Congestion Pricing Prices Revealed, Cruise Docked, One Weird Trick to Save Your Crosswalk
Congestion Pricing Prices Revealed, Cruise Docked, One Weird Trick to Save Your Crosswalk
Just a few hours left to save on Curbivore 2024
Welcome back from Thanksgiving, everyone! Now is that most difficult time of the year, the three weeks you need to pretend to be busy before you can turn on your email auto-responder in late December. Before getting to this week’s big curb news, I just wanted to share that there are only a few hours left on our special 2-for-1 Cyber Week sale. That works out to less than $50 per ticket to join the wonderful cadre of big city mayors, DOT leaders, startup founders, mobility entrepreneurs, vehicle designers, gig platform innovators and delivery cuisine creators that will be convening at Curbivore next March 28 & 29.
HOT INDUSTRY NEWS & GOSSIP
Cruising or docked? GM’s self-driver Cruise is looking rather stuck, two weeks after its founding leadership stepped down. Its next-generation Origin shuttle vehicle is indefinitely delayed, and instead of returning to 13 cities, as originally planned, the AV company might resume driving in just one. Place your bets on if it’s in Texas or Arizona…
Congestion pricing details squeezed out: NYC’s congestion pricing program is inching closer to implementation, and the pricing details have leaked out. Looks like fees will be about $15 to enter Midtown or Lower Manhattan, with discounts at night. Commercial trucks may pay as much as $36; folks that don’t leave the highways that ring the island are exempt. Honestly, given that a pastrami sandwich at Katz’s is ~$30 these days, that sounds downright cheap… Meanwhile, a new research paper shows that congestion pricing helps even those on the bottom of the socioeconomic spectrum.
More heat or more light... Daylighting an intersection — that is to say bulbing out the crosswalk so it’s harder for drivers to miss — is an easy way to increase pedestrian safety. So, why don’t more cities take this easy step? CityLab documents the usual list of challenges — auto-oriented politicians, anti-change NIMBYs, parking lovers, and a general reticence to pour concrete. I’d add that this is one of the areas where you need to be mindful about adding street-side outdoor restaurant seating; place it to close to the intersection and it can mess up safety sightlines.
Things could always be worse: In South Africa, gig drivers on Bolt are up in arms (literally) over new competition that’s undercutting prices. Newer drivers have joined the platform, driving an Indian-made Balaj Qute, which lets them accept rides for 18% less. Not looking to be undercut, gangs of drivers in full sized cars have taken to smashing up the 20 horsepower four-wheeler. Somewhat related — this Johannesburg moped driver claims he can deliver anything in 15 minutes.
Lift off! I’ve long been skeptical of the economics and complications of drone delivery. But given the increasing difficulty of land-based automation, more and more startups are making the case for aerial goods movement, at least in certain locales. Lars Erik Fagernæs, CEO of Norway’s Kyte, explains why his country’s high-trust society, well funded aviation authority and sparse density means drones have a flying chance.
Year in review: Of all the fake Spotify Wrapped style infographics we’ve seen, this one is the best. The APTA is summing up the last 12 months of transit ridership, and shows that while NYCMTA is still king, LACMTA has finally overtaken CTA, as LA’s gone big on bus lanes, while Chicago has let transit service hours dwindle. Leadership matters!
So much delivery news: Cyber Monday sales surged to $12.4 billion, meaning you’re going to be seeing overworked UPS and USPS staffers for a few more weeks. As for the platforms; Instacart is teaming up with Peacock as well as Finish Line and Kiehl’s, U.K.’s Deliveroo is getting into non-food retail, Uber Eats is adding Big Lots, and Delivery Hero is taking the last chopper out of Vietnam.
Priorities, priorities… Transit service in the Bay is facing a daunting fiscal cliff, and auto traffic to downtown SF is down from pre-pandemic, yet local officials still think the best use of funds is to widen a freeway off-ramp that spits cars straight into the heart of SOMA. Vision Zero, amirite?
SFVBS: Bus shelters are getting the green light in LA’s San Fernando Valley, with the City and Feds cobbling together about $40M for new shade and signage structures. You may recall Gene Oh, CEO of Curbivore partner Tranzito, imploring city officials to get this done at Curbivore ‘23.
Speaking of the Feds: The White House is launching a DOT Multimodal Freight Office, tapping former Washington State Department of Transportation official Allison Dane Camden to optimize freight and goods movement throughout the country. Meanwhile, the FHWA is requiring states to set emission reduction targets.
But do they have “the knowledge”? Uber’s adding yet another option to its mobility services: London’s iconic black cabs. Now you’ll be able to call a cabbie with the push of a button; but is it as much fun if they aren’t navigating the streets by memory?
Love a good marketing stunt: Domino’s unveiled a space-age bike/moped, specially designed for keeping pizza toasty and unjostled as it makes its way across the mean streets of Singapore and New Zealand.
Parking wars: Eugene, Oregon eliminates off-street parking requirements. The Mayor of Ventura reminds folks why market pricing for street parking is good for parkers, businesses and the city itself.
The office is dead, long live the office: City officials and business leaders are still trying to cajole workers back to the CBD. One trick — updating noisy, hard-surfaced open office plans with soft features, more private nooks.
Three cool jobs: Community Manager — Richmond Bike Share, operated by Today. Zero Emissions Vehicle Program Manager — City of Boston. Policy Lab, Senior Operations Manager — Elemental Excelerator.
A few good links: GM absorbs BrightDrop into its larger operations. Walmart adds parcel stations to select stores. Kitchen United to shutter all food halls. Not so green — Vancouver stalls bike lane plans. Upway raises $30M for its refurbished bike marketplace. SFMTA’s Tom Maguire heads to BART. Voyager Global Mobility acquires Costa Rica’s largest rideshare fleet. Mapping London’s most dangerous intersections. Mexican rock group Maná donates to LA street vendors. Miami’s commuter rail system finally gets Downtown station. Dubai OKs new 30km Metro line. America’s cities continue not to build housing.
- Jonah Bliss & The Curbivore Crew