Given the relentless heatwave, it’s hard to believe that summer is almost over. Fall will bring not only cooler weather, but the return of our vaunted podcast! Greg and I have already lined up some fantastic guests for this upcoming season, but we’re always on the hunt for more interesting folks working across the mobility, delivery and urban tech landscape. So if you’re an entrepreneur, regulator, investor, academic or just a wry observer — reach out so we can get you on the show! In the meantime, to get you excited for the show’s return, here are a few favorite past episodes:
This Fighter Pilot Knows Why Autonomous Machines Shouldn't Settle for Anything Less Than Perfection
HOT INDUSTRY NEWS & GOSSIP
Breaker, breaker robotruck, what’s your 20? With our Urban Autonomy Summit series headed to Austin in October, and Texas develops into a real hub for AV big rigs, it’s worth doing a deeper dive into some autonomous and electric trucking headlines. First up, Gatik just raised $200M, led by Qatar Investment Authority and Koch Disruptive Technologies; the company has grabbed about half a billion since inception — that’s approaching robotaxi money territory — with investors buoyed by its recent deal with PepsiCo. Bot Auto just announced it will exclusively use U.S.-based remote assistants, adding fodder to the policy debate around support team location and qualification. Officials from CA, OR, WA, BC and Baja have teamed up to build a long-haul electric freight corridor. But what about Baja California Sur (which I’ve always linguistically loved as it translates to lower southern California)? Einride orders 500 Tesla Semis (aren’t they supposed to be building their own e-trucks?) CEC allocates $30.2M to medium and heavy duty ZEV infrastructure.
A trainload of public transit updates: Get ready for a longer booze cruise, SMART to add new station in Geyserville. Vegas inaugurates Red Line BRT service (map here) as Boring Co. approved for expansion of Loop network. Copenhagen inaugurates its suburb-to-suburb light rail line. Monterrey, MX ups planning efforts ahead of Saltillo–Nuevo Laredo train service. This looks cool: LA Metro launches $1.9M Visionary Seed Fund Grant Program. Bay Area whiners come out against transit improvement tax. Amtrak rolls out improved train service in PA. Bay Area transit operators pushed back on Clipper 2.0 flaws for months, while Cubic dragged its heels. Private investment group unveils plan for express train to O’Hare Airport (does anyone else remember the half-billion dollar Block 37 debacle from a decade ago?) Melbourne’s new Suburban Rail Loop set to be hot topic in upcoming election. With people mover plans dead, Inglewood pushes ahead $261M transit overhaul connecting downtown to stadium district, hopefully in time for Olympics. (I looooove the painterly rendition of the ugly digital billboards the city has festooned itself with.)
Does a flying taxi qualify as part of a “car-free games”? Speaking of LA28, Archer Aviation and AEG have unveiled plans to develop a vertiport near LA Live, the entertainment district by Staples Center (no, I won’t call it Crypto.com Arena.) Other zones include SoFi Stadium, USC / Coliseum and the Burbank + Hawthorne airports. Plans to rejuvenate the infamous “graffiti towers” across the street from the arena are finally proceeding; maybe put the landing pad up there?
Pinching pennies… Used EV sales jumped 10% in July, as cash strapped commuters look for affordable ways to beat high gas prices. There are now more used electric cars on the market than used ICE vehicles. And Chinese OEMs are continuing to up their exports, as their domestic market suffers from way too much production capacity.
Willkommen, Waymo! Waymo is officially headed to Munich, targeting a public launch by the end of next year. Germany is the company’s third non-US market (after the U.K. and Japan) and its first toehold into the EU.
Good news for delivery, bad news for society… Whatever happened to Friday night with friends? Post-Covid, the social phenomenon of hanging out with your buds (or coworkers, or really anyone) on a Friday evening has essentially disappeared, with American activity on the day looking the same as it does on other weeknights.
Philly’s liberty curbs: Philadelphia rolled out its Center City commercial curb management program 15 months ago, and the program is showing real results. The Automotus-powered system has seen usage of the proper dedicated spots rise 97%, while downtown driving speeds rose from 7 to 10 MPH. The parking authority now plans to expand the 50+ camera system.
