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In a major move to enhance the <keyword id="23342045" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tourism-experience" source="keywords">tourism experience</keyword> across India, the <keyword id="20246604" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ministry-of-Tourism" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Ministry of Tourism" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Ministry of Tourism">Ministry of Tourism</keyword> has launched an ambitious initiative titled '<keyword id="23342044" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Paryatan-Mitra" source="keywords">Paryatan Mitra</keyword>' and 'Paryatan Didi' on the occasion of World Tourism Day. The initiative is designed to foster responsible tourism and create local ambassadors who will serve as guides and hosts, enriching the travel experience for visitors while promoting <keyword id="20467200" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sustainable-tourism" source="keywords">sustainable tourism</keyword> practices. The program, which was launched as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s broader vision of using tourism for social inclusion, employment generation, and economic progress, is aimed at empowering locals in some of India’s most visited destinations. The Ministry of Tourism is seeking to build a network of <keyword id="22391259" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tourism-ambassadors" source="keywords">tourism ambassadors</keyword>, rooted within <keyword id="21350228" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="local-communities" source="keywords">local communities</keyword>, to act as proud custodians of their regions. Initially piloted in six diverse tourist hotspots — Orchha (Madhya Pradesh), Gandikota (Andhra Pradesh), Bodh Gaya (Bihar), Aizawl (Mizoram), Jodhpur (Rajasthan), and Sri Vijaya Puram (Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands) — the program has already begun training locals in these areas. By August 15, over 3,000 individuals had undergone training, becoming official Paryatan Mitras, dedicated to offering tourists a more informed, friendly, and memorable experience. <h2>Enhancing hospitality and local storytelling</h2>The key objective of this initiative is to make tourism a vehicle for local pride and storytelling. By offering specialised training to those who frequently interact with tourists — such as cab drivers, hotel staff, restaurant workers, tour guides, street vendors, and even police personnel — the Ministry hopes to elevate the tourist experience to new heights. The training program emphasises the importance of cleanliness, safety, sustainability, and top-quality hospitality, all aligned with India’s age-old philosophy of 'Athithi Devo Bhava', meaning “The guest is equivalent to God.” This initiative goes beyond mere hospitality training. Each participant is also educated about their destination's hidden gems, historical significance, and <keyword id="19911712" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cultural-heritage" source="keywords">cultural heritage</keyword>, turning every local into a knowledgeable storyteller. This not only improves the quality of the tourist experience but also helps locals take pride in their heritage and contribute meaningfully to the country’s tourism ecosystem. <h2><keyword id="20646064" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="empowering-women" source="keywords">Empowering women</keyword> and youth</h2>One of the most remarkable aspects of the Paryatan Mitra and Paryatan Didi programs is their focus on empowering women and young people. By training them to offer new tourism experiences such as heritage walks, food tours, craft experiences, and nature treks, the initiative opens up exciting employment opportunities. Many of these individuals are also trained to become homestay operators, tour guides, and food and culture experience providers, allowing them to monetize their skills and knowledge in tourism-driven local economies. In a nod to modern technology, the initiative also incorporates <keyword id="20055241" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-literacy" source="keywords">digital literacy</keyword> training, equipping locals with the tools to make their tourism offerings more discoverable to both national and international visitors. By leveraging digital platforms, trained individuals can now market their homestays, tours, and cultural experiences online, allowing for a broader reach and better economic opportunities. At its core, this program reflects the Ministry of Tourism’s commitment to creating a collaborative tourism experience that benefits both visitors and locals. The initiative is not just about training individuals to work in tourism but is also about fostering a sense of community and ownership over the tourism experience, which in turn helps preserve cultural and natural heritage. As more individuals join the program, tourism in India could see a shift toward more sustainable practices, with local communities playing a crucial role in shaping how tourists experience their destinations. By connecting visitors to trained locals with a passion for their culture and environment, the Ministry of Tourism is taking a major step toward creating memorable, responsible, and sustainable tourism across the country. (With inputs from ANI)

To promote healthy tourism, new govt initiative will connect tourists to trained locals to improve their travel experience in India

Commuting, for many of us, is an uncomplicated (if necessary) experience. But for millions of women, the simple act of leaving their homes to navigate work or errands is fraught with numerous challenges. This is why any conversation around India’s female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) is incomplete without discussing <keyword id="6358360" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gender" source="Orion">gender</keyword> <keyword id="386989" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mobility" source="Orion">mobility</keyword> equity. Although India’s FLFPR has inched up in recent years, at 37%, it remains less than half of the men’s participation rate. The gap is significantly larger in urban areas than in rural ones. The last Census showed that women comprised only 20% of the workers travelling to work outside the home. A lack of accessible, affordable, safe and convenient modes of mobility outside their immediate neighbourhoods severely limits women’s career prospects, and their ability to contribute to — and benefit from — the nation’s economic growth. Can we design women-friendly urban mobility systems as a part of the solution? Equitable mobility opens up earning opportunities for women — with positive correlations with their household savings, children’s education and personal autonomy. But if ignored, it has the opposite effect. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="What prevents mobility from being women-friendly?" comment="subhead" text="What prevents mobility from being women-friendly?">What prevents mobility from being women-friendly?</cmsannotation> Buses, trains, metro services and autos are considered the “common (wo)man’s transport”. In reality, that’s not always true. A mix of factors — from harassment in <keyword id="85028" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="public-transport" source="Orion">public transport</keyword>, lower access to economic resources, social expectations, and a lack of women-friendly and inclusive mobility — prevents women from freely seeking work opportunities. A report by the International Labour Organisation says that “limited access to and safety of transportation” is the greatest barrier to women’s workforce participation in developing countries. Multiple studies also show that Indian women routinely refuse work or educational opportunities, or accept lower-paying jobs, in exchange for safer commutes. Women’s unequal access to economic resources also imposes a lopsided commuting burden, particularly on less-privileged individuals. A Bengaluru-based survey by Alli Serona showed that lower-income women spend nearly 3 times more (as a percentage of their wages) on transportation than women with white-collar jobs. Cultural and psychological barriers get in the way too. As a result of social conditioning and gendered roles around child-rearing and household maintenance, women typically do not see themselves as ‘drivers’. As a result, women’s share of driver’s licences (about 7%) and vehicle sales (10-12%) remains low. Even if an individual has access to a car/scooter at home, she is still likely to be reliant on family members or public <keyword id="6355002" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="transport" source="Orion">transport</keyword> to get around. Finally, existing mobility options often don’t cater to women’s travel patterns. Urban women typically make shorter trips and within a limited area. Due to their domestic responsibilities, women also prefer venturing out at off-peak hours and combining multiple short trips (called trip-chaining) in one journey. Autos or cabs, which are the options usually available at off-peak hours, provide an important service, but trip-chaining via these modes is more expensive than undertaking a single, longer trip, and imposes an economic cost on users. But technology might have the answer here too and it is probably the right time to explore if electric vehicles (EVs) can address the root causes that limit the inclusivity of mobility today. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Why ‘electric’ paves the way to better equity in mobility" comment="subhead" text="Why ‘electric’ paves the way to better equity in mobility">Why ‘electric’ paves the way to better equity in mobility</cmsannotation> Around the world, but especially in developing countries, electric two-wheelers (E2Ws) like e-scooters, e-bikes and other micro-mobility vehicles are accelerating inclusion and equity in mobility. E2Ws can be a vital enabler for increasing India’s FLFPR and enhancing the income-generation capacity of women at the bottom of the economic pyramid – domestic helpers, gig workers, small business owners, unorganised sector employees, and more. E2Ws represent a quantum shift in mobility, starting with their design and adherence to urban travel needs. For instance, low-speed EVs (LSEVs), which are tremendously popular in places like China, are lightweight, easy to navigate and park, and ideal for covering short distances, making them more suitable to the average commute radius of the Indian woman. Moreover, they have the added edge of not requiring a driver’s licence to operate considering that the proportion of Indian women with a driving license is yet to reach the double digits. In recent years, the rise of a new subcategory, viz. shared (i.e., rental) LS<keyword id="186291" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="EV" source="Orion">EV</keyword>s, has been a watershed moment for the EV landscape. Such services have effectively brought down the commuter’s cost to something like Rs 3 per kilometre, drastically lowering the entry barrier for women who aspire to take up local jobs like delivery work or beautician services. The high round-the-clock vehicle availability by shared e-mobility players has enabled delivery companies and quick commerce platforms to train women delivery partners on LSEVs. Safe mobility, as we mentioned earlier, is a huge consideration for women. LSEVs are meant for solo riders and eliminate the personal safety risks associated with using overcrowded transport. They are also digitally native by design – users can track their vehicle or battery health online, and access useful functionalities such as location tracking or driver assistance systems. These features are vital for assuring the safety and building the confidence of new or first-time riders. Thanks to policy support in India, electric mobility as an inclusion tool is catching on. Public-private partnerships and non-profit initiatives are resulting in hundreds of women being trained as e-auto, e-bus and Metro pilots/drivers around the country. Examples can be seen in cities like Delhi, Maharashtra, Bengaluru, and Jaipur where women-driven auto-rickshaws and buses provide a viable last-mile solution while creating sustainable local jobs. The presence of women drivers also gives greater comfort to female passengers, encouraging them to venture out and take up jobs in the “male-dominated” mobility landscape. Having said all this, we’re only at the beginning of this trend. Mainstreaming the use of EVs among vulnerable populations, including women, will require effort, time, and policy support. However, EVs inject fresh hope for an equitable, gender-balanced mobility landscape. By applying inclusive design and technologies and user-centric pricing models, EVs can potentially bring millions of ‘missing women workers’ out of the shadows and into the light of the formal workforce. Anuj Tewari is the Co-Founder &amp; CFO at Yulu Disclaimer: The opinions expressed are of the author/interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views of Business Insider India. The article has been partly edited for length and clarity.

