Advertising Double Standards: Cars Vs. Micromobility | November 11, 2022
Plus, new studies are challenging the myth that micromobility doesn't cut car travel and Lyft loses $135.7 million in the third quarter of the year due to the closure of Argo AI.
Issue [#161] - Every week, we deliver analysis and curation of emerging mobility news - post a job listing here!
Micromobility
While other countries are combating traffic deaths with interventions like banning cars from city centers, the US will not enact such bold action / Bloomberg
A pair of new studies are challenging the myth that micromobility doesn’t cut car travel or reduce more emissions than the modes they tend to replace / StreetBlogsUSA
Car companies can get away with aggressive advertisements that promote speed and recklessness rather than safety, but e-scooter companies have to watch out for lawmakers who may end up regulating them out of business / Forbes
In NYC, bikes, batteries, and fires are raising concerns and prompting city officials to consider new laws to regulate these so-called micromobility devices. Is this the right approach, though? David Zipper doesn’t think so / FastCompany
Product Launches & Updates
The Bukk, a newly debuted platform by CAKE, is all about supreme agility, speed, control, and sustainability / The Pack
Let’s meet Evelo Omega, a true automatic shifter. You only need to pedal and brake; leave the rest to this marvelous e-Bike! / Electrek
Looking for a taxi in Italy? Helbiz and WeTaxi are partnering up to introduce taxi services in four main Italian cities to make it easy and enjoyable for you! / BusinessWire
Kawasaki unveiled their prototype electric Kawasaki Ninja and Kawasaki Z electric motorcycle during the EICMA Milan Motorcycle Show. Prepare to purchase them next year! / Electrek
Ridehailing, Carsharing & Delivery
A 17-year-old girl from North Carolina sustained minor injuries on her face and legs when she reportedly jumped out of her Lyft ride. According to her, the driver was making improper remarks and trying to drug her by spraying something in the car, making her feel “very scared” / Inside
Lyft loses $135.7 million in the third quarter of the year owing to the closure of Argo AI. Argo AI’s key investors Ford and Volkswagen pulled out their investments which caused Lyft to lose its shares in the company / TechCrunch
It turns out the FBI, SEC, and Cfius are investigating TuSimple and Hydron due to their suspected unauthorized exchange of intellectual property and finances / The Wall Street Journal
How exciting would it be to have a drone delivering a bag of chips you were craving within 15 minutes! In an exciting turn of events, some DoorDash users in Australia will soon be having their orders delivered by Alphabet’s Wing drones / The Verge
Investment & Deals
A massive investment of £6 million has enabled micromobility provider Lime to extend its physical presence around London and introduce its fourth-generation electric bicycle. In the first half of the year, the use of Lime e-bikes increased by 117%, the company claims / Evening Standard
Rental companies for e-bikes and scooters are having trouble, while manufacturers with Chinese roots are doing well as more and more commuters buy the vehicles / The Information
AXA Venture Partners, the strategic investment arm of insurance company AXA, led a €30 million investment round in which Mytraffic, a supplier of web analytics-grade digital intelligence to analyze foot traffic at real addresses, raised the money. Mytraffic is situated in Paris, France / Tech.eu
Foxconn, a Taiwanese manufacturer, is growing its stake in Lordstown Motors, an EV startup, by purchasing $170 million in common stock and recently issued company shares. Foxconn will, on a preliminary basis, possess all of the outstanding preferred stock and 18.3% of the outstanding common stock of Lordstown upon the closing of the transaction / TechCrunch
Polestar, a Swedish producer of electric performance vehicles, has obtained a total of USD 1.6 billion in financial and liquidity support from its two largest shareholders / Electric Cars Report
In the midterm elections, Californians rejected a measure that would have levied a tax on the state's wealthiest residents to fund the state's infrastructure for EV charging stations and tax incentives for electric vehicles / TechCrunch
Elon Musk, a multimillionaire, sold more Tesla Inc. shares to help finance his acquisition of Twitter Inc., increasing his total sales of the electric vehicle maker's stock to approximately $36 billion throughout the previous year / Bloomberg
TOffeeAM, a London-based company, has raised $5 million in a series A investment. The creation of aerodynamic, emissions-free hardware for the automotive, energy, and aerospace industries is automated using TOffeeAM's cognitive physics platform / Tech.eu
Cities & Policy
The cost of building mass transit in the United States is the highest in the world. A recent study from a research team at NYU outlines how that might alter. Importantly, the report's main conclusion refers to problems with institutions of all kinds, not simply transit in the United States. Better political and institutional leadership is required / VICE
Councilmember Andrew Lewis' proposal for increased taxes on scooter and bike share services as part of the 2023–24 budget has to be very carefully considered by Seattle's City Council. Setting up a taxation mechanism to charge 25 cents for each ride in 2023 is anticipated to cost $540,000, even though the new collection method won't be available until 2024 / Seattle Bike Blog
With the bipartisan infrastructure bill, both driving incentives and tailpipe emissions will be strengthened while a paradigm shift is sown / Brookings Institute
Projects for clean transit can be financed by transportation initiatives. New plans to improve funding for transportation are being debated by voters everywhere / Environment America
Modern smart cities are built around the ubiquitous streetlight and traffic lamp, which now house a variety of sensors, communication tools, cameras, and other technologies that help digitize the streets. The fact that there are so many of these posts already in place makes them the perfect starting point for adding "smart" additions / Emerging Tech Brew
E-bike speed limits on city trails are being considered by the Half Moon Bay City Council, although members are aware that compliance will be challenging, if not impossible / Half Moon Bay Review
Jobs Board
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Marketing Director - Fetii - Austin, TX / Remote (Austin, TX)
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