Smart Travel: New Alaska Airlines Awards Coming Soon, New
Listen to audio As the New Year approaches, are you considering your rewards program options? Alaska Airlines’ new deal may maximize your benefits. Thinking about finally traveling to Japan? A new tourism campaign is working overtime to catch your eye. We're here to fill you in on all of that, plus acquisitions that could spark the travel industry, the latest updates from the World Travel Awards global competition, and how Jamaica is celebrating new improvements to the visitor travel experience. Alaska Airlines to add status milestones, benefits to loyalty program in 2025 Starting next year, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan members will receive new benefits including bonus miles, free meals, free Wi-Fi, lounge access, enhanced mileage program status on a single trip, exclusive events and transition to elite status Option Qualification Miles (EQM). Miles accumulated are calculated based on distance flown rather than purchase amount. The current membership levels are: Entry-level elite status: 20,000 EQM MVP Gold: 40,000 EQM MVP Gold…
Uber and Lyft drivers are using FSD Teslas as robotaxis,
Some ride-hailing drivers working for Uber and Lyft rely on Tesla's fully self-driving system when transporting passengers. Using FSD would allow them to treat Teslas like robotaxis, and there would be no rules prohibiting taxi drivers from using the technology. Earlier this year, an Uber driver and YouTuber was involved in a crash when his FSD-equipped Tesla failed to spot an SUV blocking his path. Tesla is preparing to release its first robotaxi on October 10, but across the United States, a growing number of ride-hailing drivers are using Tesla's fully self-driving system to create their own while transporting paying passengers. Robot taxi. var adpushup = window.adpushup = window.adpushup || {que:()}; adpushup.que.push(function() { if (adpushup.config.platform !== "DESKTOP"){ adpushup.triggerAd("4d84e4c9 -9937-4f84-82c0-c94544ee6f2a"); } else{ adpushup.triggerAd(" 6a782b01-facb-45f3-a88f-ddf1b1f97657"); } }); Unlike true robo-taxi companies, which are heavily regulated, human operators working for Uber and Lyft are free to use whatever driver-assist technology is available to them. But considering how rough the FSD is on real…
Six years after fatal crash, Uber signs new RoboTaxi deal
Uber is getting back into the robotaxi space thanks to a new partnership with Avride. The deal will see Uber Eats use autonomous food delivery robots starting later this year. Hyundai's Ioniq 5 self-driving car is expected to hit the streets of Dallas in 2025. Uber was a pioneer in self-driving, but a fatal accident in 2018 changed everything. Affected by this, the company threw in the towel and sold its Advanced Technologies Group in 2020. var adpushup = window.adpushup = window.adpushup || {que:()}; adpushup.que.push(function() { if (adpushup.config.platform !== "DESKTOP"){ adpushup.triggerAd("4d84e4c9 -9937-4f84-82c0-c94544ee6f2a"); } else{ adpushup.triggerAd(" 6a782b01-facb-45f3-a88f-ddf1b1f97657"); } }); While Uber isn't the only company to have suffered setbacks with self-driving, the company is now ready to try again. Uber and Uber Eats are once again embracing self-driving vehicles as part of a "multi-year strategic partnership" with Avride. More: Uber safety driver pleads guilty to endangering safety in fatal Arizona crash The multi-pronged effort will begin in Austin, Texas, where delivery…
Uber Black is back in India; will start in
After a hiatus of nearly a decade, the ride-hailing giant is returning to India with the launch of its premium service, Uber Black, first in Mumbai. The black cab service caters to the growing preference of Indian customers for premium services, offering luxury vehicles and highly-regarded drivers. It unlocks a variety of customizable options such as climate control, silent mode, and luggage assistance, offering exceptional comfort, style, and convenience. In addition, the premium cab service allows for extended waiting time, providing passengers with an extra five minutes of pickup time without having to pay a waiting fee. Also read: Maruti Suzuki CEO: Exports to grow threefold by 2030, Managing Director and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi says at SIAM 2024 Sharing his thoughts on the launch, Prabhjeet Singh, President, India and South Asia, Uber said, "We are excited to relaunch Uber Black with a fresh avatar to cater to the evolving needs of Indian customers and introduce back-seat business class to Indian…
Texas Supreme Court overturns Sarah Milburn/Honda seat belt ruling
Sarah Milburn was driving an Uber Honda Odyssey when the car crashed, leaving a Texas woman a quadriplegic. July 8, 2024 — The Texas Supreme Court has vacated a $26 million verdict against Honda in the case of Sarah Milburn, who became a quadriplegic in a collision with a 2011 Honda Odyssey minivan driven by Uber driver Arian Yusufzai. On the night of November 14, 2015, Sarah Milburn, then 23, went to a bar in Dallas with five friends. Shortly after midnight, they decided to go to another bar to meet up with other friends. According to court documents, one member of the gang called an Uber and Uber driver Arian Yousafzai picked them up in a 2011 Honda Odyssey. Sarah Milburn was sitting in the third-row middle seat, but the seat's removable anchor points were not locked and the webbing was retracted into the ceiling-mounted retractor. After Milburn buckled up, he pulled the seat belt down from the ceiling,…
Uber and BYD partner to provide electric vehicles to Chinese ride-hailing drivers
go through Chris Chilton 18 hours ago Uber and BYD are teaming up to let the ride-hailing company's drivers drive Chinese electric vehicles. The deal will put 100,000 BYD electric vehicles into the Uber network in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The United States, which recently imposed stiff tariffs on electric vehicle imports from China, is not a party to the deal. RELATED: Uber will pay you $1,000 to not drive for four weeks Uber’s statement didn’t mention the U.S., and understandably so. In May, the Biden administration decided to raise tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China to 102.5%. But it’s unclear how similar (albeit less extreme) tariffs in Europe — and signs of upcoming tariffs in Canada — will affect future deals. Uber wants all of its vehicles operating in cities across the U.S., Canada, and Europe to be zero-emission electric vehicles by 2030, but achieving that goal looks a daunting task…
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