OPINION: Women’s Day special — Can EVs bring ‘missing women’ back into the workforce?

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Mhay-Ann Carriza De Felipe, 29, began driving part-time for <keyword id="1042120" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="uber" source="Orion">Uber</keyword> and Lyft in <keyword id="12003793" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="las-vegas" source="Orion">Las Vegas</keyword> in 2021.</li><li>She says she doesn't feel unsafe but does encounter drunk men who proposition her.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Mhay-Ann Carriza De Felipe, a 29-year-old Uber and Lyft driver in Las Vegas. Insider has verified her income and employment with documentation. The following has been edited for length and clarity.Last year, I began driving part-time for Uber and Lyft as a way to help pay off medical bills and bring in some extra cash to cover basic necessities like groceries to feed our family of four. Since then, I've driven about 20,000 miles, done more than 2,200 rides, and earned more than $50,000.Prior to the pandemic, I'd shop at designer outlets like Coach and Michael Kors and then resell the merchandise at a markup online, but when my sales started to suffer, I knew it was time to find a more lucrative alternative. That's when I turned to rideshare driving.<h2>I drove part-time at first, usually working 3 days a week for between 8 and 12 hours a day </h2><div type="image" title="Mhay-Ann Carriza De Felipe with her family" height="3024" width="4032" msid="91774004" hostid="261"></div>Due to COVID-19, my sons, now 5 and 9 years old, were in remote school. My husband, who worked for a <keyword id="11894924" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="transportation" source="Orion">transportation</keyword> company, was working from home, so it was easy for me to drive during school hours and on my husband's days off. Three months into doing rideshare, after earning as much as $500 in a day, I saw the potential and began driving full-time. For a mom like me, it's a great job because I'm able to set my own hours and work when it's best for my family's schedule. I can turn off the app whenever I want and spend time with my family without a boss or coworkers pressuring me to stay late or work more, and having that kind of convenience and flexibility is my favorite part of the job. <h2>These days, my least favorite part of my job is the increased gas prices that affect my earnings</h2><a href="https://gasprices.aaa.com/?state=NV">According to AAA</a>, gas prices in Las Vegas are now more than $5 per gallon, which is higher than the national average. I have a 5-star rating, so based on that and my low cancelation rates, I've achieved Uber Platinum status — a level that unlocks a variety of benefits, including a complimentary annual Costco membership. I try to fill up my tank on discounted gas there as often as I can.We used to own a Honda Fit and a Chrysler van, and I would take turns driving them both. The bigger the vehicle, the higher the rate, so I could earn more driving the van through Uber XL. But in January we sold the van at my husband's recommendation. Just last month we went electric, replacing it with a Tesla Model Y to save on gas. <h2>People often ask me if as a woman I feel safe doing this kind of work, especially since I often drive at night </h2>This March marked one year that I've been rideshare driving full-time, and the truth is, I do feel safe — even driving up until 2 a.m. As far as vehicle safety, both cars are equipped with dual-facing dashcams. That means one camera faces inside the vehicle while the other faces the road.As for personal safety, my husband bought me pepper spray and an electric shock taser. I'm prepared to defend myself should the need arise, but luckily it hasn't. In addition to these safety devices, once I turn on the Uber app and begin driving, my location can be shared with family and friends through the "Follow My Ride" feature. They're then able to track my whereabouts at all times. My husband, who died in a recent motorcycle crash, always liked the fact that wherever I was out there driving, he could glance at his phone and know where I was and that I was safe. <h2>While I've never feared for my own safety, I've certainly had my share of awkward situations</h2>Driving late at night in Vegas pretty much guarantees sooner or later, you'll pick up a drunk guy. Some guys will flirt and ask for my number. Others ask if I want to hook up with them. The more aggressive types will offer me money to go up to their hotel room with them. I always decline and then I give them three choices: I can drop them off at their hotel, leave them stranded in the middle road, or drive them directly to the police station. That's when I hear them start to squirm in the back seat as they mull over their choices. They usually let out a nervous laugh and apologize before choosing the first option. After that, they remain quiet the rest of the ride. Right before they get out of the car, they typically apologize again and tip me in cash.<h2>One time, my passenger was a drunk rapper who kept insisting I find his song on Spotify </h2>He wanted me to blast it on repeat while he sang in the back seat at the top of his lungs. In between singing, he'd proposition me. I politely declined and gave him my standard three options. Like all the other guys before him, he chose to be dropped off at his hotel and then shut up. The next day I got a message that he left his wallet filled with cash in my car.I had the feeling it was just a ploy to see me again, so I took a video of me retrieving the wallet from the back seat. I opened it to reveal its empty contents with my mother-in-law alongside me as my witness. Then I drove to meet him and return his empty wallet. I remained inside my car and handed it over, telling him he'd probably spent or lost the cash in the bar that I'd picked him up from the night before. He apologized for his behavior and tipped me $20. I thanked him and warned him not to try that type of stuff with other women drivers because next time he might not be so lucky and they'd call 9-1-1 on him. Since my husband was killed in a crash while riding his motorcycle recently, I can no longer share my location with him when I get in the car and turn on my Uber app. I pray he's still looking out for me and protecting me from up above as I continue to drive and care for our two boys.Are you a current or former rideshare driver and have a story to tell? Email akalish@insider.com.

I'm a woman and drive for Uber and Lyft. I've made $50,000 in a year and never felt unsafe, despite a lot of drunk passengers.

