Wing, Uber, LADOT: New Delivery & Mobility Leaders Head to Curbivore
Industry news: delivery vans head to Costco, new rail renderings
Curbivore 2025’s amazing lineup just got even more stacked! We’re delighted to be joined by Adam Woodworth, the CEO of Wing; Richard Wilder, Global Head of Regulatory Policy at Uber, Jarvis Murray, who’s in charge of TNCs, carsharing, micromobility and delivery bots at LADOT; as well as top execs from the likes of Lyft, Nexar, The Verge, Grdwise, Tranzito and more!
We’ve also got an array of innovative companies joining us in Downtown LA: say hello to on-road autonomous deliverer Vayu Robotics, public on-demand delivery locker operator Harbor, innovative insurer Christensen Group Insurance, gig work manager Solo, electric fleet marketplace Bingo and specialty media group Parking Today. They join what is truly the most impressive array of mobility and delivery innovators ever assembled. Join us on April 10 and 11!
HOT INDUSTRY NEWS & GOSSIP
Urban growth good not great… Brookings has updated it tracker of growth, prosperity, overall inclusion, racial inclusion, and geographic inclusion. Most of America’s dense and urban regions sadly saw jobs and output growth falter the past decade (below) with NYC coming in 38th out of 54, LA 34th, Chicago 48th, DC 42nd, while SF, Miami and the sunbelt kept booming. We want to see those later cities return to growth, because they did do well on indices like prosperity and inclusion, which is very much not the case in the sprawling ‘burbs of the South. Looking at just raw population growth, new Census data shows that all of the top 10 fastest growing counties were in the southeast or southwest…
Hope for housing? Meanwhile, a number of new initiatives might help coastal cities restore growth, starting with a new competition to design more multi-family housing around single-stair point-access block configurations (the norm in Europe.) In California, housing champion Senator Scott Wiener has introduced a new bill to upzone parcels near transit.
Rail me! Everyone’s favorite FOIA fiend has scored some hot new renderings of potential stations for LA Metro’s Sepulveda Transit Corridor. (Don’t expect this to break ground under the current administration…)
Bad apple: It’s been a tough stretch for NYC’s curb liveliness, with the NYPD issuing over 10,000 tickets to street vendors last year, up 5x from 2019. Outdoor dining is also officially DOA, with the city authorizing just 600 setups for the season starting 4/1; advocates lay much of the blame on Council Speaker and mayoral candidate Adrienne Adams. But at least the MTA is willing to put up a good fight for congestion pricing.
Great TV! You may recall that our current DOT head’s original claim to fame was starring on MTV’s Road Rules (very topical.) Here he is threatening to withhold MTA funding if it doesn’t “get its act together” on his vague complaints about safety. (The subway is very safe.) Meanwhile, the administration has also pushed out Amtrak’s apolitical CEO.
Buy 10 vans and save big? Is this a sign that electric delivery vans have finally gone mainstream? Costco is now retailing BrightDrops, offering members up to $3k off the purchase price. (And they’re even advertising this on Instagram, the algorithm knows me too well!) Can Costco instead maybe import this sweet new Toyota mini-car that will definitely never make it stateside?
A few good links: Upway brings its pre-owned bike super store to SoCal. Transit operators up electric fleets. What’s the deal with NYC’s sidewalk scaffolding scourge? Why local politicos killed a beloved Lower Manhattan sidewalk dining shed. Hayden AI seeks policy and regulatory manager. Veho enters 50th parcel delivery market. Tesla scores CA TNC permit. In LA, just 5% of lane miles are responsible for 30% of bus delays (probably true of non bus trips as well…) Lyft talks up AV game. Metrocards go the way of the ol’ token, as NYC MTA phases out iconic yellow piece of plastic. Our friends at Mvmi are hosting a 5-session online course to help transportation professionals navigate policy, operations, and behavior change in shared mobility. We love getting curb-related improvements at home! Brightline West bond sale outperforms expectations. Telecommer VEON buys Ukrainian ridehailer Uklon. A secret mortgage blacklist makes some condos unsellable.
Get your Curbivore tickets!
- Jonah Bliss & The Curbivore Crew
MEET OUR NEW PARTNERS
Vayu Robotics develops advanced AI-powered perception and autonomy solutions, enabling machines to navigate and interact with the world more efficiently and safely. Their cutting-edge technology enhances performance across industries, including robotics, transportation, and logistics.
Harbor by Luxer One. Making it Easier to Get Things, Securely, Asynchronously.
Christensen Group Insurance: Independent insurance solutions for a more secure future.
Solo is a mobile app that manages and optimizes the finances of thousands of gig workers. Solo ingests millions of job data points to provide optimized schedules for workers while automating the ‘back office’ of being a Solopreneur with seamless expense, mileage and tax management.
Bingo is a Shopify-style marketplace of solutions dedicated to last-mile fleet needs.
Parking Today Media is a leading source of information and insights for professionals in the parking industry.
