well have reason to pause and consider the implications of any ride-hailing reforms.

In parallel, the European Commission has been working on another legislation initiative — which it wants to improve conditions for platform workers across the bloc, responding to high levels of concern over factors such as the lack of job security and precarious earnings.

On that front Uber has also been busy lobbying — and stands accused of pushing EU lawmakers to reduce standards for platform workers, with critics saying it’s seeking to replicate its success in overturning a California law that had sought to classify gig workers as employees.

So the street-level battle for Europe’s social contract is very real.

With Tesla’s latest FSD (“Full Self-Driving“) release, it’s asking drivers to consent to allowing it to collect video taken by a car’s exterior and interior cameras in case of an accident or “serious safety risk.” That will mark the first time Tesla will attach footage to a specific vehicle and driver, according to an Electrek report.

Tesla has gathered video footage as part of FSD before, but it was only used to train and improve its AI self-driving systems. According to the new agreement, however, Tesla will now be able to associate video to specific vehicles. “By enabling FSD Beta, I consent to Tesla’s collection of VIN-associated image data from the vehicle’s external cameras and Cabin Camera in the occurrence of a serious safety risk or a safety event like a collision,” the agreement reads.

By enabling FSD Beta, I consent to Tesla’s collection of VIN-associated image data from the vehicle’s external cameras and Cabin Camera in the occurrence of a serious safety risk or a safety event like a collision.

As Electrek notes, the language could indicate that Tesla wants to ensure it has evidence in case its FSD system is blamed for an accident. It could possibly also be used to detect and fix serious issues more quickly.

FSD 10.3 was released more widely than previous betas, but it was quickly pulled back due to issues like unwarranted Forward Collision Warnings, unexpected autobraking and more. At the time, CEO Elon Musk tweeted that such issues are “to be expected with beta software,” adding that “it is impossible to test all hardware configs in all conditions with internal QA, hence public tests.”

However, other drivers on public roads are unwitting beta testers, too. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is currently investigating a driver’s complaint that FSD led to a November 3rd collision in Brea, California. The owner alleged that it caused his Model Y to enter the wrong lane and hit another car, causing considerable damage to both.

Tesla is releasing the new beta to even more users with Driver Safety Scores of 98 and up — previously, beta releases were limited to drivers with perfect 100 scores. Tesla charges drivers $199 per month for the feature or $10,000 in one shot, but has failed meet promised deadlines for autonomous driving. Currently, the FSD system is considered to be a Level 2 system — far from the Level 4 required to really be “full self-driving.”

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on Engadget.

The first electric Hummers will be making their way to their new owners this holiday season. According to Autoblog, GMC boss Duncan Aldred has announced that deliveries of the Hummer Edition 1 — the all-electric truck variant that’ll set buyers back over $112,000 — begin in December. The conference has also revealed that Edition 1 has an EPA range of 329 miles, a bit lower than the 350-mile range the automaker was originally expecting.

GMC’s four-ton electric truck has 1,000 horsepower and 11,500 ft/lb of torque generated by its three motors, giving it the capability to get from zero to 60 miles-per-hour within 3 seconds. The truck can also tow up 7,500 pounds and can carry up to 1,300 pounds. It was built on the Ultium battery pack, the platform GM developed to electrify dozens of models across its brands in the coming years.

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on Engadget.

Electric vehicle (EV) charging stations will be required for all new homes and businesses in the UK starting in 2022, the government announced today. The new measure aims to boost EV adoption in the nation by adding up to 145,000 extra charging points each year.

“This will mean people can buy new properties already ready for an electric vehicle future, while ensuring charge points are readily available at new shops and workplaces across the UK — making it as easy as refueling a petrol or diesel car today,” the press release states.

The UK government has already backed the installation of over 250,000 charging points, so the new rules would increase that by over 50 percent in the first year alone. Buildings like supermarkets and workplaces are included in the law, along with large scale renovations that will have over 10 parking spaces. However, details of the rules, like specifications and power outputs of the installations, have yet to be released.

