Uber sells a piece of Careem, Cruise software update & Virgin Orbit files for bankruptcy

Happy/blessed Easter, Passover and Ramadan to you all. 

This week on #movingpeople, Uber sells Careem’s super app, Lyft relaunches Green, Shuttlers raised $4M, Amsterdam likes cargo bikes, Bird new product solutions, Uber partners with Tembici, Magenta Mobility raises $22M, Instacart ups valuation, Cruise updates software to improve articulated vehicles detection and starts data collection in Dubai, Navya in Saudi, Volocopter opens new manufacturing plant, Arrival SPACs - again, and Virgin Orbit files for bankruptcy. Let’s start. 

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedRide-Hailing & Taxi, Buses & DRT  🚙🚐

Uber sells $400M stake in Careem’s new! super app business. The super app is a spin-off business of Careem; Emirates Telecommunications, the UAE telco giant, has invested the $400M in return for a 50.03% stake. The new company is called Careem Technologies, and will be separated from Careem Rides, which continues to be fully owned by Uber.

Lyft relaunches ‘Lyft Green’, allowing riders to choose electric or hybrid vehicles. The feature was live from 2019 to 2021, but was too early for its time. Initially the feature will be available only for business travellers. The ride fare would be an extra $1, which will be split between Lyft and the driver. Lyft targets all its vehicles to be electric by the end of 2030. 

Lyft’s dominance in the US bike-share market could mean cities are at risk of losing an important transport mode. Lyft runs four of the five top bike-share systems by ridership in the US plus other major cities, and has recently pulled out or increased prices in various cities due to profitability considerations. Lyft is a private company, and answers to shareholders, not to the public good. While some transit agencies start to create their own network, the US still relies on private market solutions. The next few weeks/months will tell us what Lyft’s new CEO has planned for the company’s micromobility solution. 

Shuttlers, Nigerian corporate & school commute mobility player, raises $4M. The company has 260 buses in 300 routes working daily on its commute solution. Funds will be used to expand operations across Nigeria. 

FlixBus in the Czech Republic introduces mandatory seat reservations. This replaces a former system, in which people paid extra to reserve a seat, and then too many times would see their seat taken, which led to unpleasant situations. Local competitor RegioJet has long implemented such a system. 

FreeNow launches 'Taxi Lite', offering lower fares on selected (off-peak) times. FreeNow partners with Stripe as a preferred payment provider across countries in Europe. Uber signs a charging agreement with BP, allowing Uber drivers ‘bespoke’ access to BP’s charging network in the UK, Europe and the US. Careem introduces in-app donations, allowing riders donations to multiple charities. Lyft is coming to Edmonton, Canada. In North Carolina, legislators are proposing to implement a ride-hailing tax, a flat 50 cents tax on exclusive rides and 25c for shared ones. A Roger French long read on WECA’s new ‘WESTlink’ DRT scheme in the UK. The service is to launch soon with Via, WeDRT and E-Zec. And a new DRT service in Nottinghamshire. 

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

Amsterdam approves an increase of the city’s e-cargo bike fleet to 750 vehicles (from 110) after a successful pilot with Cargoroo, bike rental platform. The city also decided to increase other shared modes. Cargo bikes users are different to those of scooters: 60% women, ages 35-49 with >=1 child at home. During the pilot, vehicles were used 1.27 times a day. Cargoroo is focused on the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium, and expects to be EBITDA positive in 2024. 

Kyte, rental cars delivered to your door, expands to Atlanta, the company's 15th US market. 

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

Bird’s new product solutions: expanding integration with Google Maps, adding rider age verification and double rider detection and begins testing cameras with computer vision technology to detect sidewalk riding, parking and lanes.

Uber to offer Tembici's bike-sharing service in Latin America.

Bird is back to St. Louis, after being banned last July because of safety concerns and parking problems. Initially, 50 vehicles will be placed in the city, and will be limited to 12 mph (20 kph), restricted to under 18 and Bird will track parking behaviour. 

Lime in St. Paul, is coming back from winter break, introducing the new gen-4 vehicle and implementing an ‘equity zone pricing’, with 30% discounts in specific areas. Bird in Bloomington. Bird in Medicine Hat. Bird in Winona City. Lime in Spokane. Bird and Lime in Edmonton. Shared e-scooters in rural Iceland by Hopp, using a franchise model. Read an interview with the local entrepreneur. 

