EHang starts commercial flights, Volta bankrupt, Malta bans scooters and Cybertruck soon

VinGroup in Laos; Bolt troubles in Kenya and Grab’s in Singapore; Optibus driver app; Miles defrauded Berlin?; Bolt distance pricing; Malta bans scooters; Micromobility and Hydrogen?!; foodpanda replaces CEO; Uber threatens Toronto; Cruise in Houston and Japan in 2026; Waymo in all of SF and now LA; Didi autonomous raised $149M; Glydways raised $56M; EHang can fly commercially; Volta files for bankruptcy; Arrival layoffs; Tesla results + CyberTruck on Nov. 30th; Nio considers dealers; let’s start #movingpeople.

Ride-Hailing & Taxi, Buses & DRT  🚙🚐

Vingroup plans to roll out its electric-taxi services in Laos later this year. Existing competition includes only local players, such as Loca, with no big global names operating in Laos. The company launched a similar service in home country Vietnam in April, and plans on additional international expansion. 

Bolt is experiencing hard times from the Kenyan regulator, threatening to end its operating licence if it does not meet existing guidelines. Kenyan regulation caps fees at 18%, and Bolt has a 5% driver booking fee on top of that. Uber charges a similar 11% fee, but its licence renewal date has not yet arrived. 

Grab’s planned acquisition of Trans-cab, Singapore's third-largest taxi operator, raises regulator’s concerns. Pending further review, the regulator fears diminished market competition. 

Optibus launched a driver app - this is not a navigation app nor does it connect demand to drivers - this app is set to improve driver-depot communication and operational management. 

Uber sexual assault survivors call for in-car cameras, tech upgrades; there are currently 80 lawsuits approved against Uber for sexual assault by drivers. Uber implemented a 911 button, share-a-ride and other in-app features, but survivors are calling for better technological solutions such as in-vehicle surveillance cameras and better security checks for drivers. 

DRT scheme in Puchong, Malaysia, expands. It is operated by Trek Rides. Île-de-France Mobilités expands DRT service. Via to start in Kelowna, Canada, in Spring of 2024, operating with Transdev. The city of Tampa. Florida, is launching Dash, an all Tesla Model Y ride-hailing service. Gojek expands in Vietnam. SHARE Mobility and the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority partner to offer commuter rides. In the US, commute times have been reduced. This has to do with the pandemic-related “Great Reshuffling" and the fact that WFH is more common, leading to emptier, and faster, roads. 

NYC commits rideshare fleet to be either zero-emission or wheelchair accessible by 2030. Didi and BYD sign agreement to introduce EVs in Brazil. 

Yango Is setting up a global operational office in Dubai. Remember that past months have seen increased scrutiny from EU regulators over Russian data sharing legislation, which compromises riders’ data. 

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We are "live" in municipalities such as Bergen, Birmingham and Debrezen and are now expanding across Europe, organically and via partnerships with transport consultancies such as Ramboll. 

We partner with Telcos and other data sources such as connected cars and mobile app data providers in order to bring the best qualified data to the table. 

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Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedSharing/renting 🚗🛴

WeTaxi, Italian taxi app, and Zity, car-sharing, partner. WeTaxi users will now be able to book a Zity rental car from the WeTaxi app. This follows a WeTaxi €2M round.  

Mutua Madrileña, Spanish insurance company, creates a mobility holding company that will integrate Centauro, rental vehicle company and Voltio, car-sharing company, together with other mobility solutions. 

Car-sharing German company Miles is accused of manipulating data to defraud Berlin of €25-30M in parking fees. 

Drive Co, UK classic carsharing, acquires DriveShare, similar player, to build the largest online classic car-sharing community.

In Hungary, Wallis Autómegosztó will launch its own car sharing service under the Wigo brand, as Share Now leaves the country. Wible offers a per-month car subscription (rental) from €599. Panek car-sharing, Poland, reduced prices on national elections day. Treepz and Octamile partner on an insurance program. Zipcar fined $300,000 for renting out recalled vans. 

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMicromobility 🚲🛴

Bolt rolls out distance-based pricing in Brussels. Most pricing schemes are per-minute, potentially leading people to speed to get to their destinations. Bolt hopes this move will promote safe riding.  