Britain’s opposition Labour party noted that London and the southeast part of the country have more charging points “than the rest of England and Wales combined,” and the new law doesn’t help in that regard. It also said that it doesn’t include any provisions that would make EVs more affordable for lower- and middle-income families, the BBC reported.

The UK government aims to completely ban the sale of fossil fuel cars by 2030 — 10 years earlier than planned. The government previously said that it’s prepared to spend £500 million (about $660 million) on building EV charging infrastructure in the country.

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on Engadget.

The Hummer H1 was based on a military truck, and now it appears GM is ready to return the favor. GM Defense president Steve duMont told CNBC the company planned to build a military vehicle prototype based on the upcoming Hummer EV. The eLRV, or electric Light Reconnaissance Vehicle, would modify the Hummer’s frame, motors and Ultium batteries to suit US military requirements.

The prototype should be ready sometime in 2022. There’s no guarantee American armed forces will use the eLRV, however. The Army is still exploring the viability of EVs like this, and GM will have to meet formal requirements (along with a rival manufacturer) if and when they exist. A choice is due sometime in the mid-2020s.

There could be advantages to military EV adoption. They might improve overall emissions, even if the need for combustion-based chargers partly offset that advantage. EVs generally require less maintenance due to fewer moving parts. And their quiet operation could be extremely useful for recon and stealth missions where conventional rides would be too noisy. The challenge is to make the most of these advantages while minimizing drawbacks that could hurt operational speeds.

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on Engadget.

Congress is making its biggest push ever to stop drunk driving with President Biden’s huge infrastructure bill. As we previously reported, one of the provisions included a mandate for anti-drunk driving technology in new cars. Now, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has passed Congress with the measure intact, Autoblog (AP) reports, and it’s expected to be signed by the President soon. As part of the legislation, carmakers will have to include technology to detect and stop drunk drivers by as early as 2026.

First, though, the Department of Transportation will have to determine the best solution to curtail intoxicated drunk driving. Specifically, the bill requires something that will “passively monitor the performance of a driver of a motor vehicle to accurately identify whether that driver may be impaired.” That sounds similar to infrared camera solutions already used today by GM, Nissan and others, Sam Abuelsamid, principal mobility analyst for Guidehouse Insights, tells the AP. It goes without saying that we’d need something more advanced than breathalyzers, which are already used as a punishment for convicted drunken drivers.

Around 10,000 people die every year in the US from drunk driving accidents, the NHTSA says. Now that we have smarter sensors and plenty of camera technology to monitor driver behavior, it makes sense to explore solutions that could help prevent those sorts of accidents. Within a decade, it should feel as commonplace as seatbelts.

The infrastructure bill also includes other safety measures, like rear seat reminders that could notify parents about children left in carseats. Additionally, Congress will also require automatic emergency braking and lane departure warnings, features that many new cars already offer. It’s unclear when true self-driving cars will be a reality, but until then, at least human drivers can look forward to more ways to prevent accidents.

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on Engadget.

Data streams with continual, real-time updates of information are a critical building block of how apps and sites function today, and now a startup that has built a platform to power those data streams is announcing a growth round of funding on the back of strong growth in its business into a wider set of use cases. PubNub, which provides APIs to power messaging and data updates for apps and other digital businesses, has picked up $65 million, a Series E that the San Francisco-based startup will be using to continue expanding the functionality on its platform, as well as for geographical expansion: first up will be a new Asia Pacific office in Singapore.

PubNub tells me that its messaging, presence, and other data-based APIs today are used across some 600 million devices in more than 70 countries, with some 900,000 developer projects generating some 21 petabytes of data on a monthly basis. Its “thousands” of customers include the likes of Adobe, Atlassian, DocuSign and RingCentral. More widely, verticals where it is seeing strong traction include gaming, virtual events, enterprise collaboration, chat, rideshare/delivery services, telehealth applications, connected fitness, and smart home products — a range of areas that rely on the concept of “virtual spaces” where regularly updated streams of data — be it the progress of a delivery, or how many steps you’ve taken, how much energy you’ve used, or who is participating or chatting in an online meeting — are a core part of the user experience.

