Delivery is tough work, especially in dense, urban environments. Couriers and policymakers often find themselves pulled between competing priorities: cash-strapped workers often don’t have the resources to invest in a good e-bike, driving them to cheaper alternatives that aren’t reliable enough to get the job done and are prone to dangerous battery fires.
That’s where Whizz comes in, offering courier-oriented e-bike rentals, while bundling in tricky things like maintenance and charging. And while renting is already easier on the wallet, Whizz is working with both the 3PDs and select cities to further subsidize their bikes, putting sustainable options into the hands of those that need it most.
With the Zag Daily podcast now back from its summer break, I caught up with Whizz’s co-founder Mike Peregudov to hear about the company’s latest expansion plans, the lessons he’s learned as he’s scaled the business, what it’s like to work with the big apps and even bigger cities, plus much more. Greg and I also chat about Via’s IPO, while Athena Browning stops by to fill us in on all things connected and aerial.
Join Us in Detroit for Our Mobility Week Mixer on 9/23
Curbivore is kicking off Mobility Week with our Mobility Mixer: a lively evening of networking, a panel and drinks, hosted at Detroit TechTown, on Tuesday, September 23rd.
Top mobility investors from coast-to-coast will be convening alongside Michigan's foremost transportation, autotech and public-sector leaders for a lively discussion featuring Jonah Bliss, Greg Lindsay and Bloom Co-Founder Chris Nolte.
If you're a founder, funder, builder, OEM, mobility startup, investor, or just a friend of the curb... join us to celebrate Mobility Week with some West Coast flair.
HOT INDUSTRY NEWS & GOSSIP
Uber takes flight: Uber is investing in Flytrex, a drone delivery startup with operations in Texas. While this particular investment is non-material, it has been interesting to watch Uber open its checkbook lately, pouring money into AVs and other advanced technologies, undoing a bit of its post-TK-era retrenchment. Flytrex is smaller than other flyboys like Zipline and Wing; back in 2023 we did a Q&A with CEO & Co-Founder Yariv Bash.
Debt drama? Tricolor, an auto lessor that served immigrants and sub-prime motorists in Texas, has collapsed in spectacular fashion. While the company looks to have defrauded its lendors, the real tipping point seems to have been recent immigration crackdowns rounding up and scaring off the company’s mostly Hispanic customers. I could see these same factors also weighing on other startups and lenders that work with couriers and rideshare drivers…
Pop, pop, pop! Via Transportation’s closely watched IPO delivered just what investors were hoping for, closing the day above opening price, ending up around $49 per share, valuing the company at ~$3.9 billion. The stock has stayed buoyant since then, bouncing between $48-52.
These AV deals are starting to get incestuous… Waymo is expanding to Nashville, with the robotaxis available both in their first-party app and later on Lyft; the latter’s Flexdrive subsidiary will also be handling local fleet management. But over in Chandler, AZ, Waymo will instead be making its AVs available via Via’s local shuttle service app. Meanwhile, Uber is lobbying Tesla to brings its robotaxis into the former’s network. And Waymo has started testing at SFO.
Charged up! Congrats to our buds at It’s Electric on being awarded $1.1 million by the CEC to develop, certify, and commercialize the world's first curbside vehicle-to-grid EV charger. Elsewhere, Prague is rolling out 1,500 curbside EV chargers, utilizing lampposts. And Toyota has found that a bit of gamification can encourage people to shift their charging to off-peak hours.
The world’s longest light rail line gets longer… Tomorrow, LA Metro opens the latest extension to the A Line, bringing it up to about 57 miles. The S-Bahn-like corridor services a number of quaint pre-war downtowns in the northern San Gabriel Valley, as well as what might end up being the country’s only transit oriented waterpark?
DART drop: Less happy news over in Dallas, where local leaders have decided to Grassy Knoll their transit system. With a number of suburban constituent cities threatening to pull their funding, DART has to undergo its biggest service cut in 40 years, while upping fares to boot. A proposed service change chart suggests that even the busiest bus and rail lines would only run every 20 minutes at peak, with service getting even worse on nights and weekends. And the Silver Line, a soon-to-open suburban rail line that connects the booming office parks around Plano with the airport, might only run one train per hour. More traffic it is, then!
Rammed: Ram Trucks is giving up plans to make an all-electric version of its 1500 full-size pickup, instead focusing on an extended-range hybrid. On one hand… it’s sad to see the electrification push lose a bit of steam, but on the flip side these mega-vehicles always felt like a waste of precious battery cells. Zooming out, things are not going well at Ram-owner Stellantis.
A few good links: Dr. Dre donates to farmers’ market-on-wheels Prosperity Market. Bot Auto finishes uncrewed truck validation run. K-pop burrito drop: Chipotle expands to South Korea. Fun facts about the Post Office as USPS celebrates 250 years of service. NYC makes progress with containerizing its trash. Gopuff updates web ordering. “Blinkit delivery agent arrives in Thar; leaves internet stunned.” NYCDOT expands delivery locker pilot. Ford reveals its wavy new headquarters; it’s hard to decide if this is more or less suburban than its previous (iconic) location.
See you on Tuesday in Detroit?
- Jonah Bliss & The Curbivore Crew
