Curbivore Is Two Weeks Away
New workshops, executive lunches, exclusive speakers, fun mixers and more
We’re just two weeks away from Curbivore 2025, and this year we’ve got something really special. We start things on Thursday 4/10 with an invite-only luncheon for gig hiring executives, convening at Manuela, on a beautiful patio inside the acclaimed Hauser & Worth gallery. Reach out if you think you should be a part of that conversation. Later that evening we really get the party started, with our Opening Reception — think drinks, networking, food and fun. Separate RSVP requested — ticket-holders please keep an eye on your inboxes.
Friday the 11th we’ll welcome you curb luminaries at 8:30 AM with our best collection of exhibitions yet, followed by a day of action-packed interviews, panels and hands-on workshops. Oh and of course don’t forget our acclaimed, and free, street food we’ll be serving all day long…
Our full program is packed to the gills with must see programming, including amazing speakers like DoorDash Co-Founder Stanley Tang, FDNY Commissioner Emeritus Laura Kavanagh, Uber’s Global Head of Autonomous Policy Richard Willder, Wing’s CEO Adam Woodworth, and luminaries from the likes of Vayu Robotics, Harbor Lockers, Gridwise, Coco, Sweetgreen, Serve Robotics and so many more.
This year’s workshops are also something special, as we’ll be offering attendees deep learning sessions on how to incentivize couriers to use e-bikes, how to automate bus lane enforcement, how to digitally map curbs, and what’s new with CDS & MDS. April 10th and 11th in Downtown LA — you don’t want to miss this one!
HOT INDUSTRY NEWS & GOSSIP
Way more work to do on fleet balance: The tricky thing with robotaxis is that you’ve got a fixed fleet supply: build enough supply for the peaks and you’ve got cars sitting idle for the rest of the day; build enough supply just for the baseline and you’ve got long waits and dissatisfied customers during the evening rush. New CPUC data shows that Waymo still hasn’t quite figured out where along the supply and demand curve it wants to sit, with deadheading and wait time remaining rather high. But the AVer is testing one idea that might help — Teen Accounts — since kiddos are likely to use the service at different hours and may be more willing to stomach longer waits.
Policy panaceas and curb cuts: Paris continues to show bold climate leadership, with the city of light voting to convert 500 streets into pedestrian-oriented, tree-filled oases. Across the pond, NYC’s congestion pricing program hauled in $52 million in February, a slight uptick over the previous month, which will help the MTA with much-needed capital programs. In less happy news, a new pedestrian path on the Queensboro Bridge is stuck in limbo, caught in the morass of local political wranglin’.
Big cars, bigger problems: It’s well known that car and truck sizes have been bloating ever bigger the past few decades. It follows that if vehicles are más grande, your road or highway will be able to hold fewer of them. Freeway capacity has in fact fallen 9.5% from 1995 to 2019, meaning even those in a responsibly sized hatchback suffer at the hands and wheels of the bulky and slow-braking Escalades of the world.
“There’s a seat, and there’s two wheels, there’s a screen, and there’s a few computers and a battery.” Rivian’s RJ Scaringe was poetically terse in his announcement about “Also,” a new micromobility / LEV brand he’s launched with $105M in funding. He plans to tap into the OEM’s supply chain to bring down costs, while targeting both consumers and delivery fleets.
President Trump, the accidental urbanist? President Trump announced an additional 25 percent tariff on imported cars and parts, which will fracture U.S. automaker’s complex supply chains, and up car prices by thousands of dollars. But if cars and trucks now cost way more… does that mean people will buy fewer of them? (Or smaller, cheaper models?) Will some even forego a personal vehicle for public transit or micromobility?? Heavens…
Tariffs curb growth: Meet Liz Picarazzi, maker of the Citibin, a curbside trash can meant to be rodent-proof. While Liz moved her factory from China to Vietnam to get ahead of tariff trouble, the newly expanded taxes have already upped her costs by 25%, while her small business can’t set up a factory domestically any time soon. “My business wouldn’t exist if I didn’t live among trash and rats in New York City,” notes Picarazzi, but maybe we’re all living amongst the trash these days…
Seems like a solvable problem? The City of LA is expected to lose $65 million on parking enforcement, as the revenue from fines and permits falls far short of the program’s costs, a shortfall that’s been growing since 2016. Parking permits are just $34/year and tickets are just a few bucks more, numbers which haven’t budged in years. Maybe up the prices to reflect the program’s actual costs… why does this even require a city council vote to happen?
Glue hoo… All 46,000 Cybertrucks have been recalled, as the vehicle’s trim has been prone to falling off, as it was improperly adhered to the vehicle. Meanwhile, the company’s first restaurant and charging hub is struggling to open, as chefs and resto groups are loathe to associate with the toxic brand. (I first broke the story that this site, in Hollywood, had broken ground back in 2023, which feels like a whole century ago…)
A few good links: SCAG seeks Department Manager of Mobility Planning & Goods Movement. San Jose makes progress on SMART Grant-funded curb digitization and management pilot. CA and TNCs near settlement in wage-theft case. Zipcar expands EV access in Sacramento. Chicago has already seen a particularly abysmal transit ridership recovery, now a “doomsday scenario” may mean $770 million in further service cuts. The Feds killing CA’s clean trucking rule leaves many fleet operators stuck in an expensive limbo. “I’m not trying to beat a dead horse to death,” — meet the departing Ford executive who kept a log of every verbal snafu.
Get your Curbivore tickets!
- Jonah Bliss & The Curbivore Crew