If you have seen <keyword id="2201" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Kangana-Ranaut">Kangana Ranaut</keyword>’s latest <keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> flick, <keyword id="6377522" type="POSITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="queen">Queen</keyword>, you are bound to agree that her trip abroad all by herself is the most intriguing part of the storyline and her <keyword id="6374782" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="journey">journey</keyword> of discovery keeps you hooked. But that’s hardly a rare phenomenon nowadays. Single or married, young or aged, on a <keyword id="1050408" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="business-trip">business trip</keyword> or on a <keyword id="2144547" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Dream-vacation">dream vacation</keyword>, more <keyword id="624" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Women">women</keyword> are travelling alone instead of taking their families in tow. Even those opting for <keyword id="2144575" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Guided-vacations">guided vacations</keyword> are mostly choosing like-minded women-only groups. 
 A recent survey jointly conducted by ixigo.com, India’s leading travel planning and search engine firm, and <keyword id="136437" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Lemon-Tree-Hotels">Lemon Tree Hotels</keyword>, the country’s third largest hotel company by owned rooms, says that there has been a marked change in travel trends across the country. <keyword id="2144559" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Female-travellers">Female travellers</keyword> are now an increasingly important segment of the Indian travel market, for both leisure and business travel, and the country’s travel industry is just waking up to that fact. 
 
“With women climbing the corporate ladder and becoming more independent, travel is becoming an intrinsic part of their lives. Also, only-women travel groups offering interesting holiday destinations and packages are luring women to take up travel. Our survey indicates 26% women travel with their girl gangs to explore new places,” said Saurabh Srivastava, VP (marketing &amp; product strategy) at ixigo.com. 
 More than 550 women aged between 25 and 45 and hailing from different metros across the country, took part in <keyword id="2144531" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="The-ixigo-Lemon-Tree-Hotels">the ixigo-Lemon Tree Hotels</keyword> online survey. 
 
At present, women-only travellers don’t form too large a segment of India’s travel market but the concept of vacationing away from one’s family (to say nothing of business travel) is catching up fast. As per Trafalgar India, one of the leading guided holiday operators, there has been 22% rise in bookings by women’s groups and single travellers in India between October 2013 and February 2014, compared to last year. 
 While women now account for more than 23% of business travellers (both domestic and outbound), the number will grow significantly in the near future, with the rise in the number of women in mid-senior executive ranks where business travel is a necessity. Over the next 20 years, <keyword id="2144563" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="International-business-travel">international business travel</keyword> by Indian women could grow almost tenfold to more than 10 million annual business departures, according to industry estimates. 
 <keyword id="2144565" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Group-travel-by-women">Group travel by women</keyword> is also gaining in popularity, thanks to a growing number of social clubs offering secure and affordable women-only tours. The bottom line is quite simple here. In a fast-moving life ruled by many priorities, one is not always able to travel with <keyword id="343" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="Friends">friends</keyword>, family or relatives. But that should not hinder a woman from travelling at her convenience, to the destination of her choice. 
 
A separate survey by Trafalgar India indicates that 10% women prefer guided vacations for a guided experience, 30% for safety, 11% to meet new people, 26% for convenience and comfort while 23% women find it cost-effective. 
 
 
 
What women want The <keyword id="2144532" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="ixigo-Lemon-Tree-Hotels-survey">ixigo-Lemon Tree Hotels survey</keyword> has delved deep into women’s way of travelling and the comfort factors they look for. Here are the key findings when it comes to women wanting to travel safe and solo. 
 
Female travellers are tech-savvy: Indian women travel as frequently as once in two months (50%), with 43% booking their <keyword id="6368036" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Hotels">hotels</keyword> online and 65-76% saying they only read user reviews and endorsements to make their final choice, the survey says. <keyword id="383661" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mobile-Apps">Mobile apps</keyword> are clearly the way to go as 56% women use <keyword id="616640" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Smartphone-apps">smartphone apps</keyword> to find information about their destinations and plan their trips. 
 
Safety &amp; comfort top priority list: For 41% women, facilities and services are the top considerations while choosing a hotel while location, cost and security have come out as other important criteria. Although security as an independent variable does not top the priority list of solo women travellers/women-only travel groups, there are clearly other surrogate considerations that indicate that safety remains a big concern. For instance, 34% women prefer to have <keyword id="2144581" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Female-hostesses-for-room-service">female hostesses for room service</keyword> while others look for a wide range of <keyword id="2144582" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Women-friendly-amenities">women-friendly amenities</keyword> including <keyword id="2144583" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Call-screening-facility">call-screening facility</keyword> (20%), <keyword id="2144584" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Women-driven-cabs">women-driven cabs</keyword> (19%) and separate floors/wings for women (18%). Interestingly, more than 63% of the respondents say they need a companion to be able to feel comfortable enough to drink at a hotel bar. 
 
Feel-good add-ons matter: Well, that’s a given and who doesn’t love the nice, little extras? When asked about exclusive redemption options offered on loyalty programmes, <keyword id="2144587" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Shopping-vouchers">shopping vouchers</keyword> have come up as the most favourite (27%), closely followed by <keyword id="2144589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Room-nights">room nights</keyword> (24%) and <keyword id="891808" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Spa-therapy">spa therapy</keyword> (22%) – clearly indicating that special benefits and exclusive offers go hand in hand with women. On the amenities front, 24x7 room service is the most important one (voted by 24% women) while <keyword id="6403839" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Free-Wi-Fi">free Wi-Fi</keyword> (18%), <keyword id="6354337" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="gym">gym</keyword>, <keyword id="50883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Swimming-Pool">swimming pool</keyword>, <keyword id="5680" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="spa">spa</keyword> and <keyword id="34615" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="restaurants">restaurants</keyword> are some others factors that would make the stay memorable. 
 
End-note: Older women are travelling more 
This finding is not a part of the above survey but going by the fact that it has considered women aged between 25 and 45, instead of the 18-30 or 25-40 age bracket is a clear indicator that older women are calling the shots in travel space, making decision for themselves as well as for friends and families, and spending their own money for solo trips – be it a prestigious presentation, a professional seminar, visiting a beautiful place or simply chilling out to get the better of stress. According to Marybeth Bond of The Gutsy Traveller – The average adventure traveller is not a 28-year-old male, but a 47-year-old female. And she wears a size 12 dress. 
 Moreover, the findings from the above surveys amply tell us what <keyword id="625381" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="women-travellers">women travellers</keyword> expect and how fast the women-only travel market is growing in India. These surely promise more travel spend (both for business and leisure travel), better business across the country and an <keyword id="2144592" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Improved-travel-experience">improved travel experience</keyword> for women who love to do it solo and keep off the beaten path. 
 