Swedish MoveByBike, electric transport bikes, and Bzzt, electric mopeds and tuk tuks, merge, and are now looking for more acquisitions. 

Malta to ban rental (shared) e-scooters from 1st March 2024. Incentives will be introduced to encourage private scooter usage. Bird’s local GM warned of such just a month ago. Queensland, Australia, is toughening scooter regulation.  

US Bike Trips data: annual nationwide average for daily bike trips grew 37% between 2019-2022; big cities grew the most. This is also attributed to the boom in "deliveristas", i.e. delivery on bikes. Growth was mostly during the pandemic, with growth in bike activity flatlined between 2021-2022. 

Micromobility.com, formerly known as Helbiz, is getting ready to invest $15M in Hopium, a European hydrogen fuel cell engineering company. Why anybody would bet on Hydrogen for micromobility solutions is beyond me. 

Dott announces refurbishment of 10,000 of its shared e-scooters, doubling the expected lifespan of those vehicles to seven years and minimising carbon footprint by nearly 50%. Bird introduces a new e-bike brand. FreeNow integrates Voi into its London offering. Lime in Santa Clara and in Plano. 

Lime ends hiring lawsuit against Hertz, with both sides reaching an undisclosed agreement. 

I love meeting new people, learning about new companies and exchanging opinions. Want to get-to-know and talk mobility? Let’s set up a half-hour coffee chat. 

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedDelivery 🍽🧺

Foodpanda replaces CEO after he allegedly leaked details of Grab deal talks. According to this article, a woman he once dated released the news about Grab, and his pay, on Instagram, leading to his termination. Talk about revenge. Also foodpanda appoints interim CEO in Malaysia, the third person to helm the market since the second half of this year. The Malaysian unit is part of the proposed Grab acquisition. 

Swiggy increases food delivery platform fees by 50%, to ₹3 from ₹2. Competitor Zomato charges ₹3 as well. Also, Invesco raises Swiggy’s valuation to nearly $8bn. Valued at $10.7bn in its early 2022 round, Swiggy valuation was downsized by Invesco to $5.5bn this year, to now be pushed up to $7.85bn.  

Evermile, delivery platform for local businesses, partnered with Uber via Uber Direct, its white-label delivery solution. This move allows Uber better reach to small businesses while allowing Evermile with supply for those businesses.

Taiwan food delivery market: foodpanda and UberEats head-to-head, foodpanda leads with 52%. 

Toronto’s councillors passed a motion to freeze the registration of new vehicle-hire drivers; the new policy means the number of drivers cannot rise above its current level — unless they’re driving a zero-emissions vehicle. Uber is threatening to sue the city.

UberEats launches ‘multi-store’ orders, allowing orders from two stores at once without an additional delivery fee. Airasia Superapp extends partnership with foodpanda to Thailand. Through end-of-year foodpanda users will enjoy ride-hailing discounts and Airasia users food discounts. McDonald's is now available on Bolt Food. InDrive expands delivery services to India. UPS To trial autonomous electric cargo vehicle at UK Airport. Amazon Pharmacy launches its first drone deliveries

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Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedAutonomous & remote-driving 🤖℡

Cruise opens robotaxi service in Houston, operating seven days a week from 9pm to 6am in an area of about 11 square miles. Waymo expands to all of San Francisco 24/7 and moves on to Santa Monica, LA. GM and Honda to launch Cruise robotaxis in Japan by 2026. Japan would be Cruise’s second international market, after Dubai. Honda is an investor in Cruise and a co-designer of the Cruise Origin autonomous shuttle. Waymo-Zeekr robotaxi poised for US testing by end of 2023. 

Didi’s autonomous unit raised $149M from two investors affiliated with the municipal government of Guangzhou, a southern Chinese metropolis. This signals entry into the 18 million residents of the city of Guangzhou. Didi’s autonomous freight business “KargoBot”, becomes an independent operating company. 

Google invests in Oxa, taking a 3.5% stake in the company. And Oxa partners with eVersum mobility solutions, a shuttle manufacturer. 

Glydways, a “Personal Rapid Transit”, i.e. one-seater autonomous shuttle, which aims to shuttle people on dedicated roads, raises $56M. See video to understand more. I don’t get it. 

