For the second time in six months, a Chinese national is charged with stealing self-driving car secrets from Apple‘s Titan Project in order to benefit a China-based competitor. LINK
- … and speaking of Chinese corporate espionage. The FBI set up a sting operation at CES to investigate whether Huawei tried to steal a diamond screen coating technology from a US startup. Huawei has denied the charges. LINK
STUDY: Americans who used both Uber and Lyft in the last quarter of 2018 accounted for about a third of the companies’ ride-sharing revenue. Consumers are becoming less brand loyal and choosing the service that is faster and/or cheaper. LINK
Uber & Lyft prices go up in New York City as new driver minimum wage law takes effect. LINK
Lyft and Juno file separate suits against New York City over the math it uses to calculate the $17.22 per hour it must pay all drivers. The lawsuit isn’t intended to oppose the idea of higher driver pay. Rather, the objection is to the way the driver minimum wage rules are structured. They say the formula benefits Uber. The company says it brought its concerns to the TLC but didn’t hear back. LINK
Meanwhile in Mexico… Daimler‘s ride-share co will pay Mexico City drivers 30,000 pesos (US $1,500) a week to drive for its service. Taxibeat was acquired by Daimler’s MyTaxi in February 2017 and re-branded to Beat. They are preparing for a 2019 launch in Mexico City. LINK
- SOME CONTEXT: The daily minimum wage in Mexico is 102.68 pesos (US $5.10) LINK
Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is partnering with Zhang Yanqi, former COO at Ofo, to launch a “kitchen version of WeWork” in China. LINK
- …and speaking of WeWorks. WeWork cofounder Adam Neumann is raking in millions by personally buying buildings that are leased back to WeWork. Multiple investors concerned of a conflict of interest. LINK
Toyota’s new car subscription Kinto will award points to customers based on how they drive. Toyota doesn’t explain how driving would be tracked, but the assumption is that the vehicles would be equipped with connected-car technology that can monitor driving. Points can be applied toward payments, the company said. LINK
NYPD to Google: Stop revealing the location of our DWI checkpoints. LINK
- FLASHBACK: LAPD to Google: Would you be so kind in disabling that cop tracking feature. LINK
Norway is building the world’s first submerged floating tunnel to cross the fjords. The Norwegian government estimates it could cut the drive across the Highway E39 by half the time. LINK
Husband & Daughter of homeless Arizona woman who was hit and killed by an Uber driver-less car sues the City of Tempe for $10 million. LINK
- FLASHBACK: Husband & Daughter of homeless Arizona woman who was hit and killed by an Uber driver-less car settles with Uber LINK
STUDY: Lower obesity rates linked to public transportation use. Opting for mass transit over driving creates opportunities for exercise that may otherwise not exist. LINK
