Mercedes-Benz has released images of the interior of its forthcoming EQS battery-electric chauffeur saloon, which will go on sale in August. The EQS is produced alongside the new S-Class and the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class in Mercedes’ new carbon-neutral ‘Factory 56’ at Sindelfingen, Stuttgart, the company’s…

In a landmark ruling, the Competition and Markets Authority has cleared Uber’s acquisition of Autocab following a Phase 1 merger investigation, stating that it found “no competition concerns” with the deal. The takeover allows Uber to grow its UK presence through the Autocab iGo…

Uber customers in central London can request an all-electric vehicle instead of a regular petrol, diesel or hybrid car. The ride-hailing giant has launched a new service called Uber Green, operating initially in London’s Zone 1 travelcard area.  It is the next step in…

Car hire giant Europcar has ended its venture into the UK executive chauffeur and private hire market by selling its Brunel operations to the Travelhire Group for an undisclosed sum. It is the second major acquisition for Travelhire, which bought Green Tomato Cars in…

Blacklane has raised $26 million in new funding to help it expand its global chauffeur service. The Berlin-based company has recently launched an app-based ride-hailing service add-on, and in February 2021 it bought London-based Havn, an electric chauffeur service developed by Jaguar Land Rover.…

A series of focused, free Professional Driver webinars to help operators rebuild after Covid-19 Professional Driver is running a series of practical, focused online seminars where operators will be able to learn how the brightest companies have survived, and ask them how they did…

Uber’s decision to change its business model and give benefits such as minimum wage, holiday pay and pensions to its drivers appears to have given the ride-hailing giant a first-mover advantage in the sector. And the decision to change its employment terms means Uber…

Our first ProDriver Congress Online Webinar is now available on demand. “Beyond the Passenger”, held on Thursday, March 11, took a deep dive into how moving into the delivery market has been a life-saver for taxi and private hire operators. With superb input from…

Fast-growing taxi group Take Me has made another acquisition, adding Cambridgeshire-based 4X Ltd, trading as Steve’s Taxis, to its growing portfolio. The acquisition is backed by investment holding company MBH Corporation, which has made 25 acquisitions around the world in a range of industries,…

Newport entrepreneur Carl Harris is looking beyond the Covid-19 pandemic by launching a new chauffeur business called Luxstar, with the backing of a £24,000 micro loan from the Development Bank of Wales, and support from Business Wales, Newport Council and UKSE. Harris was faced…

Ride-hailing app service Gett could follow Uber and Lyft to the stock market after it emerged that the Volkswagen-backed company is in merger talks with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) – a common route to an Initial Public Offering (IPO). According to a…

Leeds Council has announced a multi-million pound support package to help struggling taxi and private hire drivers and operators across the city. The Council is making £2.5million available to fund free three-year taxi and private hire license renewals for drivers, while drivers and operators…

The Department for Transport has released long-overdue guidance for the fitment of screens to their vehicles to reduce the spread of coronavirus. The DfT guidance states that fitting a screen can help to reduce the risk of virus transmission and “should be one of…

Veezu Group’s Leeds subsidiary Amber Cars has made another local acquisition, adding Pudsey B-Line’s 50 cars to its West Yorkshire fleet. Amber Cars is the biggest taxi and private hire operator in Leeds, and the Pudsey B-Line fleet will now operate under the Amber…

Cordic has become the first despatch system provider to offer what3words geocoding as part of its white-label apps.  for improved location accuracy. Geocoding is the process of encoding GPS coordinates: what3words has encoded the coordinates of every 3-metre square in the world with a…

A freeze on fuel duty and an extension of job support schemes were the relevant highlights of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s 2021 Budget for the taxi and private hire sector. Motoring issues Chancellor Rishi Sunak has continued the freeze on fuel duty charged on petrol…

Uber’s Belgian division and its drivers have reacted angrily to the Brussels government’s extraordinary decision to ban Uber drivers from using smartphones – effectively shutting Uber down in the Belgian capital. Brussels Minister-President Rudi Vervoort announced on Monday that any of the 2,000 Uber…

Blacklane is launching a ‘chauffeur hailing’ service in 21 cities across 11 countries this month, allowing customers to book an executive car on demand in real time. New York is the first city, launched on March 1, with London the second to go live…