Image credit: Thinkstock Photos/Getty Images

Footloose: Women Travelling Solo Are Set To Change The Face Of India’s Travel Industry

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">ElvieTania Boler, cofounder and CEO of British femtech company Elvie.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Tania Boler is the cofounder and CEO of Elvie, a British startup at the forefront of the emerging femtech industry focused on women's health.</li><li>On Tuesday, the company raised $42 million of Series B funding in one of the largest ever femtech fundraising rounds.</li><li>Boler spoke to Business Insider about how she was driven by anger to create her company - and what she's going to do with her new funding.</li></ul>Lots of tech companies are born out of inconvenience - not being able to download a decent film, order a good takeaway, or hail a cab - but Elvie was born out of rage.The startup, which sells consumer-friendly medical devices for women, was co-founded by Tania Boler after she became frustrated by women let down by bad tech in healthcare."I was driven by a sense of anger," she told Business Insider. "Five years ago, so much femtech (technology aimed at improving women's health) was badly designed. Previous breast pumps were painful and difficult to use. Some women have told me that, when they used them, they felt like cows."Boler holds a PhD on teenage pregnancy and HIV in South Africa, plus degrees in experimental psychology and international educational policy. Her background is in campaigning for women's health, and she was previously the global director of research and innovation at Marie Stopes International.Boler has channelled her rage productively, with Elvie announcing a $42 million funding raise on Tuesday. The startup was founded in 2013 with Jawbone founder Alexander Asseily, and has raised $50 million in total. In a nutshell, Boler said "Elvie creates products to improve the health and lives of women everywhere, at all stages of their lives."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">ElvieAn Elvie breast pump.</div></div></div>Currently, Elvie sells two products. One is the Elvie Trainer, a pelvic floor trainer and app that is now <a href="https://www.med-technews.com/news/nhs-teams-up-with-femtech-provider-to-improve-women-s-health/">used by the NHS</a>. The wearable device enables women to undertake daily five-minute exercises that strengthen their pelvic floor muscles, with the accompanying app providing feedback in real time.The other is a silent, wearable breast pump, which Elvie claims is a world-first and makes it possible to pump anytime, anywhere. A companion app lets women monitor pumping progress and pause pumping when the bottle is full.But for Boler, products are not simply solutions to technical problems. They are also solutions - or, at least, partial solutions - to societal problems. "Because there isn't a broader conversation about women's health, so many women are suffering thanks to bad tech," she said. This is exacerbated by a lack of female founders, she added.Boler explained: "In tech, if you're creating a new category of product, as we are, you need to educate the market, especially when it's taboo. Women can suffer from embarrassment around these issues, especially in the UK. One study [by the UK government in 2016] found that 80% of British women who wanted to breastfeed had to stop before they were ready to do so, and now feel miserable about it."As a society, we've struggled to accept the duality of womanhood. When it comes to womanhood, there are two sides of the coin: Sexuality and motherhood. That's why public breastfeeding is so taboo. Our society struggles below the belt, too, with vaginas. Even now, women can't go to certain places if they're menstruating."We live in such a PC world that we don't want to talk about the fact that men and women are biologically different; women have periods and menstrual cycles. But because lots of tech startups are led by men, they lack awareness of what it's like to be a woman."Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wayne-jackson-sonatype-ceo-on-building-a-tech-unicorn-2019-4?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A CEO who sold a startup for $1 billion, led a big IPO for another, and raised $80 million for a 3rd shares some simple advice on building a tech unicorn</a>Startups, in general, remain startingly male-dominated. Less than 1% of venture capital funding went to startups run exclusively by women, <a href="https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/uk-vc-female-founders-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to a report by the British Business Bank for the UK government</a>. Or to put it another way, for every £1 pumped into the tech industry by VC companies, less than a penny went to female-run firms.These stats are especially incongruous when compared to femtech's rapid growth. According to market research firm Frost and Sullivan, <a href="https://ww2.frost.com/files/1015/2043/3691/Frost__Sullivan_Femtech.pdf">the femtech industry is expected to reach a market size</a> of up to $50 billion by 2025. Elvie's own annual revenue run-rate has tripled over the past six months, and it is expected to grow a further five times by the end of the year. Yet, for Boler, femtech's boom is no surprise."When I was with the UN, some of the governments I worked with were frustratingly slow to innovate," said Boler. "Pelvic tech, for example, was awful and barbaric - it was only used in hospitals. My idea with the Elvie trainer was to turn this horrible hospital equipment into something that can be used at home. As soon as you offer something decent, it can go viral.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">GettyThe Elvie breast pump, modelled at London Fashion Week.</div></div></div>"The world is seeing a feminist surge. If you can bridge the gap and turn something neglected into something cool, your business can move forward very quickly. Our breast pump was featured on the catwalk at London Fashion Week 2018. The female consumer has a strong multiplier effect, too, because she tends to care for both children and the elderly."What about Elvie's future, then? How does Boler plan to keep it surfing the feminist wave? And, more immediately, what will it do with that $42 million?"We want to use a lot of the new funds to scale up our research and development arm. We're also planning to launch four new products over the next two years - the details of which I won't yet provide," she said. "What I can say is that the products will cover early adolescence all the way through menopause."The US remains a key focus for Elvie, given that half the company's global revenue comes from the country. "Ultimately, though, we want to be the go-to company for women's health," Boler added.She concluded: "You need a deep understanding of womanhood to go into femtech. We've had to ignore a fair amount of sniggering from the predominantly male tech community. But Tuesday's funding is a game-changer for the industry. It's a real milestone. And, frankly, if investors can't see the importance of femtech and women's health, it's their loss." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/foldable-phone-screen-flexible-display-technology-glass-plastic-lcd-oled-2019-4">Samsung, Motorola, and Huawei debuted foldable phones this year - here's how these folding screens work</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

This founder was driven by rage to land $50 million of funding for her tech firm that's reinventing breast pumps

