In May, Uber launched a new experiment: selling train and bus tickets through its app for its customers in Denver, Colorado. Today, the company reports that it has sold over 1,200 tickets for the city’s Regional Transportation District, which operates Denver’s public transportation system.

THE COMPANY REPORTS GROWTH AVERAGING 42 PERCENT EACH WEEK DURING THE ROLLOUT PERIOD

Uber Transit, the company’s in-app ticketing feature, was made available to a small cohort of customers in May, and it has since become available to 100 percent of Uber users in Denver as of June 25th. The company reports growth averaging 42 percent each week during the rollout period.

Uber may not make any money when it sells bus and subway tickets through its app, but it is seeing an uptick in business as a result. Since Uber launched its transit planning feature in January, Uber trips in Denver that start or end at a transit station have grown 11.6 percent. This helps bolster Uber’s claim that it is helping solve the first mile / last mile challenge that plagues many cities.

Uber also said that the number of repeat ticket purchases has increased every week since ticketing launched. As of the week of June 24th, approximately 25 percent of tickets sold were purchased by users who had previously purchased tickets on the app.

Uber’s new transit feature is powered by Masabi, a London-based tech company that builds mobile ticketing software for public transportation. This is the first incarnation of Uber and Masabi’s partnership since the two companies first struck a deal last year to integrate the latter’s mobile ticketing platform into the former’s app. Uber riders in Denver have been able to see real-time bus and rail information when they open the app since January, courtesy of transit data firm Moovit.

For now, Uber is taking its first foray into public transportation slowly, one city at a time. So far, the company offers real-time subway and bus schedules, time and cost comparisons, and point-to-point directions for customers in London and Boston. It most likely will launch ticket purchasing in those cities later this year.

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Hitachi (Tokyo) — Hitachi today announced that its elevator, which has been delivered to Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre, a skyscraper complex building in Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China, received a Guinness World Records title as the world’s fastest elevator on September 10, and the presentation ceremony of the official certificate was held today. This elevator travels with a rated speed of 1,260 m/min and connects the ground floor to the hotel lobby on the 95th floor in approx. 42sec, over a distance of 440 m.

In 1968, Hitachi developed an elevator with the speed of 300 m/min, the fastest in Japan at that time, and delivered it to Kasumigaseki Building, Japan’s first skyscraper. Hitachi has continued to provide innovative products and services that support the advancement of urbanization. In China, Hitachi has operated its elevators and escalators business since 1980s. In 1995, it founded Hitachi Elevator (China) Co., Ltd., a manufacturing, sales and service company for elevators and escalators. China’s new elevators and escalators market has become the world’s largest, where demand exceeds 500,000 units, which accounts for more than 50% of global demand. Hitachi Elevator China achieved the top share in the number of new elevators and escalators units ordered in China in 2018.

In 2012, working with Hitachi Building Systems Co., Ltd. and Hitachi Elevator China, Hitachi received an order for 151 elevators and escalators for Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre, and proceeded with the deliveries sequentially. Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre, one of the world class skyscraper complex buildings that is 530 m tall, constructed in Zhujiang New Town Central Business District, Guangzhou, China. The building consists of offices, serviced apartments, hotels and commercial facilities. On September 10, Rosewood Guangzhou, the hotel on 93F to 108F, started operation. In response to the beginning of operation of the elevator with the speed of 1,260 m/min connecting the first floor on the ground and the hotel lobby on 95F, it received a Guinness World Records title as the world’s fastest elevator.

Source: Akihabara News – Hitachi’s Elevator Receives Guinness World Records Title as the World’s Fastest

Konami Digital Entertainment (Tokyo) — Konami Digital Entertainment today announced that Contra: Rogue Corps is now available on PS4, Xbox One, Switch and PC (Stream) at participating digital and physical retail stores.

A twin stick, third-person action game, Contra: Rogue Corps has players complete missions and gather resources to upgrade their guns and body parts in a desperate attempt to stay alive in the Damned City. Players have the option to team up with friends online, bringing them to the campaign to mow-down enemies together. Additionally, players will have access to a local Couch CO-OP mode and a unique, up to 4v4 PVP online mode called Carnage League.

From the director of Contra III: The Alien Wars and Contra: Hard Corps, Nobuya Nakazato brings more than 25 years of franchise pedigree into Contra: Rogue Corps with enormous crazed enemies, over-the-top action and a cast of diverse playable characters that add to the irreverent tone of the game.

Several years after the events of the Alien Wars, Contra: Rogue Corps follows a group of former military mercenaries living on the fringes as bounty hunters and treasure finders in the Damned City. Survival requires fast reactions, powerful weapons, and the occasional organ and cybernetic augmentation.

Source: Akihabara News – Contra: Rogue Corps Now Available

Panasonic (Tokyo) — Panasonic Corporation, an Official Worldwide Paralympic Partner, announced today that it would provide its Power Assist Suit for use at World Para Powerlifting (WPPO) events and the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

The suits will be worn by spotter/loader personnel tasked with moving weights and spotting lifters during the competition. The suits feature built-in sensors that detect limb movements and motors synchronized to provide wearers with mechanized power for performing strenuous tasks easily and safely. Atoun Model Y, the Power Assist Suit model chosen for the event, reduces stress on the user’s waist when lifting or lowering objects from the floor to waist height. The suit was originally designed to support personnel who frequently handle heavy loads, including at airports, factories and logistics, construction or agricultural sites.

World Para Powerlifting officially selected Panasonic’s Power Assist Suit for use during the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Panasonic is an official supplier of the international federation, based on an agreement signed by Panasonic and the WPPO on September 25 2019.

Para powerlifting is a bench-press competition for athletes with disabilities in their lower limbs. Competitions are organized into 10 weight classes ranging from 49 kg to 107+ kg for men and 41 kg to 86+ kg for women. In large tournaments, it is not unusual for each spotter/loader to handle more than 100 weights of between 10 kg and 50 kg.

The Panasonic Atoun-model Power Assist Suit has been successfully demonstrated at the Kitakyushu 2018 Asia-Oceania World Para Powerlifting Championships and Kitakyushu 2017 Para Powerlifting Japan Cup, both WPPO-sanctioned competitions. Such demonstrations have showcased the suit’s many advantages, including:

-Enhanced safety and precision when moving weights on/off bars
-Faster weight handling between lift attempts to facilitate smoother competitions
-Improved performance by loader/spotters
-Decreased physical burdens on loader/spotters
-Improved sense of safety for competitors when attempting lifts.

As a Worldwide Paralympic Partner, Panasonic supports the Games with advanced products, technologies and solutions. The company is committed to furthering the Paralympic Games by enabling people around the world to share the passion and excitement created by these world-leading sporting events.

Source: Akihabara News – Panasonic’s Power Assist Suit Adopted by World Para Powerlifting

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