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Perth Now
3 days ago
- Business
- Perth Now
No frills ‘simple mode' in Uber app to encourage seniors
Uber have just made it easier for older Australians to book themselves transport as well as making it more convenient and safer for loved ones to organise their travel. The online ride-sharing company has just released a setting in their popular app called 'simple mode.' This mode offers larger icons and text and fewer options in a simplified layout with less features that are usually not be required by older folk. The modified layout also has a more simplified booking flow and makes it easier to access favourite locations. The ride-share app has added a simplified layout with less features. Credit: Supplied It comes as a study found one in three older Australians find it difficult to organise their own travel. 'Many older Australians have a smartphone these days, but figuring out how to use something new for the first time can still be a challenge,' Uber Australia and New Zealand managing director Emma Foley told the Australian Associated Press. 'Simple mode is for independent seniors who are happy to be out on their own but want to have a simpler way to book a ride.' Uber have also included seniors in their family members' option, where family members and friends can book trips for those they care about. 'The classic use case for this might be someone who is caring for their elderly mum and can't be there to take them to a doctor's appointment but wants to book a ride for them, track that trip, call the driver directly... and make it really simple to keep an eye on their loved one,' Ms Foley said. App-based ride shares have become significantly more popular than taxis in recent years, with a Roy Morgan study undertaken showing more than 7.4 million people used an app such as uber compared to 4.2 million people who preferred taxis.
SBS Australia
08-07-2025
- Business
- SBS Australia
Division at the Reserve Bank of Australia as it keeps rates on hold
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) board has kept rates on hold at 3.85 per cent. The RBA cut rates by 0.25 percentage points in both February and May, but left rates unchanged at its April meeting. The RBA had been widely expected to cut rates again after a decline in inflation and softer GDP growth, but the board were divided, with six in favour of keeping the rate on hold and three voting against it. It said: "With the cash rate 50 basis points [0.5 per cent] lower than five months ago and wider economic conditions evolving broadly as expected, the board judged that it could wait for a little more information to confirm that inflation remains on track to reach 2.5 per cent on a sustainable basis." The RBA has kept interest rates on hold. Source: SBS News The RBA board will next meet again in August. The RBA's decision to reduce the cash rate to 4.10 per cent back in February marked its first cut from a 13-year high of 4.35 per cent. The RBA had maintained the 4.35 per cent rate for around 15 months — from when it was introduced in November 2023 in response to rising inflation, throughout 2024, up until February 2025. — With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press This is a developing story and this article will be updated.
Time of India
24-06-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Alyssa Healy eyes back-to-back World Cup glory and 2026 India series
NEW DELHI: Australia women's team captain has confirmed she won't be retiring after the upcoming ODI World Cup, revealing that her recent battles with injury have only intensified her desire to keep playing — at least until Australia's home series against India in 2026. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The 35-year-old wicketkeeper-batter has dealt with a series of injuries over the past year, beginning with a stress fracture in her foot during the T20 World Cup, followed by a knee issue that forced her to miss several matches. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Healy, who has previously joked about the idea of retirement, admitted she once considered stepping away from the game after this year's ODI World Cup in India. But her mindset has shifted since. "It's (retirement date) probably shifted a little bit. It's (injuries have) made me realise that I still want to do a little bit more than maybe what I thought," Healy told the Australian Associated Press (AAP). Despite limited appearances during Australia's Ashes win at home, Healy missed tours to New Zealand and the Women's Premier League in India, prompting her to reassess her priorities. "At the same time, sometimes there's stuff in life that are a little bit more important than pulling on the green and gold. So it's just a constant reassess. "But at the moment I definitely want to play a home summer. I want to bring the World Cup home, but also to play against India (in 2026 at home),' she added. Healy is expected to return to competitive action in August when Australia A takes on India A in Queensland. Australia — the most successful team in women's cricket history — are aiming to become the first side in almost four decades to win consecutive ODI World Cups, a challenge that continues to drive Healy's ambition. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "According to science, the ODI World Cups is one of the heaviest loads that we go through as cricketers. My aim is to play every game of that World Cup. So, to make sure I can do that is important." IND vs ENG 1st Test: KL Rahul's grit, Rishabh Pant's fire keep India alive The captain also explained that guiding her squad to a title-winning level has long been a personal goal. "That was one of my goals, putting a timeline on it and saying this is where I could take this group, even not knowing what I was going to do personally," Healy said. "It definitely was a big focus of mine, to get the group to a place to compete at this World Cup, and win the trophy." "It's not so much about the captaincy, or ticking one more box (at a personal level). It's just that I want to win a World Cup for Australia, and no one has gone back-to-back, which is a real motivator." "That was a big focus of mine — to get this group into a place where it can not just compete but win." "It's not about ticking a personal box or just the captaincy. I want to win a World Cup for Australia. No team has gone back-to-back — and that's a real motivator," she added.
