Uber Launches Its First Electric Scooters In California

The first electric scooters by Uber are out on the roads of California. While electric scooters have been accepted by the city and other firms have already began launching out their models since 2017 in other US states, the dockless devices of Uber comes earlier this week in California.

Produced by the parent firm of Segway, Ninebot, these scooters are accessible for pre ordering via Uber’s app and have a price tag of 15 Cents per minute to ride and USD 1 to unlock. The cost of 15 Cents is chargeable after the initial 5 Minutes.

As The Verge claims, getting these scooters is not easy. This is because if you do not park these after the ride in their chosen areas then you will be legally responsible to pay USD 25 fine. Uber is also providing “scooter swaps” which permits users to reserve for a closer scooter while walking to scooter from the designated region.

Speaking of Uber, Grab’s acquirement of Southeast Asia business of Uber in May 2018 was mixed up in regulatory inspection. But the ride-hailing company now has some good news after the Philippines’ watchdog gave the agreement a green nod. It did so, although, while laying out conditions to avoid the firm from turning into excessively dominant.

Singapore’s regulator claimed in July 2018 that rivalry concerns might see it slow down the agreement, which witnessed Grab pick up and then close Uber’s food delivery and ride-hailing business. The U.S. company got a 27.5% stake. Rivalry is also a worry in the Philippines, but the PCC (Philippine Competition Commission) ruled that Grab will bow to “pricing and service quality standards” so as to guarantee that users are treated justly. The Philippines and Singapore have been the staunchest watchdogs of the agreement, so this news is a noteworthy boost for Grab, which lately lifted $2 Billion in funding from a series of investors including Toyota.