The first thing to know about riding in a robot taxi is that it feels very, very weird.The second thing to know is that, weirdly, riding in a robot taxi quickly starts to feel completely normal.The idea of a car that drives itself is as old as science fiction. But the push for autonomous auto tech didn't get underway in earnest until about 20 years ago, when <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-first-self-driving-cars-that-competed-in-darpa-grand-challenge-2015-10">DARPA started running contests</a> to see who could actually build a driverless vehicle. Two years ago, the Google spinoff Waymo and the GM subsidiary Cruise finally deployed <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/8-ways-driverless-cars-will-drastically-improve-our-lives-2015-12">cars without drivers</a> in San Francisco.It didn't go great. Just one day after Cruise started running its Uber-like ride-hailing service, a dozen <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cruise-san-francisco-robocabs-stalled-outside-lands-traffic-cars-california-2023-8">of its cars coalesced into a swarm traffic jam</a>. Last year, after getting hit by a human-driven car, a pedestrian fell to the street in front of a Cruise robot, which ran them over. Detecting a collision, the robot drove 20 feet forward and stopped at the curbside — <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-cruise-self-driving-robotaxis-were-banned-in-san-francisco-2023-10">dragging the person underneath</a>.Cruise got <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cruise-self-driving-robotaxis-all-time-low-mo-elshenawy-staff-2023-12">banned from the city</a>. But today, Waymo's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/waymo-self-driving-taxis-chipotle-robots-future-of-service-2024-8">tricked-out Jaguar SUVs</a> — fender-mounted lidar sensors spinning like medieval banners heralding the arrival of the king — are ubiquitous in San Francisco. Kids wave at them; tourists take pictures. At first, access was limited, by invitation only. But in July, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/waymo-robotaxi-test-drive-san-francisco-2024-6">the service opened to anyone</a> willing to download an app and type in a credit-card number.Even me.I've been writing about <a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsweek.com/report-la-coming-home-159137">cities</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.newsweek.com/putting-charge-back-driving-178218">transportation</a> for a long time, so I know that it's exceedingly rare for a new mode of transport to appear. Planes, trains, and automobiles — that's pretty much the history of the past two centuries of people getting from here to there in new ways. So I decided to spend a few weeks riding around in Waymo's cars, to see what our robot-driven future looks like. I used them for running errands, the same as I might rely on Uber or Lyft. I also spent a day gallivanting around town in a more touristy way, to see what longer and more challenging routes felt like. I've come away convinced that self-driving cars are going to alter some fundamental things about America's cities, and how we get around them — for better and for worse.Before I hailed my first Waymo, I expected that riding in a robot cab was going to feel like a cozy version of the future. A car that drives itself? As a kid, I always knew that if I waited long enough, "Knight Rider" would come true. Turbo-boosted Super Pursuit Mode, here I come!When you call a Waymo, the waiting part of the experience is certainly familiar. You request a ride, and the app tells you how far away the car is and when to expect it. When the robot pulls up, a sort of beacon on top illuminates with your initials. You unlock the car by touching the app, and the handles unfold from flush against the door, like guns on a Transformer. Waymo's head of UX design, Lauren Schwendimann, tells me the doors are activated by the phone talking directly to the car — a first bit of hand-holding in the new relationship between human and machine.Get in, and the car greets you by name. Very chill ambient music plays, to get you in a Westworld frame of mind. Tap the touchscreen facing the back seat to tell the car you're ready, and off you go, with the screen providing a video-game-like view of the car's progress.The whole idea is to make riders feel like everything is going to be OK. "We very much curate that to achieve this relaxed feel," Schwendimann says. "When you ride other forms of transportation, you're in other people's space. There's value to public transportation, but there is something about having space to yourself and that moment of quiet, privacy, and peace."And, sure, it's calming — to a point. For me that point was when the car pulled away from the curb and I looked at the empty driver's seat. The steering wheel was turning of its own volition, as if I were being driven by a ghost. What I thought was, holy shit!Before riding in my first Waymo, I hadn't considered that when people called the first automobile a "horseless carriage," it must have been out of abject horror. The thing moved like a carriage … but there's no horse! There's no horse! Spooky.It turns out everyone who takes a Waymo experiences the same ghost-panic. "Yes, we know that is a very prominent feature of the ride experience," Schwendimann says. "It contributes to the sense of wonder and awe." That's mainly because robot cars, like every other vehicle on a city street, are required to have a functional steering wheel. In a Waymo, the driver's-side door doesn't even unlock. But once Waymo and other companies are permitted to roll out more Westworldly, podlike vehicles, without any driver controls, they'll be able to turn the space normally inhabited by a driver over to passengers. There won't be any "front seat." Younger siblings will weep, for there will no longer be a "shotgun!" to call. Now, it's worth pausing to appreciate that hardly anyone on Earth has ever been alone in a moving automobile without being the driver. This is an entirely new sensation, and let me tell you, it's destabilizing. As the steering wheel rotates, the car's screens display your progress through the city's streets, re-rendered as some sort of phantom zone. Buildings appear as barely there outlines. Other cars are bluish apparitions, while pedestrians and cyclists glow a vibrant, flickering orange-red. The closest sensation I could think of is a "<a target="_blank" href="http://themedenvironments.blogspot.com/2019/03/theme-park-101-layout-is-everything.html">dark ride</a>" at an amusement park, where everyone piles into an automated boat or a spaceship and gets pushed through an illuminated story populated by animatronic characters. You know <a target="_blank" href="http://passport2dreams.blogspot.com/2011/08/fire-in-night-pre-eminent-attraction-as.html">Pirates of the Caribbean</a> or It's a Small World? Waymo is Mr. Toad's Mild Ride.The video display is intended to help keep the rider grounded, as it were. "What we show in the scene are things to help the rider orient to where they are and understand the basics of where the car is going to go next," Schwendimann says. But for me, the eerie screen view only added to the surreality. London cabbies used to get licensed based on their command of the Knowledge, a truly encyclopedic sense of how to get around London's thousand-year-old streets; neuroscientists found that drivers who acquired this mastery of spatial memory literally had <a target="_blank" href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2011.11.018">bigger brains</a>. Yet here I was, sitting inside a robot programmed with San Francisco Knowledge, and it made me feel like my brain was getting smaller as a result of the outsourcing. The screen displayed no street names; the buildings were unidentifiable apparitions. I couldn't even ask the driver to take a more scenic route, or to pull over while I grabbed some coffee. I felt oddly alienated from the city I was moving through.From a consumer perspective, my Waymo experience was about on par with taking an Uber. Waymo was generally cheaper, and equally reliable. It sometimes took what seemed like slower, back-street routes. And it once canceled my pickup at a restaurant in North Beach just after a police car had rolled up nearby, sirens blaring and lights flashing, and brought traffic around me to a stop. But, flip side, the other day my Lyft driver, who seemed to have trouble following the directions on his phone, got lost. So … robot gets five stars?But the weirdest part of taking a Waymo is how quickly it stops feeling weird. Once you've heard the onboarding spiel a couple of times, the whole thing starts to feel a little bit like, well, riding in a cab. And after the novelty of the empty driver's seat wears off, the temptation to just pull out your phone and doomscroll your way to the next destination is powerful.Which is to say, it's shocking to be reminded of how quickly we begin to take the marvels of our world for granted. At one point, during my second ride, I reset the music from its futuristic ambient default setting to Classic EDM. But the next time I got into a Waymo, the futuristic ambient default was playing again. And I got mad! This self-driving, autonomous robot from the future can't even be bothered to remember my preference for Aphex Twin?When I tell Schwendimann about this, she laughs at me, which I deserve. Then she assures me that they're working on all kinds of customization settings — music, interior lighting, whatever. Whichever car picks you up should feel like your car, she says. That's part of feeling safe.Back in 2015, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wired.com/2016/01/the-metastructure-transportation/">I rode in one of Google's experimental versions</a> of a self-driving car, with a human backup sitting behind the wheel. The car drove like a 16-year-old who just got their learner's permit. Every stop sign, every pedestrian on a sidewalk, even the occasional tree would cause the robot to slam on the brakes hard enough to bounce my head off the headrest.Waymo's Jags, by contrast, drive like a competent and cautious professional. Riding in them gets a little boring in part because they are uncannily good. We slipped deftly past a double-parked food-delivery driver — signaled, juked left, signaled, juked back right — amid Chinatown traffic. We changed lanes with confidence, maintained steady speeds on San Francisco's challenging hills. At one point, a driver with no patience for the Waymo's steady, speed-limit-abiding pace raced up behind us and pulled into a red-painted buses-only lane on our left to pass. The illegal move seemed to freak the Waymo out for a second — it paused, slowed way down. But then we got going again. (And yes, I realize it's weird to refer to myself and a robot car as "we.")In my own life I drive a faster-than-you'd-expect little hatchback, and I'll admit that I sometimes drive faster than you'd expect. But in some circumstances the Waymos were actually more aggressive than I would've been. Last week I induced my kids to come robot-riding with me, bribed with the promise of a blowout back-to-school lunch at Swan Oyster Depot. We went ranging around town, including a long drive that put us on Portola Drive, a curving and hilly extension of the city's spinal main drag. The Waymo took those curves faster and more affirmatively than I would have. At least one driver even honked at us as we — well, I don't want to say "cut him off," because a robot would never. But the other guy leaned on his horn, which, when you think about it, is kind of hilarious. The war against the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-cybertruck-apocalypse-inequality-2023-12">road machines</a> begins with road rage.Robots are clearly fantastic at doing car-like things. The question is, do we want more technology that does car-like things? Cars are flexible, fast, fun, and can go pretty much anywhere, as long as there's pavement and parking. So American cities basically gave them priority after World War II, ripping up trolley tracks and ramming new freeways through low-income and minority neighborhoods in the service of speed, suburban convenience, and petrochemical profits. But technological choices have consequences. The rise of cars fueled traffic jams, air pollution, climate change, income inequality, and a whole lot of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/road-rage-speeding-driving-traffic-large-expensive-cars-suv-2022-5">death and misery from car crashes</a>. Today about 20% of America's downtowns are <a target="_blank" href="https://parkingreform.org/resources/parking-lot-map/">devoted to parking</a> — as many as <a target="_blank" href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/5/3/034001">2 billion spaces</a>. Robot cars don't do much, if anything, to alleviate these problems — and they may make them worse. The biggest problem that robot cars "solve" is the cost of human labor. Instead of paying a living wage to cabbies, tech companies have spent billions of dollars developing robots to take their place. (Both Lyft and Uber have indicated that they envision their future as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/byd-uber-partnership-electric-vehicles-discount-autonomous-self-driving-tesla-2024-8">full of robot drivers</a>.) The money goes up the line, to programmers, managers, and investors. Science has essentially discovered a way to increase profits by combining the social isolation and environmental degradation of the automobile with the frustration and ennui of public transit.But really, the experience of sitting alone in a robot car is more than that. Will people use the opportunity to turn off the surveillance cameras and have sex? Probably: They used to do that on the gondola ride at Disneyland, too. But the fact is, women, racial minorities, and LGBTQ+ people encounter all sorts of harassment and outright violence as they move through cities. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-sexual-assault-43-percent-by-passengers-report-2022-7">Ride hailing is particularly bad</a> for that: Drivers harass lone passengers, and passengers harass drivers. Most of the conversation about the safety of robot cars has been about <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/missy-cummings-robot-taxis-tesla-elon-musk-autonomous-cruise-waymo-2023-10">what happens when they hit someone</a>, as they inevitably will. But the space inside a robot taxi is safe for people in a different way, because there's no one there to mess with you. It's one of the few ways to get around the urban landscape where you can be truly alone. If one metric for evaluating a city is how safely people and things can move through it, robot cabs will make cities measurably better.So on the one hand, autonomous vehicles are a literal transport of delight, a miraculous and liberating technology. And on the other, they magnify all the scary economics, bad ethics, weird sociology, and redistribution of wealth that cars helped usher in almost exactly a century ago. Pluses and minuses! Philosophers call that a "<a target="_blank" href="https://doi.org/10.5840/techne2019722100">technological sublime</a>."Since it's nearly impossible to imagine American cities <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/america-build-infrastructure-transportation-housing-regulation-environment-2023-11">building any grand new infrastructure</a> — no protected bike lanes, no new trolleys or subway lines or high-speed rail — robot taxis are what we get. Robots, after all, don't jeopardize the twin North Stars of what passes for urban planning in America: free parking and the freedom to drive fast. Maybe that's why one of the biggest tech companies in the world is being allowed to field test 2-ton experimental robots on the streets of a major American city. Robot cars will never take up a parking space. They will never require us, horror of horrors, to take a bus or a train. Instead they will blend invisibly into the world we've already built. Just a ghost in a dysfunctional machine, taking us for a ride.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/adam-rogers">Adam Rogers</a> is a senior correspondent at Business Insider.

