Uber to Offer Seine Cruises, Day Trips in Paris during Olympics

FILE PHOTO: An aerial view shows the Conciergerie building (bottom R) and the Palais de Justice, or courthouse, on the Ile de la Cite along the river Seine in central Paris July 14, 2013.  REUTERS/Charles Platiau
FILE PHOTO: An aerial view shows the Conciergerie building (bottom R) and the Palais de Justice, or courthouse, on the Ile de la Cite along the river Seine in central Paris July 14, 2013. REUTERS/Charles Platiau
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Uber to Offer Seine Cruises, Day Trips in Paris during Olympics

FILE PHOTO: An aerial view shows the Conciergerie building (bottom R) and the Palais de Justice, or courthouse, on the Ile de la Cite along the river Seine in central Paris July 14, 2013.  REUTERS/Charles Platiau
FILE PHOTO: An aerial view shows the Conciergerie building (bottom R) and the Palais de Justice, or courthouse, on the Ile de la Cite along the river Seine in central Paris July 14, 2013. REUTERS/Charles Platiau

Uber Technologies unveiled a raft of measures on Wednesday, including a tie-up to offer cruises on the Seine river as it looks to meet explosive demand stemming from the upcoming Olympics in Paris, Reuters reported.
The ride-hailing platform will offer its "Uber Cruises" free of charge from July 12 to August 3, and customers can also book a day trip.
Uber also plans to make a "significant" investment in driver incentives and discounts for riders.
More than 15 million visitors are expected to arrive in Paris this summer - a 30% increase from previous years - straining public transport networks, the company said.
It expects a record 40,000 drivers to provide rides on its platform during the Olympics.
Uber has also been attempting to capture cost-conscious customers through lower priced offerings.
While dynamic pricing will be used during the Olympics, Uber will offer rider promotions at key locations such as airports and Parisian train stations, where it expects nearly one million people to travel with Uber.
Uber provides drivers with "promotions" such as extra pay for completed trips that begin in specific areas, within a specific time window.
The company said its "app has also been approved for use throughout Paris, with the Préfecture de Police granting Uber drivers access to the most restricted areas of the city."
Uber's efforts in Paris will include continuously updated maps and routing in the driver app to highlight zone restrictions and road closures as well as dedicated in-app drop off and pick up zones, Reuters said.
It is also adding more than 130 new Uber Access vehicles to its platform.



Latest Tests Show Seine Water Quality Was Substandard When Paris Mayor Took a Dip

 Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
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Latest Tests Show Seine Water Quality Was Substandard When Paris Mayor Took a Dip

 Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)

Tests results released Friday showed the water quality in the River Seine was slightly below the standards needed to authorize swimming — just as the Paris Olympics start.

Heavy rain during the opening ceremony revived concerns over whether the long-polluted waterway will be clean enough to host swimming competitions, since water quality is deeply linked with the weather in the French capital.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a highly publicized dip last week in a bid to ease fears. The Seine will be used for marathon swimming and triathlon.

Daily water quality tests measure levels of fecal bacteria known as E. coli.

Tests by monitoring group Eau de Paris show that at the Bras Marie, E. coli levels were then above the safe limit of 900 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters determined by European rules on June 17, when the mayor took a dip.

The site reached a value of 985 on the day the mayor swam with Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet and the top government official for the Paris region, Marc Guillaume, joined her, along with swimmers from local swimming clubs.

At two other measuring points further downstream, the results were below the threshold.

The statement by Paris City Hall and the prefecture of the Paris region noted that water quality last week was in line with European rules six days out of seven on the site which is to host the Olympic swimming competitions.

It noted that "the flow of the Seine is highly unstable due to regular rainfall episodes and remains more than twice the usual flow in summer," explaining fluctuating test results.

Swimming in the Seine has been banned for over a century. Since 2015, organizers have invested $1.5 billion to prepare the Seine for the Olympics and to ensure Parisians have a cleaner river after the Games. The plan included constructing a giant underground water storage basin in central Paris, renovating sewer infrastructure, and upgrading wastewater treatment plants.