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

Magenta Mobility, Indian electric mobility startup, raised $22M in a series A1 from BP Ventures and Morgan Stanley. Funds will be used to boost its logistics and last-mile delivery fleet operations. The company, founded in 2018, has 800 vehicles and delivers for the likes of Amazon and Flipkart. 

Instacart raised its internal stock price by 18%, to a $12bn valuation. Instacart is known to change its valuation according to the market; the company has been valued $39bn in the past. 

Dunzo raises $75M through convertible notes and fires 300 employees. The company will shut down 50% of its dark stores. 

Zoom2u (Australia) launches a delivery marketplace called ‘Drivers2u’, allowing both businesses and customers to post jobs with relevant budgets and hire drivers directly. The business model: monthly subscription model for drivers; customers will be charged advertising fees; but no delivery fees. 

Yango launches consumer-to-consumer 60 minutes on-demand delivery service in Dubai. Helbiz Kitchen opens its first ghost kitchen in Austin. Foodpanda partners with a Pakistani non-profit to promote children education. Foodpanda Malaysia partners with Coca-Cola to donate food during the Ramadan. Deliveroo launches its first ‘Editions’ (delivery-only dark kitchens) site in Abu Dhabi. Deliveroo offers riders in the UAE iftar meals, discounts, and vouchers during the Ramadan. DoorDash ‘DashMart’ expands partnership with Blue Apron to 11 new markets (cities). Swiggy sells cloud kitchen business to Kitchens@ in a share swap deal. Foodpanda is rebranding as Foodora in European countries. 

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedAutonomous 🤖

Cruise recalls 300 self-driving cars for software update after a March 23rd bus crash. The update will correct movement prediction of articulated buses and trailers. There were no injuries in the crash. 

Cruise and RTA, Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority, start data collection and testing of autonomous technology. The RTA aims to have 4,000 self-driving vehicles by 2030. Saudi Arabia launches trial for autonomous electric vehicle with Navya. 

Starship technologies autonomous last mile delivery robots reached a combined 10 million km distance. Zoox is developing sounds for autonomous vehicles - such as ‘Enjoy the Ride’ and ‘Buckle up!’

MHP (a Porsche company) white paper on “Close the Autonomous Gap - 8 Guidelines for Successful Autonomous Mobility and Logistic Systems”: the importance of region-specific and integrated ecosystems; sustainable business models; and the importance of partnerships. 

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

Volocopter opens production facilities in Germany. The site will have an assembly line and a flight test airfield. 

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

Tesla is hit with a class action lawsuit over alleged privacy intrusion, after it was reported that Tesla employees shared highly invasive videos and images (nudity, accidents) recorded by customers’ car cameras. Moving forward, this isn’t just a Tesla problem - but a challenge the industry will need to face. 

And Tesla Q1 deliveries rise to record after slashing prices on EVs. The company has made five price cuts since January. 

Arrival double-SPACs. The company merged with Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. V, after a (1st) SPAC with CIIG Merger Corp back in 2021. Arrival is now valued at $524M enterprise value; the merger will bring Arrival up to $283M in cash. 

Brightdrop, electric delivery van subsidiary of General Motors, signs logistics company Ryder as a new customer; Ryder is expected to add 4,000 vehicles through 2025. BrightDrop targets to produce 50,000 vans annually by 2025. Amazon deliveries made by Rivian EVs surge to 75 million packages. Amazon’s Rivian fleet now exceeds 3,000 vehicles.  

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

Rodeo, an app which helps food delivery riders earn more, raised a $5m seed round. Rodeo, launched in 2021, has 9,000 users, to whom it shows earnings and insights on best times and areas for gig-work and benchmarks companies pay. 

A Dutch court ruled in favour of ‘platform workers’ and against Uber and Ola in a data access case. Platform cannot withhold data from drivers, such as passenger ratings, fraud probability scores, earning profiles and information about the existence of automated decision-making relating to their work on the platforms. This is far from over, as platforms are not obliged to share which data they hold, which will probably lead to additional court cases in the future. 

Massachusetts fines delivery startup Gopuff $6.2M in worker pay dispute. New York City council is divided over minimum wage for delivery workers. 

Deliveroo launches career support for delivery workers. The company will  invest £2.5M into developing riders' vocational skills. 

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

Virgin Orbit, satellite company, files for bankruptcy (Chapter 11) after failing to secure new investment. Earlier this year, the company’s rocket failed to complete its first-ever satellite launch from UK soil. The company, a spin-off from space tourism company Virgin Galactic, will now look for a buyer. 

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