Uber has launched a website for a service called Uber Freight. Little has been revealed about the company’s expansion from ride-hailing, but if the announcements it’s made over the last year are any indicator, chances are good that Uber Freight is meant to prepare the world for autonomous delivery trucks.

Uber acquired a startup called Otto, which planned to bring the first self-driving trucks to market, in August. Since then the company has used its trucks to deliver 50,000 cans of beer and hundreds of Christmas trees in San Francisco.

This new service won’t use those trucks, at least not at the beginning. Instead it will function much like Uber’s existing platform: Some people will sign up to drive items across the country, and others will join so they can send packages without having to sign a contract with established shipping companies. The service will likely bring “surge pricing” to trucking, too.

Uber Freight could also help Otto’s trucks by using data gathered from drivers on the platform. This would allow the self-driving vehicles to learn from experienced people while regulators figure out how to govern autonomous trucks and the technology catches up to all of the promises made by its creators. Why put off entering a whole new market — shipping and commuting don’t tend to overlap — when the company could just use human drivers until its semi-trucks are ready?

It turns out that Otto had similar plans. Business Insider reported in October that the startup eventually wanted to introduce a platform like Uber’s. The acquisition didn’t just give Otto access to more resources or help Uber work on self-driving vehicles; it let the companies work together instead of trying to compete with each other. (I suspect the more business-inclined would call this “synergy.”)

Uber Freight’s launch coincides with growing interest in trucking from many tech companies. Nikola Motor Company wants to use tech to make trucking more environmentally friendly and appealing to millennials; Tesla’s working on self-driving trucks; the list could go on.

https://www.inverse.com/article/25698-uber-freight-just-launched-change-trucking-otto


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 BOLTON

 Drunk taxi driver three times over limit' smashes into lamppost on flyover sending it plunging onto motorway below
Cabbie was arrested on suspicion of drink driving after flooring a lamp post which nearly hit passing cars

A 'drunk' taxi driver smashed into a lamp post so hard the pole flew over a bridge onto a motorway lane - narrowly missing cars passing below.

Cops arrested the man on suspicion of being three times over the drink driving limit after the near-fatal incident.

The driver floored the lamp post on a motorway slip road bridge on the M60, near Prestwich, Manchester, just before 9.50am on Tuesday.

He was breathalysed at the scene and blew 105mg - nearly three times over the national limit of 35.

Identification checks showed the car was a licensed taxi vehicle, Manchester Evening News reported.

The 34-year-old man from Bolton was arrested at the scene on suspicion of drink driving.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/drunk-taxi-driver-three-times-9523710

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 DUBLIN

 A Manhunt is on for a rapist taxi driver who could be caught by DNA evidence.

More than 80 drivers are being contacted and asked to provide mouth swabs by gardai investigating the alleged sex attack in Dublin.

The call is being made to cabbies whose cars match the make and model of the suspect’s vehicle.

It is understood this is the first case of its kind since the DNA database was estab- lished in November last year.

The Irish Times reported the mass screening relates to an attack reported by a woman after a night out in Dublin last year.

The victim claimed she was collected from the Harcourt Street area of the south inner city and asked to be driven to her home in the north of the city.

It is believed around 84 drivers were working in a vehicle similar to the suspect’s car – thought to be a dark coloured Toyota and the model was registered between 2004 and 2009.

http://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/more-80-taxi-drivers-dna-12375908
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LIVERPOOL

 Rapist cabbie was allowed to keep driving taxi despite kerb-crawling conviction
Yassar Murat Ayuc, who raped a victim after giving her a lift, was previously handed a one-month suspension for soliciting prostitutes

A rapist cabbie was allowed to keep working as a taxi driver and doorman despite being caught kerb-crawling.

Yassar Murat Ayuc raped a victim near Rock Ferry oil terminal and when she “played dead”, covered her with leaves and branches.

The burly 49-year-old later said the drunken woman forced herself on him, was “too strong” and he feared she would damage his penis.

A jury rejected his claims and found Ayuc – known as Turkish Tony – guilty of raping her in the early hours of Sunday, June 5.

The ECHO revealed he was banned from the road for six months in 2015 after driving hen parties around in an illegal stretch limousine.

But that was not his first brush with the law, as he was previously caught in an undercover police sting, when out looking for prostitutes.

The unsuspecting cabbie, of no fixed abode, repeatedly tried to entice a policewoman into his car in Devon Street, Islington.

He was fined £50 for persistently soliciting a woman for prostitution from a motor vehicle at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court in January 2007.

Ayuc was then hauled before Liverpool council’s taxi driver licensing panel, which could have revoked his licence.

He begged for mercy, arguing he had lived in England for 20 years and worked as a bouncer and cabbie “with no problems”.

Minutes from the April meeting recorded: “He stated that he feels ashamed, it was a stupid thing to do.

“He realised that it was wrong and drove away, but it was too late, he was stopped by the police.

“He has been punished by the courts, he deeply apologises and states it will never happen again.

“His only skill is driving. He has never assaulted anyone or used violence in his jobs as a doorman or a taxi driver.”

Having “carefully considered” Ayuc’s explanation, the panel decided to suspend his licence for just one month.

Judge Brian Cummings, QC, was informed of Ayuc’s previous conviction during his trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

He demanded to know why the rapist was allowed to keep both his licences, which he still holds to this day.

A Liverpool council spokesman said: “When we are notified of arrests or convictions we review the driver’s licence and the facts are submitted to a committee and they decide whether to suspend or revoke it.

“Safeguarding the public is our number one priority and we are one of the few authorities in the UK to implement mandatory training for hackney and private hire drivers.

“This not only ensures the safety of passengers but also increases the driver’s awareness and understanding of safeguarding issues.”

The ECHO was unable to speak to anyone at the Security Industry Authority, despite numerous attempts to contact the body, which manages the licensing of doormen.

Ayuc, formerly of County Road in Walton, was convicted of raping the woman after driving her to a secluded spot near The Refreshment Rooms pub.

The woman described herself as being ‘10 out of 10’ on a scale of drunkenness when she got in Ayuc’s car in Argyle Street, Birkenhead at around 4.20am.

She wanted to go to a friend’s home, but Ayuc started to touch her leg and headed to Bedford Road East, where he raped her.

After Ayuc drove off she went looking for help, making her way onto Rock Ferry bypass, where a taxi driver found her at 5.10am.

Forensic examination revealed Ayuc’s DNA on her jacket, jeans and knickers.

Judge Cummings adjourned sentencing until January 13 next year and remanded him in custody.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/rapist-cabbie-allowed-keep-driving-12373574
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Taxi drivers across North West Leicestershire found themselves in trouble with the police after officers joined members of the district council to check the standard of taxis in the area.

Seven out of the 12 taxis checked had some form of defect, and two of them were so severe their licence plates were removed and their licences suspended. North West Leicestershire District Council joined forces with Leicestershire Police to check the vehicles, but only three were found with no defects at all.

One fixed penalty notice was served to a driver for smoking inside a licensed vehicle, and another driver had to be sent home to collect his badge after it was evident he had not got it with him.

Five taxis were found with minor defects and given seven days to repair them and re-present their taxi to the council. Just three taxis were found with no defects at all.

http://bit.ly/2hrK7Ck