Volume 16
| 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 |
| Waymo is finally going fully driverless with its ride-hail service in Phoenix Business Insider, October 8th Waymo is launching a fully driverless option for its ride-hail service in Phoenix, the Alphabet subsidiary that started life as Google’s self-driving car project announced on Thursday, a milestone in the company’s decade-long journey to wrest control of the car away from humans. |
| Lyft, Epic begin rideshare venture MMM Online, October 8th In an expansion of its rideshare program for non-emergency medical transportation, Lyft has entered into a partnership with Epic, one of the largest electronic health record providers in the U.S. As part of the arrangement, staff at hospitals and other facilities will be able schedule Lyft rides for patients directly through EHRs. Lyft for Epic, as the service is known, represents Epic’s first direct rideshare integration. |
| These sleek electric cargo bikes are the future of urban delivery Fast Company, October 12th From the side, a new delivery vehicle from a German startup called Ono looks like a tiny truck. But it’s actually an electric bike, narrow enough to easily move through traffic and even fit in a bike lane when necessary. As a growing number of delivery companies move toward electric vehicles—such as Amazon, which has 100,000 custom electric delivery vans on order from Rivian along with another 1,800 electric vans from Mercedes-Benz—Ono argues that size also matters as online shopping grows at a time when roads are already crowded. “The physical footprint of an Ono is only a quarter of the size compared to an electric truck,” says CEO Beres Seelbach. “So it causes no more traffic jams and is much easier and more flexible to operate.” It’s also cheaper to maintain. And like other electric vehicles, it also eliminates emissions and air pollution. |
| Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ beta releases to some drivers on October 20th Engadget, October 12th At its surreal Battery Day event in September, Tesla said it planned to release a private beta of its long-awaited Full Self-Driving (FSD) software in “a month or so.” Now we have an exact release date (via Roadshow). Responding to a tweet from CleanTechnica, CEO Elon Musk said the limited beta will start rolling out on Tuesday, October 20th. “This will, at first, be limited to a small number of people who are expert and careful drivers.” Musk didn’t elaborate on how the company will go about deciding who to invite to the beta. |
| YayYo, Inc. and Aioi USA to deploy AI dash cams in mobility fleet Globe News Wire, October 13th YayYo, Inc. (“YayYo” or the “Company“) (OTC PINK: YAYO), a leading provider of vehicles to the rideshare and delivery gig economy industry, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Rideshare Car Rentals, LLC, and Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Services USA (AIS), have entered into a joint project to better understand safety in Mobility as a Service (MaaS) fleets. |
| Electric carshare close to launch Columbia Gorge News, September 30th While Forth Mobility had to delay the spring launch of their three-year electric carshare pilot program due to COVID-19, the nonprofit has acquired all five parking spots needed for the project, and expects to announce a new launch date soon. “At this point, we are working to get charging stations installed at those locations and then we’ll be moving toward a public launch,” said Program Manager Kelly Yearick. “That is the last piece in the puzzle that needs to be in place before we bring the cars in.” |
| Uber reportedly considers buying Daimler-BMW ride-sharing venture Free Now Forbes, September 29th One day after Uber won a legal battle to continue operating in London for the next 18 months, it has emerged that the ride-sharing giant is reportedly seeking to grow its European footprint and is considering snapping up Free Now, the joint ride-hailing business owned by Daimler and BMW, sources told Bloomberg. |
| Urban AVs could unlock huge efficiency, safety and economic mobility gains Automotive World, October 13th City centre streets can be difficult roads to traverse. Swelling with cars, buses, taxis, bikes and pedestrians, many drivers do all they can to avoid using them, and those that cannot often find themselves stuck in gridlock. Today’s autonomous vehicle (AV) developers believe they can offer a different future…. |
| Amazon just showed off its first custom electric van of a planned 100,000 vehicle fleet — take a look at the delivery van of the future complete with Alexa built-in Business Insider, October 11th Amazon just showed off the first of its planned custom electric delivery vehicles, which could be delivering packages in the next year. It plans to have 10,000 on the road by 2022, and 100,000 by 2030. The company first announced in February that it ordered the custom delivery vehicles from electric vehicle maker Rivian. The electric vehicles will help Amazon reach its goal of being carbon neutral by 2040 for The Climate Pledge and help Amazon continue to grow its logistics workings. |
| Prop 22: The $185 million campaign to keep Uber and Lyft drivers as contractors in California Mercury News, October 9th At first, Uber and Lyft driver Michael Richert was undecided about how he would vote on Proposition 22, a California ballot initiative sponsored by gig economy giants Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart and Uber-owned Postmates that comes up for a vote in November. Then, he found out how much they were spending to get it passed: over $185 million, according to California Secretary of State records. Richert said he was “blown away” by the amount, and started looking into what’s really at stake for him and other drivers. The amount of financing behind the ballot measure — the most expensive proposition in the state’s history according to Ballotpedia — underscores how important its passage is to the future of the businesses. |
| Swiss Re and Daimler launch jointly owned MGA to offer auto, mobility insurance Insurance Journal, October 12h Swiss Re and Daimler Insurance Services have entered into a strategic partnership for automotive and mobility insurance and launched a new managing general agent called Movinx. The aim of the 50/50 joint venture is to develop fully digital automotive and mobility insurance products, with a focus on flexible and customer-centric products. |
| Electric vehicles creating a roadmap to autonomous vehicles Forbes, October 13th With one stroke of the pen Governor Newsom of California has insured a robust outlook for the future of electric vehicles in California. Finally, electric vehicle manufacturers are in vogue. The executive order requires that starting in 2035 all vehicles sold in the state of California can no longer have an internal combustion engine. |
