Ride-sharing

Waymo’s robotaxis are available exclusively on the Uber app in the Texas capital, and today the ridehailing company provided some color on how that partnership is going since its launch in early March. Waymo’s approximately 100 vehicles in Austin are “busier than over 99% of all drivers in Austin in terms of completed trips per day,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in prepared remarks during the company’s Q1 earnings call. He added, “So far, this launch has exceeded our expectations.”

Uber and China’s WeRide are currently operating a small fleet of autonomous cars in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, and plan on launching soon in Dubai. Now they expect to deploy robotaxi service to 15 additional cities, some of which will be in Europe, over the next five years.

Momenta will deploy its autonomous vehicles on Uber’s ridehailing platform starting in 2026, initially with safety drivers on board. For availability, Uber is only saying they’ll be in “international markets outside of the US and China.”

Users on the Uber app can sign up to gain early access to the robotaxi service, which will take people across 65 square miles of Atlanta, including Downtown, Buckhead, and Capitol View. Waymo says “select riders” who join the waitlist “may get access to Waymo rides ahead of the public launch.”

The ridehail company’s partnership with AV developer WeRide is launching in Dubai, after several months of successful trips in Abu Dhabi. The vehicles still include safety drivers and won’t be fully driverless until later this year, Uber says. Uber is also working with Waymo in Austin, Texas, and has several other AV partnerships in the works.

The new partnership will create integrations across the Uber Eats, Uber, and OpenTable apps to “offer dining reservation access and seamless transportation options, membership benefits, and more.” The companies plan to roll out these integrations in “phases” throughout 2025.

The popular online grocer will now offer same-day delivery in New York City via Uber Eats, the companies announced today. It’s the first time that Fresh Direct’s catalog will be available on a third-party app. And it will provide Uber Eats more ammunition in its war against Amazon, Instacart, Walmart, and other players in the online grocery delivery space. Especially now as all those super-rapid venture-backed grocery delivery startups evaporated.

Avride’s fleet of sidewalk delivery robots has arrived in Jersey City, New Jersey, where they will begin ferrying Uber Eats orders starting this week. The bots have a range of 31 miles and can drive at up to 5mph, even through rain or snow.

The rideshare company just reported its first full year of profitability (based on generally accepted accounting principles). And it only took *checks notes* 13 years! (Uber accomplished this last year.) Net income for 2024 was $22.8 million on adjusted earnings of $382.4 million, compared to a net loss of $340.3 million in 2023. Gross bookings were up 17 percent, and revenue was up 31 percent. But shares were down in after-market trading based on a slightly gloomier than expected outlook for 2025. Still, a significant milestone for the historically money-losing rideshare company.

Rideshare rides in lower Manhattan will cost an extra $1.50 as part of a new rideshare congestion fee starting tomorrow.

Ride share drivers in New York are guaranteed a minimum wage — but Uber and Lyft gamed the law by locking drivers out of the app, making it impossible for them to earn more, a Bloomberg investigation found.