I've been taking Waymo taxis, and it's even weirder than I expected

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Beloved and hated, <keyword id="12915842" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="millennial-pink" source="Orion">millennial pink</keyword> kicked off a trend of generational colors.</li><li><keyword id="12915845" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="gen-z-yellow" source="Orion">Gen Z yellow</keyword> emerged, reflecting a desire for change. Now, <keyword id="12915846" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="purple" source="Orion">purple</keyword> undertones mark the colors of the year.</li></ul>2021 ended on a dark note, as the Omicron wave washed over the holiday season, but the start to 2022 is brighter: it's purple.Very Peri, <a href="https://www.pantone.com/color-of-the-year-2022">a periwinkle blue</a> that "displays a spritely, joyous attitude" is the <keyword id="12915843" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="pantone" source="Orion">Pantone</keyword> Color Institute's <keyword id="12144614" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="color-of-the-year" source="Orion">color of the year</keyword>. <keyword id="12915844" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="wgsn" source="Orion">WGSN</keyword>, a trend-spotting agency based in London, says <a href="https://www.wgsn.com/en/blogs/coloro-wgsn-colour-of-the-year-2022-orchid-flower">Orchid Flower</a>, a deep magenta that "creates a sense of positivity and escapism" will define 2022. Both vibrate with a saturated vividness and whisper violet undertones. The hint of purple in Orchid Flower appeals to both men and women, driven by a youth market with changing ideas about gendered hues of pink and blue, WGSN says. It could be the next millennial pink, the range of dusty rose to cotton candy hues that ruled the design world after Pantone dubbed "rose quartz" the color of 2016."Millennial pink was one of those important colors that captured the zeitgeist," Jenny Clark, head of color at WGSN, told Insider. "It pushed the boundaries to become a color which was gender neutral and it felt empowering, youthful, playful, and, most importantly, wearable."Plus, it kicked off the trend of generational colors that align with social and economic movements capturing the mood of a cohort of people with common life experiences. Bold pink in the 2000s symbolized <a href="https://www.heforshe.org/en">gender equality</a> and non-violence, morphing into a muted shade that represents <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/the-color-psychology-of-pink-2795819">youth and innocence</a> — appealing to <keyword id="11921342" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="millennials" source="Orion">millennials</keyword> <a href="https://digiday.com/marketing/early-onset-nostalgia-surge-cola-mad-libs-renaissance/">nostalgic for childhood comforts</a> as they dealt with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-is-college-so-expensive-2018-4">debt</a> and the fallout of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-great-recession-finances-coronavirus-triggers-financial-crisis-2020-4">financial crisis</a>. <keyword id="11974765" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="gen-z" source="Orion">Gen Z</keyword> yellow popped onto the scene around 2017, reflecting the generation's desire for a new <keyword id="11893570" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="economy" source="Orion">economy</keyword> in a Trump era, and later, as they graduated into a pandemic recession.It's typical for the economy to affect consumers' color choices. During a recession, they seek out familiar and reassuring colors like browns, neutrals, and blacks, Clark said. They're more timeless than bright colors, which seem like a riskier investment. "On the flip side, when the economy is stronger and the outlook is more positive we tend to see a lot more brights and neons," she added. It looks a lot like the shared purple revelry of Very Peri and Orchid Flower, which signal a hopeful outlook in the face of two very long, hard years.<h2>The rise of millennial pink as a neutral</h2>Pink's influence dates back to the pastel appliances of the 1950s, then evolved with culture: the <a href="https://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/">National Breast Cancer Foundation;</a> Wes Anderson's <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/07/movies/wes-andersons-grand-budapest-hotel-is-a-complex-caper.html">"Grand Budapest Hotel;"</a> <a href="https://www.hellomagazine.com/fashion/celebrity-style/20210928122743/kate-middleton-pink-coat/">Kate Middleton's coats</a>.But the real tipping point for the color's popularity is its gender blur, Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute, told Insider. Pink and blue emerged as gender markers in advertisement campaigns for things like <a href="https://digiday.com/marketing/millennial-pink-timeline-color-refuses-fade/">toys</a> in the '50s. In the 2010s, millennials challenged traditional color associations. <div type="image" title="Jared Leto" height="1666" width="2222" msid="88792849" hostid="261"></div>Pink took on a "genderless" meaning, Laura Guido-Clark of color consultancy <a href="https://lovegoodcolor.com/">Love Good Color</a> explained to Insider — and millennials loved it for its "Instagrammability," she added. "It represented this neutrality for a whole generation, who really cared about gender diversity and openness."Designers, Pressman explained, played to millennials who didn't want gender labels holding them back and showed men and women in their catwalk collections wearing similar colors, silhouettes, and styles.This cultural shift turned pink into "millennial pink" — a more delicate, muted shade with blush, rose, and beige undertones. Its restful vibe echoed the wellness boom of the 2010s, Clark of WGSN said. It trickled from the runway into interiors, products design, and branding, from <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CXjOEQprpTt/">Glossier products</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-6s-rumors-colors-design-2015-8">iPhones</a> to <a href="https://www.foodandwine.com/news/millennial-pink-latte-starbucks-japan">Starbucks drinks</a> and <a href="https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/sugar-pink-matte">Le Creuset cookware.</a> It became a core color alongside neutrals, navy, and white and black.<h2>Enter Gen Z Yellow: The color of school buses and taxi cabs</h2>Social media, says Guido-Clark, is why generations have been so capable of defining new color shifts. In 2017, writer and editor Haley Nahman noticed what she called "Gen Z yellow" replacing millennial pink on her Instagram feed. I<a href="https://repeller.com/yellow-is-trending/">n an article for the now-defunct Man Repeller</a>, she introduced the world to the sunnier shade. It was later embodied in Pantone's 2021 color of the year, <a href="https://www.pantone.com/color-of-the-year-2021-shop-pantone-ultimate-gray-and-illuminating">Illuminating</a>.<div type="image" title="genz yellow" height="1668" width="2223" msid="88792851" hostid="261"></div>Whereas millennial pink represented gender neutrality, Gen Z yellow represents a need for change. Pressman said that yellow — a symbol of sunshine, warmth, and optimism — reflects a generation with hope for the future. It's a light for Gen Z, who <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/typical-gen-z-student-debt-savings-y2k-trends-2021-11">fears repeating millennials' money problems</a> as they entered a job market blighted by the pandemic recession. It's also a quick signifier of allegiance. "For a generation of digital natives who are used to looking at colorful symbols rather than text, they see color as a mode of expression that offers simplicity and uniformity and as such are leveraging the power of color to tell their story," she said.School shootings, climate crisis, and the Trump administration pushed the generation to the forefront of activism. Yellow's energy makes it the perfect color for the generation, Guido-Clark said. The color is used for things like school buses and taxi cabs because it's the first color you see in a wavelength, she explained, symbolizing Gen Z's need to respond to future economic challenges.In short, says Guido-Clark, "When the world gives you lemons, you make lemonade," she said. And that's what Gen Z is doing.<h2>Color in a post-covid world</h2>With bold hues like yellow and the purple taking over, <a href="https://www.curbed.com/2021/12/millennial-aesthetic-trend-is-over.html">less than 5%</a> of designers in a survey said millennial pink would be popular in 2022. But Guido-Clark disagrees; she says the softness of millennial pink is just evolving into a bolder shade — much like Orchid Flower. <div type="image" title="pinks" height="1666" width="2222" msid="88792853" hostid="261"></div>The pandemic has supercharged this shift. "What we've endured as an entire world, this idea of wanting something hopeful, bright, and optimistic happens when you have these brighter, more energized cues," Guido-Clark said. "I always think of things as being connected to human need and that we're responding to social, political, economic, and emotional environments."It explains a lot about the <a href="https://www.insider.com/gen-z-fashion-trends-that-baby-boomers-will-never-understand-2020-6#for-gen-z-sustainability-and-a-strong-social-justice-focused-message-are-really-important-when-it-comes-to-fashion-8">colorful Y2K wear Gen Z adopted</a> as vaccinations rolled out and the economy reopened. Guido-Clark thinks Gen Z yellow has the possibility to dominate thanks to its global reach (think Buddhist robes and tumeric), but noted its "fickleness" will make it harder to overtake millennial pink. Yellow, she added, can be anxiety inducing in some shades; its <a href="https://www.verywellmind.com/the-color-psychology-of-yellow-2795823">intensity can evoke frustration</a>.As for the emerging purple undertones of Very Peri and Orchid Flower, it could signal a brighter economic outlook. Guido-Clark said purple is associated with spirituality and mysticism, which jives with Gen Z's interest in astrology and solidarity. Given the generation's connectedness, she added, it makes sense that we'd land in a "softer" place after what the world has endured. "I also think of pink as the human heart and a humanistic color," she said. "And for that reason too, it hasn't seen its day."

