All posts tagged: rides

Uber begins test rides of Nuro-equipped Lucid Gravity robotaxi

Uber begins test rides of Nuro-equipped Lucid Gravity robotaxi

Published by skeptic

Level 4 autonomous technology expert Nuro shared the latest milestone of a partnership with Uber Technologies and Lucid Motors to develop a fleet of Gravity Robotaxi SUVs. Per the company, a select group of riders has begun test rides in California. Today’s latest robotaxi milestone involving Nuro, Uber, and Lucid Gravity dates back to July 2025, when the autonomous technology developer, rideshare and logistics network, and American EV automaker (respectively) announced an exciting new partnership. Through the collaboration, Uber Technologies has committed to deploying up to 20,000 Lucid Gravity SUVs converted to robotaxis using Nuro’s level 4 autonomous driving platform, Driver. By late October, Uber had announced where it would initially begin rolling out these Nuro-equipped Lucid Gravity robotaxis – the San Francisco Bay Area. Shocker! Advertisement – scroll for more content By January, Nuro, Uber, and Lucid Motors had unveiled a production-intent version of the Gravity robotaxi, which was beginning road testing right away. This morning, Nuro confirmed that it has moved into the next phase of development, beginning public test rides in, you …

Grab to temporarily raise fuel surcharge for rides to Salt=

Grab to temporarily raise fuel surcharge for rides to S$0.90 from Apr 7 amid global price volatility

Published by Sam Flores

S$1.1 MILLION SUPPORT PACKAGE Grab also announced a support package for its drivers, following recent volatility in pump prices that has increased daily operating costs. The support package includes fuel vouchers – which were introduced in March – as well as upcoming increases in monthly cash bonuses and cashback rebates. Grab said it would enhance its ongoing monthly rebate programme for April, providing extra bonuses and rebates to help eligible driver-partners offset the sudden rise in fuel expenses.  “These enhancements are designed to provide additional support on top of fuel vouchers, which were introduced as immediate relief for eligible driver-partners when fuel prices first spiked in March,” said Grab. Both initiatives were developed in consultation with the National Private Hire Vehicles Association (NPHVA), Grab said. The association said in a post on Facebook that it welcomed the latest changes to the driver fee, noting that it was first introduced in 2022 to help drivers manage rising costs. It added that it has been engaging Grab to step up support for drivers amid the US-Israeli war …

Waymo begins fully autonomous ops with 6th-gen Driver, targets 1M weekly rides

Waymo begins fully autonomous ops with 6th-gen Driver, targets 1M weekly rides

Published by skeptic

Waymo is now running its 6th-generation Driver without safety drivers on public roads, marking the beginning of fully autonomous operations with the company’s latest and most cost-effective hardware stack. The announcement, authored by Waymo VP of Engineering Satish Jeyachandran, confirms that the 6th-generation system, first unveiled in August 2024, is now validated for driverless operations across multiple cities. Waymo describes it as the product of seven years of service and nearly 200 million fully autonomous miles logged across 10+ major U.S. cities. Streamlined hardware, lower cost, broader capability The 6th-gen Waymo Driver cuts the sensor count dramatically: 13 cameras (down from 29), four lidars (down from five), and six radar units, a 42% reduction in total sensors compared to the 5th-gen system running on the Jaguar I-PACE fleet. Despite the reduction, Waymo claims the new suite delivers greater resolution, range, and compute power. At the core of the camera system sits a 17-megapixel imager that Waymo says is a generation ahead of other automotive cameras in resolution, dynamic range, and low-light sensitivity. The lidar system …

Uber forecasts profit below estimates on cheaper rides and higher taxes

Uber forecasts profit below estimates on cheaper rides and higher taxes

Published by Sam Flores

Feb 4 : Uber Technologies forecast first-quarter profit below expectations and fourth-quarter estimates on Wednesday, weighed down by higher taxes and an increase in more affordable ride options aimed to boost bookings. Shares fell more than 8 per cent in premarket trading after the ride-hailing company said it expects adjusted effective tax rate to be between 22 per cent and 25 per cent this year. “Our ETR reflects our business with operations across 70+ countries, which results in a tax profile comparable to large US multinationals with significant global operating presence,” Uber said. Trips rose 22 per cent in the fourth quarter, as more consumers opted for Uber’s affordable offers such as shared rides and other lower-cost mobility products. The ride-hailing company had said in November it was deliberately moderating the pace of margin growth after demonstrating over the past several years that its business model can generate profits at scale.  Uber had said investments in affordability and low-cost product offerings were partly responsible for accelerating mobility growth, even as they weighed on near-term margin …

Waymo robotaxis are now giving rides to and from San Francisco International Airport

Waymo robotaxis are now giving rides to and from San Francisco International Airport

Published by skeptic

After years of negotiations and false starts, Waymo is now allowed to operate a robotaxi service to and from the San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The Alphabet-owned company said in a blog post Thursday it will begin offering access to SFO to a select number of riders before offering it to all customers in the coming months. Pickups and drop-offs will occur at the SFO Rental Car Center, which is accessible via AirTrain. Waymo said it plans to serve additional airport locations in the future. Waymo’s SFO win comes as the company faces criticism and concerns about safety in some of the cities it operates. Waymo revealed Thursday that one of its robotaxis struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating the January 23 incident, in which the child sustained minor injuries. Waymo is also being investigated by the NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board over the illegal behavior of its robotaxis around school buses. Access to airports, and particularly SFO, is critical …