“We are seeing an explosion in what customers are doing using PubNub,” PubNub’s CEO and co-founder Todd Greene said in an interview. “From the time we started PubNub the vision was what software is needed to power virtual spaces. At first it was messaging, but over time we saw from customers that communication wasn’t enough.”

The funding is being led by Raine Group with others including Sapphire Ventures, Scale Ventures, HPE, and Bosch also participating. PubNub is not disclosing its valuation, but for some context, it has raised more than $130 million, and it was estimated by PitchBook to be valued at around $220 million in its last equity round in 2019.

I have confirmed with Greene that the San Francisco-based startup’s valuation now is “much higher” than that, although it’s hard to quantify PubNub’s growth since it has not disclosed how much data it has worked with on a monthly basis, just the number of messages — 1.3 trillion messages in 2019 — a figure it’s not updating this time around. It says that customer bookings have grown 200% year-over-year in 2021.

PubNub works very much behind the scenes — you will never see a “powered by PubNub” message come across your screen when its APIs are being used — but it is also working in what has become a central and critical part of how all digital services operate.

More and more aspects of our day-to-day lives are carried out, or dependent in some way, on digital experiences, and part of the reason why is because those digital experiences themselves have come a long way. Apps, sites and connected devices have more functionality, more data, and better user experience built into them than ever before, and so we use (and rely) on them more as a result. Unsurprisingly, those providing the infrastructure to make all that work as it should are seeing a boost of business growth and investor interest.

Added to all that, the “metaverse” has definitely picked up some hype as a concept in recent times, which might also give a push to companies that talk about powering virtual spaces as PubNub does, although the bigger picture is a little less buzzy and just how these services have evolved and operate already.

PubNub is not the only one seeing its star rise in that context. Others like Twilio, SendBird, MessageBird and Sinch also are providing API-based messaging and other communications services used by third-party apps, sites and other digital businesses. More directly competitive with PubNub are others providing API-based routes to build any kind of data updates, messaging or otherwise, that turn the wheels of any real-time services. They include Ably out of London, Techstars-incubated Cometchat, and Google’s Firebase.

Within that wider context, PubNub’s selling points have been its geographical reach with global points of presence, making it compliant with a variety of regional data protection rules including HIPAA, GDPR, and SOC 2 Type 2; and the fact that it is adding more functionality, both natively and by way of integrations with other services, all of which it lets developers control and monitor by way of a centralized dashboard. Services that it currently covers include in-app chat, geolocation, virtual events, push notifications and IoT services.

One might think that the current shift in digital culture towards less, not more, notifications overall might prove to be a challenging climate for the likes of PubNub. After all, information overload is not really a contested topic anymore, nor is the concept of apps draining your data or monitoring you all the time whether or not you are using them, even if how best to handle these issues, and whether the overall effects are bad or good, still may be. But Greene says that is not the case.

“Even back when we just did messaging, with the push notification feature, 99% of the messages were in-app. If you are ordering a car and watching it move on the screen, it’s effectively many messages [data pushes] coming to show you that. Companies like Apple and Google aren’t blocking that, so the shift with notifications hasn’t effected us at all,” he said, adding, “It has impacted in a positive way. In the past apps may have provided pushes to let you know something has happened. Now, they are not watching that anymore [by default] so now focusing on the in-app experience is more important.”

Lead investor Raine Group is an interesting backer for the startup as it continues to grow. The company is not just a prolific investor — but also counts a very extensive list of customers among those it advises, where it has been involved in a ton of M&A deals involving companies like Apple, Tencent, ByteDance, Warner Music, SoftBank, Uber and more. This opens the door for PubNub to leverage that network for business development and to make more customer inroads.

“We are excited to be partnering with PubNub, powering the future of real-time digital and social experiences in a world where constraints on developer time and engineering resources are placing an increasing demand for software solutions and APIs,” said, Christopher Donini, MD of The Raine Group, in a statement. “PubNub’s leading solution provides easy-to-implement reliability, security, and low-latency, which we believe solves a pervasive problem at the intersection of Raine’s global network across technology, media, and telecommunications.” Donini and managing partner Kevin Linker are joining PubNub’s board of directors with this round.