Straits Times
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Kyle Chalmers hopes Enhanced Games leads to improvement in prize money for clean swimmers
– Kyle Chalmers won't criticise fellow swimmers for taking part in the Enhanced Games, but the Australian hopes the proposed multi-sport event prompts World Aquatics to increase prize money for clean athletes. The Enhanced Games will allow athletes to use pharmacological or technological assistance, including substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Retired Australian world champion swimmer James Magnussen, 34, in February 2024 agreed to take performance-enhancing drugs to make an attempt at beating Cesar Cielo's 15-year-old 50-metre freestyle world record. The Enhanced Games concept has been met with widespread criticism, with World Aquatics introducing a new bylaw that will prevent any athlete or official who supports or endorses doping from competing or holding any positions after a Greek swimmer supported by the Enhanced Games 'broke' the world record. 'James is one of my really great mates, so I'm definitely not going to knock him for going across there,' Chalmers was quoted as saying by the Australian Associated Press on June 8, ahead of Australian trials in Adelaide. 'That is something that is hard in our sport, there's not a huge amount of money or prize money on offer and we kind of do it for the love of it. So I am not going to be a person that slams swimmers for wanting to go across and make some money and give themselves a better opportunity in life or set their families up...' The Enhanced Games will hold their inaugural competition in Las Vegas in May 2026 with swimming, athletics and weightlifting on the agenda. Participants could earn prize money totalling up to US$500,000 (S$642,580) per event plus bonuses for surpassing a world record mark. 'Swimmers have been underpaid for a very long time at the big competitions,' the 26-year-old said. 'I'm very lucky to have a lot of personal sponsors so I do OK for myself, which is nice. But I know that there's a lot of swimmers out there that really struggle... So I really hope that there is a shift, that we are able to get a little bit more prize money for what we do, but I guess we'll see.' Over at the Canadian Swimming Trials, Summer McIntosh stormed to victory in the women's 800m freestyle on June 8, firing another warning shot to Katie Ledecky after narrowly missing out on breaking the American's world record. A day after obliterating the 400m freestyle world record, McIntosh touched in 8min 5.07sec in the 800m, putting her just outside US great Ledecky's world best of 8:04.12 set only in May. 'Going into tonight, I really wanted to see how close I could get to that world record,' the three-time Olympic gold medallist said after her win at the trials in Victoria, British Columbia. 'But, overall, pretty happy with my race and my splits. I was a little bit in no man's land. So I'm happy excited for just moving forward and seeing how I can be pushed when I get some close-quarter racing.' McIntosh won gold in the 200m butterfly, 200m medley and 400m medley at the Paris Olympics and has indicated she'll chase five titles at the world championships in Singapore in July. On Saturday, she shattered the 400m free world record with a time of 3:54.18, slicing more than a second of the record set in 2023 by Australian Ariarne Titmus, who is taking the 2025 season off. The blistering form of McIntosh and Ledecky sets the stage for a titantic duel at the world championships and the Canadian admitted she was relishing the prospect. 'Any time I get to race Katie, it's an honour. I always have to bring my best to be able to challenge her,' McIntosh said on June 8. 'So I'm really excited for our match-ups at the worlds. This is my starting point now and I just try to keep pushing forward.' REUTERS, AFP Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Global News
26-05-2025
- Global News
Search intensifies after Australian teen vanishes without a trace
The search for a missing 17-year-old Australian girl has taken a grim turn as police have deployed cadaver dogs to scour a national park on the island continent. Pheobe Bishop vanished earlier this month after she was dropped off at Bundaberg Airport on May 15 to catch an early morning flight to Brisbane. She never checked in with the airline. She has not been seen or heard from since and, according to the Australian Associated Press, she wasn't picked up on CCTV entering the airport terminal. What we know about her disappearance Before her disappearance, Bishop was living in the small town of Gin Gin, approximately 360 kilometres north of Brisbane, with two people police have described as 'associates.' Police first got wind that something might be amiss after she failed to show up in Western Australia after her scheduled flight. Story continues below advertisement She was last seen on Airport Drive at Bundaberg Airport around 8:30 a.m. on May 15, carrying a suitcase. The following day, police issued a missing person's report. In various press conferences and updates since Bishop went missing, Queensland detectives have shared a number of clues and pieces of information about her life leading up to the day she disappeared. Police say they believe the couple she had been living with, Tanika Bromley and James Wood, drove Bishop to the airport that day. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy On May 19, police searched the land surrounding the Bundaberg Airport, but failed to turn up anything belonging to Bishop. The next day, they asked the public for tips regarding a 2011 grey Hyundai ix35 that was seen near the airport the day she went missing. 'We do have associates that are assisting police with our inquiries at the moment, and this is why we're trying to narrow down that timeline in relation to where Pheobe could be,' Det. Acting Insp. Ryan Thompson said at the time, reports the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). The next day, after Bishop had been missing for six days, police announced they considered her disappearance 'suspicious' and that they had established two potential crime scenes — one being the dilapidated house in Gin Gin, where Bishop had been living with Wood and Bromley, and the other the grey Hyundai, which police have seized. Story continues below advertisement 'We do hold concerns for her safety,' Thompson told reporters last Wednesday. 'It has been nearly a week since she was last sighted and it's out of character for her not to make any contact with anyone.' 'Grasping onto hope' Meanwhile, Bishop's mother, Kylie Johnson, has been pleading for information about her daughter, often speaking directly to Bishop through social media posts. 'We enter another day with Pheobe still missing, our hearts are breaking more and more,' she posted on Facebook last week. 'Phee we just need to know that you're ok? We just need to hear your voice! 'I'm begging anyone that has anything to contact Police link 131 444.' It's unclear why Bishop did not reside with her mother. The search intensifies In the past days, police have turned their search efforts to a nearby park, deploying land and air search teams, as well as dive squads in Good Night Scrub National Park. On Sunday, police dogs and homicide officers were also called into the park. Story continues below advertisement On Monday, forensic detectives said they have collected some items as evidence during the search that 'are believed to be linked to the investigation.' Those items are undergoing forensic examination, reports local outlet 7 News. So far, no one has been taken into custody in the case, but police say they continue to speak to people who know Bishop and are committed to exploring any tips or related information that could help determine her whereabouts. 'People don't vanish,' Thompson told reporters last Thursday. 'Someone knows something and we're urging anyone with information to contact police immediately. 'You may have the small piece of information that leads us to finding Pheobe.'