It’s a big deal! Venture funding into the mobility tech space is up 27% YoY, hitting $33.2 billion as of the end of June. But actual deal count has fallen more than 50%, as investors chase expensive late-stage deals (in AVs and robotics) while letting the early stage languish.
Quad squad: Fastport Honda’s eQuads are officially hitting the streets of Greater Los Angeles, as Amazon deepens its non-van-based operations. The choice of DC is interesting, as DLX9 is surrounded by overly wide roads, but once you cross Centinela you get into the pretty bike-friendly new urbanist neighborhood of Playa Vista.
Show me a hero… European delivery biggie Delivery Hero dropped its Q2 financial update, showing GMV up 11.3% YoY to €13.2 billion ($15.4B), rev up 17.7% to €4.0B and losses coming in at a manageable -€359M. Uber just officially published its €41.50 per share acquisition offer; expect the combined company to quickly squeeze its way to true profitability.
Modern Delivery, summer break quick hits: Uber Eats adds new tools for restaurateurs. DoorDash publishes top dogs for Labor Day, finds catering helps office attendance. Instacart partners with Petsense. Wonder adds Salt Hank’s. Chick-fil-A winds down delivery-only concept. USPS bumps rates for holidays. Dollar Tree net sales up 7%, BJ’s income climbs 15.4%, Walmart ecommerce sales climb 24%, DPC Dash revenue up 20.8%. With fresh funds from Mubadala, Arrive Logistics goes on hiring spree. Shipt adds AI tools. Deliveroo partners with Honest Burger. Wolt partners with cosmetics retailer Lyko. iFood’s effect on the Brazilian economy. Results from Prosus’ AGM. Starbucks cuts 100 employees that didn’t want to relocate to Nashville, funny that the newish CEO is allowed to work remotely… Coco Robotics and Uber Eats bring delivery bots to Finland, while Coco and Little Caesars make U.S. deal (the pizza brand partnered with Serve last year.) Flipkart hits 1.2M orders per day. Amazon’s Project Tetromino to develop fully autonomous warehouses. Airbound raises $37M to bring drone logistics to India. Hot on NYC’s heals, Chicago Teamsters push for Delivery Protection Act. Costco debuts custom cake delivery on Instacart. An incredibly Michigan headline: AAM Activation Fund backs autonomous drone deliveries for auto parts. Korea’s Baemin starts pants delivery. Wonder expand across the D.C. region. Miami Beachians mad about city undoing purple curbs (nice to see the normies care!)
A few good links: Court blocks HUD fair housing changes. Lyft pushes for hybrid bikeshare parking. AV test drivers get hurt. TN pours $9.2B into toll lanes (or as they’re calling them, “choice lanes.”) Bolt scooter data to help with accessibility. Marti revenue climbs 141%. VW reveals electric camper van config. Kia brings cheap EV3 to
US. Nevada okays 8,000 AVs from Tesla, Uber and Waymo. DoE probes Chinese lidar for security vulnerabilities. Waymo discusses custom chips. Trump’s trade war on Canada sure to hurt OEMs. XPeng Motors humanoid subsidiary Dogotix raises $900M (what’s in a name?!) Ampaire raises $19M for hybrid-electric planes. NYC finally expands street vending permits. Uber launches live stream feature so parents can watch kids’ rides. Walmart installs 100th super-fast charger. Reviewers like Yolin’s Li-ion charging cabinet. Legendary MA office park to be redeveloped as housing. Uber expands shared rides at college campuses. Ultra-low emissions zone spurs lung regrowth in children. Nayax buys parking payment platform IPS for $350M. New data on micro-transit shows their success at attracting (and not just cannibalizing) new riders depends a lot on where you build the service. NYC Mayor Mamdani okays $4B reconstruction of controversial cantilevered freeway.
See you in Austin!
- Jonah Bliss & The Curbivore Crew