May 6, 2022

Mobility & Transportation - Issue #66

Issue #66 — View online — Suggest a link

Mobility & Transportation

Insight into all things transportation and mobility, covering driverless vehicles, trends in public transportation, the rise of cycling, ride- and car-share, smart city developments, ITS, and more.

Happy Friday {{first_name}} !!

I am excited to share with you a partnership that Trapeze has inked with Uber, to expand its taxi and TNC integration capabilities to enable transit agencies to provide their para transit riders with trips supplied by Uber – on demand, without having to leave the platform, even if the rider does not have the Uber app. You can read more about it in my blog post.

Last week, my wife and I went shopping for a new SUV. At an Acura dealer, a sales rep said that they would be transitioning to an entirely electric fleet in a few years. I couldn’t find an article to back that up, but I can see the trend in transit as back at my old stomping ground at Metrolinx they are helping transit agencies to plan for the move to all-electric fleets (thanks Yoland Da Silva!)

I also love that Lyft is bringing back shared rides, Shopify is continuing to help the little guy compete and get their goods to your door quickly, and our friends at Code for Canada have some tips for governments seeking to hire tech sector talent.

TNCs

Trapeze Group and Uber Transit Partner to Help Cross-Dispatch Trips for Paratransit Services

Through the new Trapeze and Uber Transit integration announced Monday, transit agencies can now book Uber trips for their para transit riders directly from the Trapeze PASS platform.

Learn more about the Trapeze platform to integrate with TNCs that I wrote here.

Read now | Share

Lyft brings shared rides back to more U.S. cities in bid to win riders

Lyft is bringing back shared rides to San Francisco, San Jose, Denver, Las Vegas and Atlanta this May, and expanding to other markets throughout the year.

It’s a great way for you to save some money, while helping the environment! Trips are limited to two riders.

Read now | Share

Getaround: Rideshare or Car Share?

Getaround has been around for as long as Uber and Lyft, but its business model may be closer to Airbnb than other gig economy companies, allowing people to rent cars owned by others, and drive themselves.

Read now | Share

Local Goods Delivery

Shopify signs deal to buy logistics company Deliverr for US$2.1 billion

Shopify Inc. is making the biggest acquisition in its history, getting it ready to help small businesses compete with Amazon.

Deliverr will be used to build out a network of both Shopify-owned and third-party warehouses that can deliver packages in two days or less to more than 90 per cent of the U.S

Read now | Share

Electric Vehicles

Canadian Federal government raises EV incentive cap for SUVs, minivans and pickups

Transport Canada said it will now grant EV purchase incentives on higher-priced SUVS up to $60,000, with a maximum price cap of $70,000 with upgrades. Cars will be eligible up to prices of $55,000, or $65,000 with upgrades.

Read now | Share

Moving towards a future with battery electric bus transit fleets across Ontario

Buying one or two buses is no problem, but as you transition to a full fleet of battery electric buses, you have to make changes to your operations and your garage. That’s why, with the leadership of the Metrolinx Transit Procurement Initiative (TPI), 13 local transit agencies across Ontario banded together and developed a study that will provide the advice they need to start transitioning to battery electric buses.

Read now | Share

Transit & Government

‘Historic’ agreement for I-285 transit lanes to be signed next week

I-285 is one of America’s most congested highways. The Atlanta Region Transit Link will add two new elevated, barrier-separated I-285 lanes in both directions, spanning roughly from I-75 to I-85, where transit services and vanpools would have free access, according to GDOT.

Read now | Share

How can government recruit tech talent?

As a former tech sector employee, who transitioned to work in government, and subsequently transitioned back out to the tech (although now working for government), I can relate to this story.

As most sectors are struggling to attract talent right now, this article provides some timely advise for governments seeking to attract tech talent to achieve their digital mandates.

Read now | Share

Jobs To Be Done

LA Metro: Chief Innovation Officer

I don’t normally post job openings here, but this one caught my eye, and I have long been a fan of the work that LA Metro does. LA Metro is looking for a Chief Innovation Officer to lead the agency’s strategic direction; serve as a bridge between the public and private sectors on innovation and pilot programs; implement challenging new initiatives; and establish priorities for the Office of Strategic Innovation.

Read now | Share

Techstars Startup Digest Mobility & Transportation is curated by:

Sanathan Kassiedass
sanathan.kassiedass@startupdigestmail.com

Did you enjoy this issue?

Did you see something you think we should include in our newsletter? Suggest a link.

If you were forwarded this newsletter and you like it, you can subscribe here.

If you don’t want to receive this newsletter anymore, unsubscribe here.