Subway Expansions in NYC, Toronto & Genoa - Compare the Price!
SF fights street vendors, Japan considers TNCs
PARTNER | Save Money and Make Drivers Safer
Auto insurance is the top expense for rideshare companies. Last year, Lyft attributed 90% of its $730M cost of revenue increase to insurance. One insurance carrier doubled its annual premium written for Uber.
To help reduce insurance costs, companies are turning to telematics. They’re making drivers safer through real-time feedback. They’re also rewarding their safest drivers.
HOT INDUSTRY NEWS & GOSSIP
Webinar on delivery pricing starts in one hour! Join me, the Lead Editor of Restaurant Dive, two entrepreneurs, and the proprietor of a pizza shop (sounds like the setup to a bad joke) for a lively conversation on how to properly price technology, the ways delivery can help and hinder small businesses and the impact of policy on marketplace pricing. We kick off at 10 AM Pacific / 1 PM Eastern.
Subway expansions: The Feds have agreed to fund about half of the $6.6 billion it’ll cost to construct Second Avenue Subway phase two, a ~1.5 mile extension of the Q train. We’ll leave you to do the disheartening cost per mile calculations, but keep in mind some of the tunneling was already completed, and then abandoned, in the 1970s. Up in Toronto, the short Line 4 “stubway” is potentially getting expanded, but successive governments have promised big transit plans for Canada’s largest city, only to have them amount to nothing.
Point of comparison: Genoa, Italy has presented the final design of its 6.9 km, six station extension of the Metro. Fully elevated, the project will cost €395 million, working out to around $97.6 million per mile. Can we get some of that over here?
Speaking of cost savings: TransitCenter has put out a short case study highlighting some of the ways Montreal built its new REM for just C$191 million per mile, including by giving the transit authority the ability to preempt local planning obstacles. If you work for an agency or a large contractor, or better yet the state legislature, please pretty please read the short report.
More American exceptionalism: In the Bay Area, the Metropolitan Transit Commission is looking to undo its own transit oriented development policies. Passed just a year ago, at the time the agency hailed the plans as a “landmark policy to promote housing and commercial development near transit stations.” Now, the MTC is considering rescinding that policy for the BART to Silicon Valley extension — meaning that despite spending $12 billion on the megaproject, there would be no pressure on San Jose to build new car-light housing near the subway.
CA keeps on truckin’! In cheerier news, California has hit its zero emission trucking goals two years ahead of schedule. 7.5% of trucks sold last year were ZEVs, a milestone that wasn’t expected to be hit until 2024. By 2045, all medium and heavy duty trucks sold in the state will need to be emission-free.
🇯🇵🚕 Japan has long been an exception to the TNC revolution, as its well-organized taxi sector defeated any attempts to allow gig-work based competitors like Uber, Lyft or Grab. But as the country grapples with a labor shortage that’s acutely affected the transport industry, Prime Minister Kishida announced he’s considering allowing ridesharing operations in the country. And for commuters that are willing to wait until 2026, GM is teaming up with Honda to bring its Cruise AV subsidiary to the Tokyo region.
SF cracks down on street vendors: Ahead of the APEC Summit, SF leaders are cracking down on street vendors, hoping to create a potemkin city that… doesn’t have delicious food? Besides being racist and anti-working poor, it’s wild that local leaders wouldn’t want to celebrate the city’s delicious culinary traditions.
Forgotten foodways: In LA, the slice of a neighborhood known as Victor Heights, aka the Forgotten Edge, aka the part of Chinatown that seems like its in Echo Park, is getting a food-forward makeover. One architect / developer is repurposing an old bungalow complex to house a series of cafes, restaurants, shops and markets. There are of course concerns related to the housing shortage, but re-integrating dining into residential neighborhoods is one of the best ways to undo the scourge of automotive-oriented planning.
One hump or two? Innovative cargo carrier URB-E is rebranding as Llama, a fitting name for a slightly ungainly but ultimately efficient stuff-hauler. The name change is perhaps overdue, as the company was originally the maker of a very space-agey folding bike-like thing, oriented towards consumers. With the shifted focus on B2B cargo, there’s no more confusion…
That’s one way to deal with it: JOCO is rolling out a fireproof cabinet, meant for charging e-bike batteries. Geared towards both last mile delivery services and residential / office building operators, this hopefully offers some peace of mind for an issue that affects low-income delivery workers worst of all.
Meet your delivery worker: Speaking of workers, this profile at Cafe Anne is a great reminder of just how human a profession delivery work is. Meet Marianna Suleman, who puts in long hours on her Whizz bike moving Uber Eats around NYC.
A few good links: Prospect Heights, Brooklyn residents rally to save their open street. Taxis and Ubers go zero-emission by 2031 in Toronto. New Metrolink station opens as part of mixed-use, car-light development in Santa Clarita. Job alert: Streets for All is looking for a Director of Outreach and Organizing. Layoffs hit EV truck-maker Xos. 3PDs back new independent retirement bill. You love to see it — DC Commissioner celebrates that his district has built lots of apartments. More on LA’s new bus lanes. A fun little web game about how tricky it can be to score hot restaurant reservations.
Don’t forget today’s webinar — by the time you’ve read this far it probably starts in 45 minutes!
- Jonah Bliss & The Curbivore Crew