An Olympian Push for Better Transport
An Olympian Push for Better Transport
Instacart speeds up, DoorDash adds fees, Grubhub updates app, Amazon's Berliner bikes
We’ve got huge announcements from three of the four major U.S. 3PDs, but before we get to that, there’s something even bigger going on these days: the Olympics!
As you stare at that beautiful B-roll of the Parisian cityscape, you may notice that it’s a city transformed. Thousands of new bike lanes connect every arrondissement, old freeways have been repurposed as spaces for people, and hundreds of miles of new rail lines are letting suburbanites access the games with ease.
Our friends at
take a look at the scene from a local’s perspective and like what they see! Back stateside, Alissa Walker contemplates what it’ll take to make LA’s own upcoming Olympics “car-free.” (And while we’re in the mood for boosterism, here’s a good rundown of why SoCal produces more Olympians than any other region.)HOT INDUSTRY NEWS & GOSSIP
Instant delivery mounts a comeback: It’s been a tough few years for anyone trying to deliver a candy bar in 15 minutes, but that doesn’t mean folks won’t keep trying! Instacart and Albertsons are expanding their Albertsons Rapid partnership to 2,000 locations nationwide, offering 30 min delivery for just $2.99 per order (or free for Instacart+ subscribers.) Quick commerce should work a lot better when you don’t need to build out a whole network of dark stores to power it, and half an hour definitely gives those poor couriers a bit more breathing room…
DoorDash adds new fees in Seattle: The brouhaha over Seattle’s Pay Up ordinance continues, with the city sticking to its guns on the increased wage and benefits package. To cover its higher operating costs, DoorDash is adding a new $1.99 fee for longer distance orders, as well as a minimum service fee for DashPass members. Separately, DD also just rolled out two new product features to help restaurateurs drive more demand off peak hours.
Grubhub grows new skin: Out with the old, in with the new iOS experience! Grubhub just finished a major overhaul of its mobile apps, adding personalized homepages, a unified wallet, recommended add-ons, $2.49 priority delivery, and a whole lot more.
Amazon pedals to Deutschland: Why does Europe get all the fun stuff? Amazon is investing €400 million to electrify and decarbonize its German transportation network. As part of that push, it just opened a new e-cargo bike hub in Berlin, where Mubea-manufactured vehicles are expected to deliver over 1.5 million packages per year.
Will cities pony up for bikeshare? Anyone that’s taken a Bird or Lime trip in the past few years can tell you that the price of privately operated micromobility has gone waaay up, as operators look to finally eke out a living. But denizens hoping to save a buck or two by instead using their local bikeshare system are flat out of luck: in some cities, those prices are up nearly 50% in the past five years. Most municipalities expect their bikeshare systems to be profitable, leading to prices like $21 for 30 minutes on an e-bike in Philly. We’d love to see more cities adopt LA’s approach and treat the mode like public transit, its Metro-owned system charges just $1.75, the same as bus fare. Despite those headwinds, bikeshare and dockless scooter ridership just hit an all-time high.
Revel with a cause: NYC-based EV fast-charge player Revel is planting its flag on the West Coast, starting with 42 stalls in DTLA. That’ll make it the largest public charging hub in all of downtown, much needed as local EV penetration just keeps climbing.
Curb appeal: As feared, NYC’s revamped outdoor dining program is leading to less dining and more parking. With less than a week to go before applications close, NYC is looking at ~1,300 permits, down from about 12,500 restaurants two years ago. Click through for sad photos of crushed dining sheds. Want to avoid this mistake in the future? Park(ing) Day is just around the corner, our friends at Parking Reform Network have webinars on Aug. 6 and Aug. 9 about how you can help repurpose parking in your city.
Did someone say unlimited pizza? Our friends and advisees at RestoGPT have a fun new product: pizza subscriptions. Restaurateurs get a helpful upfront payment, and dough-happy customers get to lock in pies from their favorite stores for 52 weeks. Yum yum.
More shared mobility stats: Canada’s Poparide has a new report out, documenting the rise of carpooling in the Great White North. Not to be outdone, Invers has compiled some new stats on the (middling) state of carsharing across North America.
A few good links: Voi cuts losses by a third. Lime adds two new e-bikes to attract women and elderly riders. Curbee launches platform for car dealer service lane. EV charging now cheaper than buying gas in all fifty states. Delivery Hero merges European and Asia operations. Smaller, responsibly sized cars picking up market share. Turmoil and possible self-dealing causes CA’s e-bike incentive program to be bogged down in delays. Chicago’s Red Line extension scores federal funds. LA breaks ground on SF Valley light rail (sadly, it’s a bit of an overpriced streetcar.) Uber and Lyft get reprieve from NYC regulators over driver lockouts. Cold storage co. Lineage launches hot IPO.
Until next week!
- Modern Delivery & The Curbivore Crew