Beep ran an autonomous shuttle 13 weeks pilot in North Carolina (with Navya / Gama), completed nearly 500 round trips and transported 1,718 passengers, roughly 19 people per day. A survey amongst riders showed that opinions on safety improve after experiencing the ride. 

Cruise is investigated by US regulators over pedestrian involved accidents. The most ‘high-profile’ one occurred on October 2nd, when a Cruise vehicle hit a pedestrian that was struck by a hit-and-run human driver into its lane. 

Cruise changes how its robotaxis respond to sirens - slowing down earlier even without ‘seeing’ the emergency vehicle, scanning for emergency parking and even allowing emergency responders to get in and move the car if need be. 

How Waymo intends to communicate with human beings. 

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFlying cars 🚁

KPMG’s Air Taxi Readiness 2023 report -  US #1, followed by China, the UK, Japan and South Korea. KPMG expects some helicopter fleets to transition to eVTOLS this decade, with services scaling sometime in the next decade (2030s). 

Chinese regulators approved EHang certification to begin commercial flights. The EH216 model is an autonomous two-seater that can travel for 20 miles (32 km). Since 2020, the EH216 already flew some 10,000 passengers on demonstration flights, and now the company would be able to scale operations. And possibly lead the global industry. 

Archer Aviation to launch air taxis in Abu Dhabi in 2026, making it its first international market outside the US. From there the company plans to expand to the UAE, pending completing FAA certification by the end of 2025. Just recently Archer was awarded a $142M contract with the US Air Force. 

Lilium plans to sell its 4-seater to private individuals for $10M, and has partnered with a Texan aviation dealer, EMC Jet, to do so. EMC Jet committed to five vehicles, and will make undisclosed advanced payment on those. 

Want to bring something to my attention? Don’t want to be too involved? Send me an anonymous tip and I’ll follow up on it. 

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedOEMs 🛺⚡️

Volta Trucks filed for bankruptcy after the collapse of its battery supplier, Proterra. With Proterra’s own bankruptcy, Volta could not commit to meeting manufacturing goals, and was not able to fundraise. 

Arrival in another round of layoffs, letting go ±25% of existing circa 800 people workforce. 

Tesla: Q3 profit falls 44% on EV price cuts; revenue grew 9% YoY, i.e. more sales; Q3 gross margin 17.9%, down from 25.1% in the same period last year. Increasing operating expenses driven by Cybertruck, AI and other undisclosed R&D projects. Pricing wars are expected to continue. 

Tesla’s Cybertruck deliveries set for November 30th. Per Musk, “I think it is our best product ever. It is going to require immense work to reach volume production and be cash flow positive at a price that people can afford”. We don’t know yet what the production capacity will be. 

Nio considers building a dealer network in Europe to speed up sales growth. The company, which is present in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark, allows customers to buy directly from its stores or online or to lease the cars for as short as a month. Now it might add ‘regular’ dealerships to the mix.  

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedGig economy 💰

InDrive bidding model promises to empower passengers and drivers by allowing them to negotiate fares, but in reality gives access power to the rider. Think if you could open a Careem app, glance at the price, and down bid on the InDrive platform. A Rest of World story. 

Uber Australia warned that delivery prices might increase by 85% if gig-employees would be treated as employees, in a statement which makes you think how much they really are paid today. Uber driver protests in France. 

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedIn other news 📰

Rest of World list of 40 startups that “are beating the west”. In Mobility & delivery we have Grab, Getir, Careem (Uber owned), Pathao - a leading ride-hailing player in in Bangladesh and Nepal, Cornershop - grocery delivery Chile & Mexico (also Uber owned), InDrive, Talabat - food delivery UAE, and BigBasket - grocery delivery India, Super interesting list. 

Over 500 mobility startups from Norway mapped. 

Google smart mobility ecosystem. Google joins MaaS Alliance. 

There aren’t enough electricians to fix broken EV chargers. 

What drove online used car marketplace Shift to file for bankruptcy. In short: inflationary concerns, a slightly cooling used car market, higher interest rates, tighter capital markets and overall economic uncertainty. On top of that, too much of a focus on tech development. 

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