Vol. 7
| Welcome to the next edition of our bi-weekly recap of the latest and greatest in connected and on-demand mobility. If you’re not already receiving this email, you should be: Subscribe |
| Peer-to-peer carshare service Turo is expanding to BC Daily Hive, May 28th Turo announced Thursday it has “imminent” plans to expand its operations in British Columbia, after it was able to secure insurance coverage from ICBC. |
| The near term for self-driving vehicles? More delivery duty, less rideshare duty Motor Trend, June 3rd Volkswagen has finally made its long-expected investment in Argo AI, the autonomous vehicle startup owned by Ford. General Motors’ Cruise has shown us the Origin, a six-passenger robotaxi. And Waymo continues to lead the field in the pursuit of driverless vehicles manning the roads in the future. However, while most autonomous vehicle startups and their automaker partners have focused on rideshare, there is a more compelling case to focus first on fleets of self-driving delivery vehicles, says Colin Langan, auto analyst with UBS. |
| Lyft (LYFT) says rides on its rideshare platform in May increased 26% versus April Street Insider, June 2nd Rides on Lyft’s rideshare platform in the month of May 2020 increased 26% versus April 2020 and were down approximately 70% versus the same period a year ago. Rideshare rides have increased week-over-week for 7 consecutive weeks since the week ended April 12, 2020. In the week ended May 31, 2020 rideshare rides were down approximately 66% versus the year ago period and increased 5.5% versus the prior week. |
| Delivery workers navigate a pandemic, protests and curfews to make ends meet CNN, June 5th (CNN) For months, gig workers have had to navigate all the complications and fears that can come with making deliveries during a pandemic, trying to stay safe while still doing enough to earn a living. Now many face the added challenge of doing all that amid widespread protests and strictly enforced curfews that vary by city. |
| Uber Eats start free delivery from black-owned restaurants The Street, June 5th Uber Technologies (UBER) – Get Report has launched a feature of its Uber Eats food delivery app to enable U.S. and Canadian customers for the rest of the year to order from black-owned restaurants with free delivery. |
| Coronavirus has sparked a comeback for old-fashionedmilk delivery in the Philly suburbs The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 8th The combination of the coronavirus’ lock downs, worries about food shortages, the booming delivery economy, and a trend toward farm-to-table freshness has helped revive the bygone American tradition of milkmen, who as recently as the 1960s brought dairy products to the doorsteps of nearly a third of U.S. households. |
| Amazon close to finalizing its purchase of autonomous vehicle startup Zoox Future Car, June 6th Amazon has its foot in so many areas that it’s almost too much to comprehend. Whole Foods, IMDb, Twitch, Audible, Zappos, Goodreads, and LivingSocial are just a few companies that fall under Amazon’s wide reach. One area where Amazon hasn’t really ventured into yet is the automotive realm. The company may have a deal with Rivian for electric delivery vans, but autonomous vehicles aren’t on the docket yet. That, if recent reports are to be believed, will change in the very near future. |
| Autonomous cars won’t prevent as many accidents as we’ve been told, study says The Next Web, June 5th Some 94% of vehicle crashes are caused by humans. This figure is often touted by autonomous vehicle developers when they try to promote the potential value in their tech. It sounds logical: remove humans and road safety will improve dramatically. However, the improvements might not be as dramatic as we’d hope for. According to a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), only one third of vehicle accidents will be avoided if we pivot to autonomous cars or “robotaxis,” AP reports. |
| Here’s why our gleaming self-driving future has been delayed indefinitely Autoweek, June 8th It wasn’t long ago when we heard bold predictions of our robotaxi future, promised to arrive by 2020 or shortly thereafter. Now, a quick survey of autonomous tech developers that were aiming for Level 5 just a few years ago reveals slashed budgets, scaled-down goals and a much more skeptical tech landscape. |
| Mobility data sharing merges with COVID-19 response CitiesSpeak, June 5th The COVID-19 pandemic may have put a temporary halt on our mobility, but it has not steered us away from building more connected and resilient communities. If anything, it is the opposite. As we look to slowly reopen our communities, we must make critical transportation-related decisions. Data will serve as a powerful tool in enabling strategic and timely decisions in this ever-evolving landscape. The question is, how do we streamline mobility data sharing so it’s frictionless? |
| What’s next for third-party delivery services? SmartBrief, June 8th Third-party delivery services were growing, and facing growing pains, before the pandemic sent shockwaves through the restaurant industry and forced eateries to close dining rooms and focus exclusively on takeout and delivery services. For companies including DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates and Uber Eats, the pandemic provided new opportunities for food delivery and, in some cases, amplified existing concerns over fees and transparency in their dealings with restaurant owners and consumers. |
| Tesla going into software subscription service could become big business Electrek, June 2nd Tesla has started to indicate that it is going to expand its software offering, including a subscription to its full self-driving package, and analysts are starting to consider this new revenue stream as a massive opportunity. Over the last year, Tesla has made several moves to start generating revenue from software.The automaker started charging $10 a month for its ‘premium connectivity’ features. Tesla also started selling software features through its mobile app. But the most important move Tesla is making to create revenue from software is selling its Full Self-Driving Package and recently, Tesla even announced that it will offer its Full Self-Driving Package as a subscription service, which could be considered software-as-a-service (SaaS) |
| Thoughts, questions, or have something newsworthy to share? Aioi would love to hear from you! Visit our website or reply to this email. Thanks, The Aioi Insurance Services USA team Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Services USA Corp. is full service insurtech agency focusing on the future of transportation, and the surrounding infrastructure. This is what we find fascinating and we hope you do too. |
