Along for the Ride #245
Along for the Ride #245
from london with love!!
Heya friends, happy Friday!
This is my first edition back in London as an official resident, and it’s fun to be able to write from the city where I started writing this newsletter. I’m staying near the heath while I search for flats which makes for lovely morning bops through the park (more on that in bits and bops). I am also excited that I had the brain cells / time / energy to get back to some longer form writing this week. (I owe a few of you emails, hoping those brain cells return in the next week!). Hope you enjoy this week’s digest!
Mexico has plans to build more passenger trains
Mexico has plans to build three new high speed passenger rail services that would connect Mexico City to Guadalajara, and the Arizona and Texas borders. I was surprised to learn that Texas is making plans to expand their rail networks to include services to Mexico, and that the state has more rail lines than any other US states (??). The new Texas line would connect Austin, San Antonio and Laredo to Monterrey, Mexico. This would not only improve border crossings, but also improve travel between cities in Texas (and give residents a better car-free option than say Greyhound buses). I am sure this will ignite a whole bunch of xenophobic attention about migrants, so I’m here to say (1) trains good; (2) migrants should always be welcome.
Turning parking lots into public spaces
I recently sent my friend John Surico a pic from Mexico City of his fav cafe and apologized that there was a car parked out front. He promptly responded that cars ruin all photos and I laughed in agreement. This article is the epitome of that point, and demonstrates how many European cities have taken parking lots and repurposed the space as public plazas. A thank you to Richard for the article share!
Cruise fined for failing to report hitting a pedestrian
Last year when a Cruise vehicle hit and dragged a woman along Market Street in San Francisco, the AV company failed to accurately report the incident to public authorities. Cruise *did* file a report, but conveniently left out that the victim was dragged and severely injured. In the aftermath of that fuck up, Cruise has been charged $1.5 million to be paid to the federal government. I hope they add that to their train budget.
A researcher out of University of Michigan’s autonomous vehicle testing center is suggesting the US develop a national driver's test that AVs would have to pass before they can travel on public roads. Here’s a quote from the researcher, Henry Lui: “The federal government has the responsibility to help set the minimum standard, to help provide guidance in terms of safety testing. Our current safety regulation for vehicles is reactive, so we depend upon self-regulation.”
Why there’s hype around AVs, despite how hard they are to deliver
Bloomberg gives a decent overview of the state of play for AVs, including a recap of the trials and tribulations experienced over the past decade. They end by suggesting that Level 5 AVs aka “full autonomy” likely won’t be available until 2035 (if that).
Tesla’s robotaxi reveal is smoke and mirrors
Filed under nothing new: Tesla hosted yet another press event for yet another promised reveal of their AV technology featuring no physical hardware and a series of renders that will likely never come to fruition. The caption of the photo for this article is “tfw the magic car that’s supposed to save your flailing company isn’t real :(“ and I want to be friends with the journalist 🤣. Here’s another snippy article from Wired and The Guardian.
The vehicle should be ready by 2027 (lol), and will cost under $30k USD (also lol), and will have a counterpart van (note! not a bus! god forbid!) that can carry 20 people at a time. I do appreciate that this seems to be the first time Tesla is thinking outside of the “move people in individual pods” box, but alas, I don’t have any faith that Tesla will take a community-centred approach to mobility … ever.
Waymo is partnering with Hyundai
Waymo and Hyundai are developing Ioniq 5s with AV technology, that will be operated as part of Waymo’s fleet in late 2025. The Korean automaker will provide SUV-esque vehicles and Waymo will be the brains behind the wheel. Waymo also launched operations in Austin this past week (TechCrunch).
(literally my fav topic!)
“Research on light-duty vehicle travel has not fully explored spatial dependencies arising from neighboring regions' driving activities. This study uses state-level panel data from 2000 to 2019 to examine U.S. vehicle miles traveled (VMT), focusing on spatial spillover effects through a Spatial Durbin Model Increased VMT in one state leads to spillover effects, increasing VMT in neighboring states.. Moreover, higher numbers of licensed drivers, registered vehicles, and urbanization significantly influence a state's VMT.”
“Street networks shape the movement of people and goods through cities. Researchers model them to analyze network performance, predict traffic patterns, and evaluate infrastructure investments. Measures proposed in the recent network science literature alongside worldwide urban data availability can improve our understanding of these systems.”
This article details how AVs are winning over women by offering an alternative to a long-standing concern: misbehaviour by human drivers, especially men. Some women interviewed noted that they switched to AVs at least in part because they don’t have to share physical space with an unfamiliar man behind the wheel. This is likely in response to a viral video of two men stopping a Waymo in San Francisco to harass a woman passenger for her phone number and the vehicle being unable to move until the men left.
(Quick note to say that bus drivers rarely ever have this impact!)
It’s my first week of living in London again, and I had the good fortune of being able to grab dinner with my parents and friend Hari the day I landed. My parents are celebrating being married for 40 (!) years, so naturally spent the week in London catching Arsenal matches. It was a fluke, but I’m very grateful I’ll get to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving with them this weekend ❤️
I’m currently holed up in Highgate (literally 50m away from Karl Marx’s grave). I’m staying at the Whittington Estate, designed by Peter Tabori. It scratches all of urban-nerd sweet spots: modernist social housing estate, near a cemetery, the heath, and highgate village.
Finally, I rounded out my last few days in San Francisco soaking up the California sun. It was a beautiful weekend, and friends and I biked out to Ocean Beach before my flight to eat croissants, cry, and jump in the Pacific. I already miss it. There will be no San Francisco slander here, only gratitude that I got to spend four years in a city so full to the brim of people who care about its future.
That’s all from me. Have a beautiful weekend friends.
Sarah
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