Taxi-hailing app Lyft raises £760 million from Google parent Alphabet

Taxi-hailing app Lyft has raised $1 billion (£760 million) from Google’s parent company as it looks to narrow the gap with Uber.

The investment from Alphabet fund CapitalG bolsters Lyft’s valuation to $11 billion (£8 billion) from $7.5 billion (£5.7 billion).

As part of the move, David Lawee – CapitalG partner and former Google vice president of corporate development – will join Lyft’s board.

Lyft, which only operates in the US, said in a statement: “Earlier this month, we completed our 500 millionth ride and our service is now available to 95% of the US population — up from 54% at the beginning of the year.

“While we’ve made progress towards our vision, we’re most excited about what lies ahead.

“The fact remains that less than 0.5% of miles travelled in the US happen on rideshare networks.
“This creates a huge opportunity to best serve our cities’ economic, environmental and social futures.”

The cash-injection from Google’s parent firm puts pressure on market leader Uber, which is fighting Transport for London’s (TfL) decision to deny it a new operating licence in the capital.

Alphabet has emerged as a thorn in Uber’s side, even though Google was among Uber’s early investors and still holds a stake in the company.
Google’s self-driving car spin-off Waymo is suing Uber in federal court, alleging that it recruited some of its top engineers as part of an elaborate scheme to steal its trade secrets.

The high-profile legal battle is scheduled to go to trial in early December and could cost Uber billions of dollars in damages and derail its efforts to build its own fleet of self-driving cars.

Earlier this year, Waymo and Lyft formed a partnership to begin testing self-driving cars on the roads in a move that was widely seen as another attack on Uber.

http://bit.ly/2xb7wNZ

In reply to this :

I have an innate sense for crass commercial valuations, based largely on seeing too many. So my antennae where pulsing when I read this in the FT this afternoon:

[Google parent company] Alphabet is leading a new $1bn fundraising round in Lyft that values the Uber rival at $10bn, raising the stakes in the fierce competition between the San Francisco based transportation companies.

The investment values Lyft at a $10bn pre-money valuation, which is 45 per cent higher than its previous fundraising, which took place just six months ago.

First, this is not a transportation company. Lyft, like Uber, does not run cabs. It runs a taxi rank.
Second, no taxi rank has ever been worth $10 billion.

And if someone thinks it is then they have four things at the forefront of their minds.
The first is driving the competition out of the market.

The second is then screwing the consumer.
The third is screwing their staff.

And the fourth is then presenting the regulator with a fait accompli as they’re hoping all other games will have been driven out of town and that way they’ll earn hyper rents from their rank activities.

That’s how you can make a fortune from a cab booking service.

And it stinks.

http://www.taxresearch.org.uk
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SOUTH CAMBRIDGESHIRE

A new taxi policy published by a local council has recommended setting one of the highest bars in the country that drivers and vehicles must pass before being granted a licence.

The draft policy published by South Cambridgeshire District Council puts the safety of people using taxis at its heart and makes it clear that anyone with a previous serious criminal conviction will not be granted a licence.

Along with one of the most stringent policies in the country on who will be granted a licence, the Council is also looking to make it even easier for wheelchair users to use cabs.

Under the rules of the new policy all Hackney carriages – taxis that do not need to be pre-booked – need to be fully wheelchair accessible. This would apply to all new and renewed licences.

Other changes in the Council’s draft policy, include:

* the introduction of safeguarding training so all drivers can more easily spot and report any concerns relating to their passengers’ wellbeing

* more frequent medical checks for drivers – current policies already set the same checks as a HGV driver

* a knowledge test for all applicants to make sure they have a good understanding of the area, places of interest and English and maths.

* one of the tightest convictions policies in the country

The Council committed to a review of the licensing policy at the beginning of the year to make sure it continues to meet the needs of local people.

The review is the first the Council has done since national deregulation of taxi licensing took place in 2015. Deregulation meant longer licences for drivers and operators as well as the ability for operators to work across district boundaries and sub contact to other firms.

The Council’s Licensing Committee will consider the draft policy on Friday 27 October. The committee will be asked to suggest any final changes before the Council consults the taxi industry and local residents on the policy.

The consultation is planned to take place between 1 November to 31 December.

Cllr Mark Howell, South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Cabinet Member for Environmental Health, said: “The safety of local people is vitally important and the draft policy our Licensing Committee will be considering sets one of the highest bars in the country for both vehicles and drivers. The changes we are suggesting are not just about making sure we have a fleet of high quality professional drivers to serve our communities, but also equipping them with the knowledge to identify any safeguarding issues they might become aware of with their customers.

“It is important to remember that this is a draft and not set in stone. We are suggesting a robust policy for our Committee to consider and then we will be consulting with the taxi industry and residents. It is vitally important we have a policy that reflects their needs so please make sure you have your say during November and December.”

The Council currently licences just over 1,000 taxis with around 90% being private hire vehicles that must be pre-booked.

The draft policy to be considered by the Council’s Licensing Committee is available by visiting

http://scambs.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=414&MId=7161&Ver=4

http://bit.ly/2xUH1M8 
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