Building the world’s biggest RV rental platform would be ambitious enough. But what if you also launched a suite of fleet-management tools, and then an entirely new division insuring autonomous vehicles, with rates that automatically drop whenever self-driving is engaged?
That’s the story of The Ride Platform, the company once known as Outdoorsy, which has since launched brands like Wheelbase and Roamly FSD. Once I sat down with Jeff Cavins, the company’s founder and CEO, I realized his ambitions spanned even beyond mobility. From inventing the special effects in many of your favorite 90s blockbusters, to building out reams of data centers before they became an AI-related hot potato, to working with Steve Jobs to popularize corporate video calls, Jeff’s been at the forefront of many of the technologies that have become indispensable over the past few decades. Given that impressive track record, I’d say expect The Ride Platform to soon be a household name.
Jeff and I chatted for the premiere of the latest season of The Courier podcast, following Greg and I catching listeners up on all the greatest mobility news they may have missed over the summer. Listen in to the season premiere, and be sure to also catch our partners at The Ride Platform when they join us at the Urban Autonomy Summit — Austin.
HOT INDUSTRY NEWS & GOSSIP
Delivery deep tech: DoorDash unveiled a slew of big updates at Dash Forward 2026. There were a few standard fare announcements — new brands like Macy’s and Vans, new tools for restaurants and to onboard couriers — but the most exciting updates had a decidedly deep tech flair to them. DoorDash’s new drone is already hitting the skies, thanks to pilots with Chipotle and Popeye’s. And the company is leaning big into agentic AI, with tools that integrate into Slack (hello easy lunch catering) and allow you to converse with it over iMessage. More details, and my conversations with select DD execs, on Monday at Modern Delivery.
Can ridehailing complement public transit? Getting TNCs to help, and not hinder, public transit use has always been a challenge, whether those cars are driven by humans or machines. But kudos to everyone still trying to make the pairing work: Waymo and SFMTA just unveiled a partnership, where riders get $2.85 (aka the cost of bus / train fare) in Waymo credit for every trip that links to a transit ride. They’re pulling this off thanks to linked open-loop Visas, meaning you could theoretically also take a Waymo there and Muni back — which is also a win! On the other side of the bay, ferry riders who take a shared UberX trip to or from the Alameda ferry terminal can also snag a $2.85 credit.
Harbinger delivers: Orange County-based Harbinger just scored a big order from FedEx, with the shipping giant taking delivery of 2,000 electric trucks by year’s end. That deal’s worth $300M, and is on top of FedEx’s earlier investment into the company.
All gassed up and nowhere to go: With national gas prices sitting at $4.41 per gallon, now is surely the perfect time to roll back fuel economy standards. New DOT rules lower the 2031 CAFE target to 34.9 mpg, down from the 50.4 mpg set by the Biden Administration. This is a bit symbolic, as Republicans had already removed any fines that OEMs might receive for not hitting targets. In other signs that the midterm must be getting close, Georgia is suspending its gas tax, because who needs maintenance anyway? And despite all this culture war BS, BMW just unveiled its updated 3 Series, and the EV variant is $4.4k cheaper than the gas-powered version. But damn, why is it so angry and ugly looking…
The mean streets of Taipei: Much like in Japan, Taiwan’s streets are generally quite pedestrian friendly. But don’t expect generous sidewalks and promenades, they achieve their walkability thanks to narrow streets with zero setbacks, where peds share space with slow-moving vehicles. Now Taipei’s upscale Da’an district is taking a more American approach, unveiling decorative sidewalks with distinctive curbs.
E-bike or e-moto? Electrified two-wheelers continue to take off in the Global South, much to the relief of many a lung and eardrum. India’s Ultraviolette just raised $85M from Yali Capital and TDK Ventures, as it scales up production. And in Nairobi, Spiro closed on $18M in debt to expand its fleet and battery-swap network. Back stateside, the NYC City Council is mulling a whopping 23 bills that would regulate the form factors.
Way mo’ safety: Waymo released its latest Safety Impact report, now valid through June 2026. Having driven 271M+ autonomous miles, the AVs have experienced 95% fewer serious crashes than comparable humans would have. Safety improvements look particularly notable in Atlanta, a region with particularly dangerous roads for humans.
Continental Lyft: Lyft continues its slow march into Europe, making good on its earlier acquisition of Freenow. American Lyft users traveling to Barcelona and Hamburg can now use the pink app to hail a taxi; service will soon expand to London, Rome, Paris, Berlin, Athens and Warsaw.
Modern Delivery, summer break quick hits: Shipt doubles down on Alabama HQ. More truckers switching from diesel to swappable batteries. Wonder gives back for Food Action Month. Instacart Health partners with Unite Us. DoorDash withdraws support for H.R. 9720, which would have stripped DC’s local taxing authority, amid fight over delivery fees. Texans are mad about Amazon’s noisy drones.
Join our friends at the Autotech Council: Demo Day returns to Palo Alto on 10/15.
A few good links: I interview Spyce’s Kale Rogers, as Wonder rolls out his Infinite Makeline. SUMC publishes new research on P3s for shared mobility. PopWheels brings swappable battery tech to street vendors. Brightline’s Florida operations file for Chapter 11, which certainly doesn’t improve the odds of its California arm finding bond buyers. Used car marketplace Carro considers dual-listing IPO. Denver RTD opens East Colfax BRT. Union Pacific tests battery-electric trains in SoCal. Belgium says vaarwel and adieu to iconic and ancient PCC trams. Minneapolis sets June 12 opening date for Green Line extension. NYC begins boring new Hudson tunnel. London’s TfL unveils publicly owned bus company. Alberta may be sparsely populated and relatively conservative, but that isn’t stopping them from planning high speed rail. Aurora CFO aims for 30k driverless trucks by 2030. Airbnb adds baby gear rentals for travelers. Tariffs drive up costs of public transit fleet replacements. Charter Space raises $5M for space insurance. OCTA gives Metrolink another quarter of funding. REM beating ridership targets. Train daddy, no — FOIA reveals Amtrak’s outlandish Penn Station requests.
See you in Austin!
- Jonah Bliss & The Curbivore Crew