Tesla Quietly Pauses Its “Unsupervised” Robotaxi Rides as Reality Sets In

Tesla Quietly Pauses Its “Unsupervised” Robotaxi Rides as Reality Sets In

Published by José Betancourt

Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Jay Janner / Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images It appears that Tesla CEO Elon Musk may have once again duped his fans and investors — which, these days, is an increasingly meaningless distinction. Last week, Musk made huge waves when he announced that the automaker’s Robotaxi service would finally be giving rides in Austin, Texas, without a human “safety monitor” in the car — something he promised would’ve been the case since day one. What Musk left out of that announcement, however, was that the human supervisors were moved to another car that followed the robotaxi instead, a workaround that was as dishonest as it was impractical. Now, the EV blog Electrek reports another bit of Musk subterfuge. Based on what the service’s customers are saying, it appears that, at this moment, none of the Robotaxi rides that Tesla has been giving are “unsupervised.” The most convincing testimony comes from Tesla enthusiast David Moss, who made a name for himself by purportedly driving 10,000 miles on FSD v14 …

The best bike lights for commuting and weekend rides

The best bike lights for commuting and weekend rides

Published by Sam Flores

The genuinely impressive Super Bright light from Exposure is the headlamp I’d buy for my bicycle if I ever went on the long adventures I plan in my head. As it stands, I rarely cycle further than the supermarket, and this extra-bright version of the Strada MK12 (reviewed above) is overkill. At 1,700 lumens, it feels like the headlamp on a small motorcycle, properly lighting up paths that are otherwise pitch black. Like the RS we tested, the SB has several modes and a handy remote button that plugs into the charging port. The shape of the beam, which has been made to resemble that of a car headlight, provides excellent forward illumination while also making your position known to cars far away – useful if you plan to ride on rural B-roads, less so if you live in the suburbs. For casual users, this is too powerful and expensive, but for serious cyclists in need of better illumination of dark roads, it’s difficult to beat even at this price point.  With a reputation for …

Lectric eBikes just slashed prices on America’s most popular rides

Lectric eBikes just slashed prices on America’s most popular rides

Published by skeptic

Lectric doesn’t really do old-school sales. At least not the kind most of us think of when we hear the word. Sure, North America’s largest electric bike retailer, Lectric eBikes, has tons of great deals all year round. But the seasonal sales are often value bundles where the prices remain the same, but you get a ton of great accessories thrown in. Now for a limited time though, Lectric has launched an honest-to-goodness, save-you-some-real-money sale on America’s most popular electric bikes. For years, the company has leaned heavily on those value-packed bundles instead of straight-up price cuts. You’d pay the same sticker price, but get racks, fenders, upgraded lights, locks, or other useful accessories thrown in. It’s been a smart strategy, and one that helped cement Lectric’s reputation as the king of affordable, no-nonsense e-bikes. It also helped get many new riders a ton of great gear they might not have originally included with their bikes. But this week, something genuinely different is happening. Lectric is running what may be its first real, honest-to-goodness sale …

Quadric rides the shift from cloud AI to on-device inference — and it’s paying off

Quadric rides the shift from cloud AI to on-device inference — and it’s paying off

Published by skeptic

Companies and governments are looking for tools to run AI locally in a a bid slash cloud infrastructure costs and build sovereign capability. Quadric, a chip-IP startup founded by veterans of early bitcoin mining firm 21E6, is trying to power that shift, scaling beyond automotive into laptops and industrial devices, with its on-device inference technology. That expansion is already paying off. Quadric posted $15 million to $20 million in licensing revenue in 2025, up from around $4 million in 2024, CEO Veerbhan Kheterpal (pictured above, center) told TechCrunch in an interview. The company, which is based in San Francisco and has an office in Pune, India, is targeting up to $35 million this year as it builds a royalty-driven on-device AI business. That growth has buoyed the company, which now has post-money valuation of between $270 million and $300 million, up from around $100 million in its 2022 Series B, Kheterpal said. It has also helped attract investors to company. Quadric announced last week a $30 million Series C round led by ACCELERATE Fund, managed …

What’s New at Disneyland and Disney World in 2026? Rides, Lands, Ticket Deals and More Updates

What’s New at Disneyland and Disney World in 2026? Rides, Lands, Ticket Deals and More Updates

Published by skeptic

Disneyland had a huge 2025 when it kicked off its 70th anniversary. This year, we’ll see the original Disney theme park continue to celebrate the milestone — all while building three new rides at California Adventure and a whole new Disneyland entrance and Avatar area. Over at Walt Disney World in Florida, four entirely new lands are being built right now, themed around villains, Pixar characters and more. Disney isn’t slowing down its expansion plans, with four new cruise liners also on the way. Here’s everything you need to know about Disneyland, Disney World and Disney Cruise Line in 2026 and beyond. Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source. Bluey arrives at Disneyland Concept art of the Bluey show coming to Disneyland in 2026. Disney/Ludo Studio Good news for fans (both parents and kids) of the hugely popular Australian TV series: Bluey is getting its own stage show at Disneyland. Debuting on March 22, 2026, Bluey’s Best Day Ever will be held at the Fantasyland …