Ground Transportation

PhocusWire's in-depth coverage of the ground transportation sector, featuring news, analysis, interviews, research and more on car rental, ride-hailing, taxis and rail. 

startup stage spoton
Interview / Startups
STARTUP STAGE: SpotOn wants to make ride-hailing easy for pet owners
By Jill Menze | July 9, 2019
SpotOn is a pet-friendly ride-hailing service that matches animal owners with drivers to take the guesswork out of traveling with a pet. Read More
inDriver ride hailing launches in India
News / Online
Name-your-fare ride-hailing company inDriver adds service in India
By Mitra Sorrells | July 9, 2019
Ride-hailing company inDriver is launching in Chandigarh and says it now serves 26 million riders in more than 200 cities in 23 countries. Read More
India, part 1: A vast travel opportunity, now led by digital
News / Online
India, part 1: A vast travel opportunity, now led by digital
By Mitra Sorrells | July 8, 2019
For part 1 in our month-long look at India we explore the overall travel market and implications of the country's growing, young and socially-active population. Read More
How Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency might fit into travel
News / Online
How Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency might fit into travel
By Linda Fox | July 1, 2019
Concerns are not surprising given the probes into the social media platform around privacy and wider concerns about cryptocurrencies, but, for travel, there are a few interesting elements about Libra. Read More
taxi2airport-funding
News / Distribution
Taxi2Airport hails €2.2M in funding, plots B2B partnership growth
By Linda Fox | June 28, 2019
Taxi2Airport has announced €2.2M in new funding and plans to invest in extending its B2B partnerships as well as opportunities in Asia. Read More
Huangbaoche brings in $50M for guided tour driver platform
News / Online
Huangbaoche brings in $50M for guided tour driver platform
By Kevin May | June 27, 2019
The Series C round into the Beijing, China-based company comes just 15 months after another $50 million injection of capital in 2018. Read More
Booking.com CEO Gillian Tans moves aside, Glenn Fogel steps in
News / Online
Booking.com CEO Gillian Tans moves aside, Glenn Fogel steps in
By Kevin May | June 26, 2019
The sudden change at the top of Booking.com, announced today, is effective immediately and ends a three-year stint for Tans as CEO. Read More
splyt-grab-funding-partnership
News / Startups
Grab helps with $8M investment in Splyt to expand partnership globally
By Linda Fox | June 26, 2019
Grab and Splyt say their shared vision is for travelers not to have to download local transportation apps or fall back on hailing taxis. Read More
Airbnb rebrands top tier to Airbnb Luxe, adds dedicated concierge services
News / Online
Airbnb rebrands top tier to Airbnb Luxe, adds dedicated concierge services
By Mitra Sorrells | June 25, 2019
Airbnb is renaming its luxury tier of properties as Airbnb Luxe and is providing a dedicated concierge with each booking. Read More
rail-industry-white-paper
From Our Partners / Technology
REPORT: How mobility as a service is bringing rail to the forefront
By PhocusWire | June 24, 2019
Rail may not have moved as quickly into the digital age as other segments of travel but now is the time to capitalize on some of the early initiatives. Read More
Mary Meeker's annual report: Growing giants, next-gen data and super apps
News / Online
Mary Meeker's annual report: Growing giants, next-gen data and super apps
By Linda Fox | June 17, 2019
Many in the digital and wider industrial world await Mary Meeker’s annual trends report with anticipation for what can be expected for their sector. We look at the travel-related elements. Read More
Payments month part 3 virtual cards
News / Technology
Travel payments, part 3: Virtual payment tech and its impact on business travel
By Mitra Sorrells | June 17, 2019
For part three in our payments month series we take a look at virtual card payments and how they're used in business travel. Read More
Will sightseeing buses be first to globally scale with autonomous vehicles?
Opinion / Technology
Will sightseeing buses be first to globally scale with autonomous vehicles?
By Alex Bainbridge - Autoura | June 12, 2019
Robo-taxis are a fool's errand. Instead, delivering experiences such as sightseeing via autonomous vehicle makes for a better near-term strategy. Read More
Alipay partners with Splyt to bring ride-hailing to Chinese tourists
News / Technology
Alipay partners with Splyt to bring ride-hailing to Chinese tourists
By Jill Menze | June 5, 2019
The integration will allow Chinese tourists to hail taxis from local transportation providers through Alipay, eliminating the need to download a new app while traveling overseas. Read More
Avis adds payment splitting in app
News / Online
Avis courts bleisure travelers with new payment-splitting option
By Mitra Sorrells | June 5, 2019
Avis Car Rental's new "Split My Bill" features makes it easier for travelers to divide business and leisure charges to separate payment types. Read More
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