Millennial pink and Gen Z yellow captured their generation's economic struggles. Now it's purple's turn.

<ul><li>"My bookings are down to 10 today, nearly half," Girish, who drives an Uber cab, told Business Insider. </li><li>The fear of <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> seemed to have cleared out the streets; schools have been ordered shut, hundreds of office goers have chosen to work from home to avoid any possibility of exposure to COVID-19. </li></ul>How long does it take at 7:50 pm on a weekday to reach from <keyword id="6405428" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="koramangala">Koramangala</keyword> to Halasuru via MG Road? Locals in Bengaluru seemed quite shocked when I said "less than 30 mins" because that's all it took. The fear of coronavirus seemed to have cleared out the streets⁠— though they were nowhere close to empty⁠, just a lot less congested— in India's tech capital infamous for its traffic. But there's a downside to it particularly for the drivers of online cab services like Ola and Uber. "My bookings are down to 10 today, nearly half," Girish, who drives an Uber cab, told Business Insider. His monthly income (post all expenses like fuel, maintenance and monthly instalment for the car) was between ₹20,000 and ₹25,000 earlier, barely enough to run a family and pay for the children's education in an Indian metropolis. Now, due to the pandemic, he will earn even lesser. Schools have been ordered shut, hundreds of office goers have chosen to work from home to avoid any possibility of exposure to COVID-19, a killer virus that has already killed at least 4,600 people around the world and is spreading fast. 5 cases of coronavirus infection, and one death, have been reported in Bengaluru, the most in any Indian city. Many others driving cabs in Bengaluru seemed to share Girish's anxiety. "Ayyo! this coronavirus," exclaimed Danappa who had been waiting for nearly 6 hours between 2 bookings. Interestingly, Danappa, by his own account, a ₹1,000 incentive had accrued just a few days ago for completing 62 trips in 2 days. He had driven both day and night to seize the opportunity for extra bucks. He is ready to pull-off more all-nighters but fears it may not be enough. Looking forward to the weekend There seemed to be an interesting turn in views about the pub hoppers though. Many cab and auto rickshaw drivers in Bengaluru often tend to be critical of those, particularly women, leaving from bars at midnight. "It is not good that ladies drink and smoke but now what can we say," said one of the drivers (name withheld). However, as at least two drivers quipped, they are now hoping that people will step out for a few drinks this weekend and take a cab home. That's their only hope to make up for lost earnings during the week. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/topic/coronavirus">coronavirus: Latest News, Articles on coronavirus | Business Insider India</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/coronavirus-has-made-infosys-cautious-on-everything-from-new-hiring-to-new-deals/articleshow/74591432.cms">Coronavirus has made Infosys cautious⁠⁠⁠— here's an exclusive chat with the management</a>

Many Uber drivers in Bengaluru claim at least 50% drop in bookings as coronavirus keeps people off roads

Puducherry, Apr 13 () Keen not to miss his cancer-stricken wife's chemotherapy during the COVID-19 lockdown, a65-year old daily wage earner undertook a gruelling 130-kmjourney with her on his rickety bicycle to reach the JIPMER, apremier hospital here, in time for the crucial procedure.With inter-state buses off the roads due to the lockdownto combat the spread of coronavirus, Arivazhagan, hailing fromKumbakonam town in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, covered thejourney in about 12 hours with a few halts on the way forsnacks and tea for him and his 60-year old wife, hospitalsources said.He was short of money to engage a cab, but yet hisdetermination to ensure his wife got the treatment saw himcycling down here early this month, they said.The man tied himself to his wife with a towel to ensurethat she did not accidentally fall off while he rode thebicycle.The lockdown has seen several such selfless and valiantefforts of men and women driven by sheer love and compassionfor their dear ones.Recently, a 48-year old woman in Telangana rode her two-wheeler for about 1,400 kms to bring back her teenaged sonstranded in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.Arivazahagan started off on the morning of March 31 andreached the cancer treatment centre at Jawaharlal Institute ofPostgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) the samenight.Arivzhagan showed the medical records to the police onthe way to secure permission to carry on with his ride.After his arrival at the Regional Cancer Centre at thecentrally administered JIPMER, Arivazhagan was helped by thestaff and medical personnel who provided chemotherapy to hiswife on April 1 morning.On learning that the man was short of money, thosepresent at the hospital pitched in and raised funds throughvoluntary contributions.Hospital sources said the labourer and his wife were sentback home in an ambulance. Corr SA SSVS VS

