CES Comes for the Curb
CES Comes for the Curb
Waymo in LA, Curb Activity Challenge, remembering the "big one"
CES just wrapped up in Vegas, and the always intrepid Harry Campbell was on site, taking stock of the curb-iest announcements of the week. While every year the mega-event feels more and more like an auto show, there were still some fun new products that might make city sidewalks and streets just a little bit sweeter.
Starting small, there were plenty of two wheelers on the show floor. While some seem to just be a licensed brand slapped on preexisting hardware, there were also a number of products that make biking look just a bit more futuristic.
The Weel EV-B (above, silver) has turned heads in the past for its claims to be self driving and self balancing. But will its makers learn from VanMoof’s downfall that too many custom parts can be a maintenance and reliability nightmare?
HeyBike (above) is looking to push ebiking to the masses, with a number of sub-$1000 products. On the decidedly more upmarket side of things, VinFast (below) released its DrgnFly ebike, with the looks and power to give a true motorcycle a run for its money.
While the company also released a number of new EVs at the show, we want to give a shout out to its cutesy VF3, a micro SUV that’s smaller than a Fiat 500e. If every truck was this size, think of how much safer our streets would be!
Getting a bit more futuristic, we saw a number of drone delivery announcements. Walmart shared that it now covers 75% of DFW with aerial deliveries. Meanwhile DJI released its FlyCart 30 delivery drone, meaning any ol’ enthusiast (or ambitious startup) can start moving goods sans traffic.
Speaking of deliveries, one of the OGs of last mile delivery, Instacart, was showing off their next gen advertising platform/partnership with Caper AI technology. Harry scanned a few items by tossing them into the cart and said it ‘worked like a charm’. Cool technology to keep an eye on.
Vay capped off the week by launching its tele-operated ridehail system in Vegas, after a few years of operating in Europe. Remote operators drive the vehicles to the customer, who then take over operations once they enter the driver’s seat. Priced at 30 cents a minute, it’s a tad more than most carsharing systems, but the convenience of the car coming to you is definitely worth a premium. While the company presents this as an intermediate step towards full autonomy, I don’t see why this couldn’t work out long term as a labor arbitrage play…
Meet Curbivore’s 2024 Launch Partners
As commerce rapidly moves to the curb, Curbivore is thrilled to announce that the community is once again gathering in person – March 28 & 29 in Downtown LA – giving you a chance to see, touch and try the technology that's reshaping our future, as well as meet with the civic leaders and forward-thinking entrepreneurs that are ensuring nobody is left behind as we reshape our delivery networks, transportation systems, cities and vital local businesses for the better. This gathering is not only a call to rethink our streets, sidewalks & civic spaces – it's a celebration of the amazing organizations making that transition possible, and a chance to sample some of the best street food in the country and kick the tires of new mobility & delivery vehicles! Learn more about our 2024 Launch Partners or score Early Bird Tickets now.
HOT INDUSTRY NEWS & GOSSIP
Waymo launches in LA: Alphabet’s AV TNC Waymo recently started running (free) service in Greater LA. After taking a few spins last week, I was overall pleasantly surprised by what a smooth and conscientious driver it was. Full review here.
Transit in 2024: Take a look at this great recap of every new urban transit project that opened last year, and explore the 3,000+ km of fixed route transport set to open in the year to come. Of course much of the action is in China, just last week Beijing opened an extension to 3 separate lines.
Transit in America: Finally some good news, domestically! BART’s “fleet of the future” is coming in ahead of schedule, and $394 million under budget, thanks to the agency doing more in-house, including engineering work. As always, state capacity gets the goods! And in South LA, a Universal Basic Mobility experiment, giving residents $150 for mobility each month, is showing promising results. Meanwhile, Gov. Newsom is keeping transit funding steady, despite cutting other green initiatives to balance the budget.
Why can’t we have nice things? The State of New Jersey is still trying to stop congestion pricing from improving the lives of Tri-Staters, as it adds the MTA as a defendant in its lawsuit. In the Big Apple proper, new traffic cameras going up on FDR Drive have residents (or at least the conservative writers at the Post) wary the agency might try to one day expand the program’s boundaries (which would take a change to state law.)
Food delivery, quickly: Grubhub parent co. Just Eat Takeaway.com sees orders fall in U.S. and Southern Europe. DoorDash adds sports and nutrition retailers, hispanic grocery stores. Drizly dries up. Uber & RMI release report on greening deliveries. Seattle ups delivery minimum wage to an impressive ~$26.40 per hour. DoL may reclassify gig workers. Nimbus Kitchen CEO Camilla Opperman shares how she’s kept growth sustainable while many ghost kitchens have struggled.
30 years ago: When the Northridge Earthquake toppled LA’s freeways 30 years ago, people flocked to transit, with new routes set up in record time. Just like the recent closure of the 10, maybe there’s a lesson to be learned here?
Calling all curb innovators! The Transit Tech Lab has launched its Curb Activity Challenge, looking to maximize NYC’s curb space to serve ever multiplying needs.
A few good links: Ram introduces first EV, a ProMaster van. Cool photo alert: LA Metro lowering escalators into station shafts as D Line extension opening nears. New rents dropping as more supply comes online — keep building! CitiesFirst Podcast chats with investor Thijn Van Helvoirt. URF releases guide to PMRs. Air taxis spin up. Tier and Dott merge, haul in a fresh €60 million for micromobility.
P.S. Got your Curbivore ticket yet?
- Jonah Bliss & The Curbivore Crew