57% of Vienna subway riders vote against scented subway cars after a month-long trial. Vienna’s Public Transport Authority tested four fragrances, intended to improve the travel experience. They included whiffs of green tea, grapefruit, melon, and sandalwood. LINK
Study: E-Scooters take heavier environmental toll than busses with high ridership because of the raw materials and manufacturing process in China. The electricity used to charge the vehicles is one of the smallest contributors to the product’s emissions. LINK
Women are reportedly rejecting Lyft for failing to handle harassment despite its ‘woke’ image. Lyft has lost their trust because the app makes it difficult to report driver harassment. Women who filed complaints said they were sent to a chat app, where they could only interact with artificial intelligence. LINK
Just two months after returning to San Francisco streets, Lyft has pulled more than 1,000 e-bikes from the city after multiple vehicles caught fire. The company said it is investigating whether the vehicles have been tampered with, and that is has seen increased vandalism in the Bay Area. No other cities have seen similar issues. LINK
- FLASHBACK: Lyft keeps exclusive rights to San Francisco bike-share market. The City attorney spokesman John Coté said “The city’s goal has always been to make thoughtful improvements to the transportation network so more people have options to get around in safe, sustainable ways” LINK
Uber sues Chicago for an exclusive bike-share deal with Lyft. Uber’s subsidiary JUMP sues Chicago claiming the city granted Lyft a monopoly and skipped public bidding, awarding Lyft an exclusive contract that outlawed other bike-share programs. LINK
- FLASHBACK: Lyft keeps exclusive rights to San Francisco bike-share market, but the judge wouldn’t stop the city from allowing JUMP, a company owned by Uber, to continue a pilot program that puts 500 dockless electric bikes on the streets during negotiations with Lyft. LINK
One week after beginning operations, half of a Bratislava shared e-scooter service’s fleet was stolen. However, the thieves were found within a few hours thanks to the police and GPS locators. LINK
- FLASHBACK: In Chicago, 21 people have been arrested for stealing 25% of all Car2Go’s cars in that city. Police have not said if the people accused of stealing the vehicles were working together or if it was “steal a ‘car-sharing car’ day” in Illinois. LINK
Ohio State partners with Lyft to replace the free, university-operated Safe Ride. Ohio State will offer 10,000 discounted safe night rides per month through the Lyft app with a $5 discount per ride within the designated Columbus campus service area. LINK
English man turns his disability scooter into a taxi for late-night drinkers. Local cab drivers are furious saying “It goes around 20mph and I bet he doesn’t have a license. It is totally illegal.” And they had seen “about five people hanging off the side”. LINK
A Lyft driver refused to be the getaway car for a Chattanooga woman who stole a Juul from a gas station. She then called an Uber and fled the scene. She was later found by police in an Uber van in a nearby parking lot. LINK
- FLASHBACK: Bank robber uses Lyft as a getaway car to the Airport. A bank employee recognized the robber as a regular customer when his crooked nose slipped out of his mask. Once caught, he confessed to the crime. LINK
H/T Joseph Tope via our Slack Group
Kakao Mobility has acquired a taxi company following new regulations designed to settle the conflict between conventional taxi service providers and ride-hailing platforms. These regulations act as a compromise for mutual growth between the two parties requiring ride-hailing services to purchase taxi driving licenses to develop and offer their services. LINK
- FLASHBACK: South Korea’s Chat app Kakao’s taxi-hailing service is getting backlash from taxi drivers. They are planning to introduce a carpooling service inside the taxi-hailing app. LINK
NYC’s MetroCard’s flashy replacement was almost named ‘TONY’ (Which your humble curator wholeheartedly approves) The MTA seriously considered naming its new “tap and go” fare payment system “TONY” — but officials were too worried the MetroCard replacement’s moniker seemed too lacking in diversity. In the end, the team settled on OMNY. LINK
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