Elderly TN man takes cancer-stricken wife 130 kms on bicycle for treatment

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Business Insider" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/560e40689dd7cc14008bebf4-960/2x1-soviet_uber.png"></a>Business Insider</div></div></div>Imagine that a left-wing union activist from Glasgow dreamed up an idea for a workers' ride-sharing cooperative. In this thought experiment, let's give this business a liberal-friendly name, "PeopleCar."PeopleCar would not only help low-income folks get lifts to work cheaper, but it would be structured as a wealth-sharing collective in which 75% of the money made by the business would go directly to the workers running it. And it would be environmentally friendly because it reduces the number of cars on the road, reduces the demand for new cars, and the company would encourage its staff to use electric or hybrid vehicles.Best of all, it's self-sustaining and massively popular with the workers who use it.PeopleCar would be hailed as a huge success. Its founders would be heroes. You would love PeopleCar.That company already exists in real life. It is called Uber.But <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/heres-what-the-london-mayoral-candidates-think-about-uber-2015-9">people on the left hate Uber</a>, because they want to show solidarity with traditional taxi drivers.Uber operates exactly the way I just described it, but instead of "PeopleCar" it has an unfortunate Nietzschean moniker which makes it sound like it is run by Nazis. It was founded by a shamelessly aggressive capitalist named Travis Kalanick. He is not a bearded leftist from Scotland, the current home of British socialism. He comes from San Francisco, the current home of rapacious capitalists.<h2>Uber is a socialist idea</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="USSR" title_caption="Lenin, trying to hail a taxi to take him to High Barnet after midnight." class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/560d5efebd86ef1a008be751-960/loyalty1.jpg"></a>USSRLenin, trying to hail a taxi to take him to High Barnet after midnight.</div></div></div>PeopleCar/Uber is currently fighting for its life in London because an even worse set of capitalists - the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association - who operate a cartel, have employed some very successful lobbyists to persuade the city to <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/uber-london-tfl-proposals-2015-9">draw up new laws that potentially put Uber/PeopleCar out of business</a>. (Uber faces similar fights in France, California and a bunch of other jurisdictions.) The proposed rules in London are comically unfair. One of them calls for Transport for London to ban animated cars being shown on a GPS map. Which other company is this going affect? And why is it "bad" for customers to be able to see where available cars actually are on their phones?The LTDA prefers the status quo, in which <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/uber/11901971/These-onerous-rules-are-why-cabbies-are-losing-the-battle-against-Uber.html">taxi workers are asked to pay £1,044 in fees just to get a licence</a> to drive, before finding themselves a special £43,000 vehicle to ride around in. The process takes up to four years to complete.Needless to say, once you drive for a Hackney cab company, you charge incredibly high prices. It can easily cost £30 just to get across town. So you also focus your business on London's richest people, the ones in Zones 1 and 2, and you try not to do business where the poor people live, in Zones 3 through 6. (Business there is less dense, and they can't afford it anyway.) And your cartel restricts entry of new competition into your market.<h2>Now, as John Lennon once said, imagine there's no taxis</h2>Here is an idea for a new business: We should start a car service in which working people are forced to pay huge sums of money before they get driving jobs, and then after they get jobs we organize them into a cartel that keeps prices high, so that low-income workers in the 'burbs get hurt as much as possible. That is a cynical, unethical idea for a business. And yet it is exactly what we have. And it is exactly what every left-wing person I know is currently trying to defend. Defend the poor old cabbies from unfair Yankee imperialist competition!On the other side of the coin, London is run by a Conservative mayor, who you'd think would enjoy seeing the taxi market broken up by efficient competition. But Boris Johnson's transport agency is seriously considering creating extra regulation, in the form of rent-seeking rules that would require drivers to wait five minutes before picking up any new rider. What kind of Conservative wants more market regulation?This is mad.The situation in France is even worse. There, <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/c96383f2-6768-11e5-a57f-21b88f7d973f.html#axzz3nK1lJ2XX">two Uber execs face prison</a> - prison! - for the alleged crime of trying to offer French people a bit more choice in how they get from A to B.Why is the British left supporting this nonsense?Anyway, if, like me, you have used Uber and you know THE TRUTH (which is that it's cheap and awesome), here are some pro-Uber, left-wing arguments you can use the next time you encounter a cab driver at a dinner party:<h2>Uber is good for The People because:</h2><ul><li>Most of Uber's revenue goes to the workers. Drivers keep about 75% of each fare.</li><li>Uber is good for women because it is safer. Although attacks by Uber drivers make headlines, just <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&amp;ion=1&amp;espv=2&amp;ie=UTF-8#safe=off&amp;q=taxi+driver+sexual+assault+-Uber">Google "taxi driver sexual assault -Uber"</a> if you want to know which type of taxi drivers are the real rapists. (That search excludes news stories featuring Uber drivers, so you can see just how frequently regular taxi drivers hurt women.) The safety advantage of Uber is that each ride is recorded by time, location, route, car, and the name of both the driver and passenger, with zero effort on the part of the customer. That does not happen in a taxi - unless you take notes in the back seat before you're attacked. </li><li>Uber is good for zero-hours contract workers, or anyone else working part time. With Uber, you can work when you want, even if your boss at Sports Direct screwed you over this week.</li><li>Uber is good for parents or carers who may need to work odd hours. Just turn the app on when you want to earn, turn it off when you're busy.</li><li>Uber is good for low-skilled workers. There are 18,000 Uber drivers in London right now whose only academic qualification is that they passed the driving test.</li><li>Uber is good for minorities. London black cab drivers are largely driven by white guys. Uber cars have a much greater proportion of minority drivers.</li><li>Uber has a low barrier to entry for new workers. Fill out the form. Get a brief amount of training. That's it. Zero fees. And you're not spending four years tooling around Zone 4 on a moped in the rain trying to learn The Knowledge when there's a free mapping app that is 10,000 times better at it than you. </li><li>Uber is good for people who live outside the centre of town. Those folks otherwise face prohibitive Hackney cab fares from the centre of the city, or long walks from tube/train stations, especially at night when the Tube stops running.</li><li>Uber is good for people on low incomes. It is not just that it provides taxi fares more cheaply. People who live in an Uber city - London, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham - often find that taking an Uber is cheaper overall than buying and owning a car.</li><li>Uber is good for the environment. Uber reduces the demand for regular cars, takes more cars off the roads, and has <a href="https://get.uber.com/cl/financing/">a financing programme that steers new drivers into hybrid vehicles.</a> </li></ul>Is Uber perfect? No. There are lots of things it could do better. But it's already much, much better than the current taxi experience. Workers of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but your cartels! <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ceo-raised-the-price-of-a-pill-5000-percent-is-doubling-down-2015-9">The CEO who raised the price of a life-saving pill 5,000% is doubling down</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="4xZm9udzobolP_ZeZXG2IBoQ3LWSOQUU" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

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