Heya friends, happy Friday Monday!
It seemed like a good week for a Monday edition of the newsletter, so that’s what we’re rolling with. We’ve got an industry-heavy newsletter this week, so lets dive right in shall we!
Transit dreams come true in Seoul
Seoul is investing in transit which makes me want to up and move there. They are introducing a “climate card” for $47 a month for unlimited transit trips in an attempt to boost ridership after pandemic drops. Another $2 gets you unlimited bikeshare trips (!!) as well. As if their transit frequency and coverage weren’t already bangin’ they’ve gone and made it more financially accessible too. Splooge.
TuSimple voluntarily delists from Nasdaq
Welp. The AV-trucking has voluntarily delisted from the Nasdaq as it intends to pivot towards the APAC market, focusing mostly in China, Japan and Australia. TuSimple noted APAC countries have regulatory support and a strong supply chain to help their business succeed.
Meanwhile, you’re probably like … voluntarily… delisted…? This is one of those “break up with them before they break up with you” situations. When TuSimple IPO’d in 2021 their stock hit $40; this week it was at a cool $0.49. TuSimple’s last trading day on the exchange is expected to be February 7.
China starts pilot of unmanned police cars
Filed under: 😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫😵💫
This is one of the more alarming headlines that has crossed my desk recently. Last week, an inaugural fleet of 15 unmanned police patrol vehicles received approval to conduct road tests in the Beijing High-level Automated Driving Demonstration Area (BJHAD). According to the article, this is the first step in a “blueprint for smart policing”. Needless to say, this is the direction the industry has been heading since its inception (see DARPA Grand Challenge), but that doesn’t make it any easier to understand.
“Covering 60 square kilometers of densely populated areas and critical locations, they will undertake 24/7 duties, including patrol and control, large-scale event security, vocal deterrence, public awareness campaigns, and emergency response tasks.”
German start-up Vay launches in the US
Vay is like an AV company, but it focuses on “tele-driving” where remote drivers drive cars to users who can then rent and drive them off. Naturally, this is being piloted in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company has raised $110m so far.
Google Maps and SatNavs will need updates for AVs
The UK has mandated that local councils digitise all traffic regulation orders (TROs) such as road closures and temporary speed limits. Traditionally, TROs are managed via paper trails and not updated on digital systems. Moving forward, UK councils will upload this data to a central database and make it freely available online for satnavs and mapping services. The DfT has said this update is “crucial for ensuring autonomous vehicles can rely on accurate and up-to-date information so that they can operate safely once they start driving on British roads”.
AVs should be safer than human drivers
“There's a difference between an accident caused by a human driver, and an accident caused by an autonomous system. People perceive them very differently. I think that the expectation is that they have to be a lot better than a human driver, because when there is an accident and the computer's involved, there's less empathy or understanding."
This week I kept ruminating on this podcast with Nick Cave. I don’t listen to a ton of Nick Cave, but Into Your Arms remains one of my favourite songs to sit and feel feels to. If you’re interested in music / religion / grief, the podcast dives into a lot of it.
Doing a 180-media wise, I’ve also been listening to Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess and it is so full of camp-y bops. The internet describes the album as “dark pop” and the album is so much fun to bike around town to.
For those of you in San Francisco, it’s important that I plug two of my favourite business: scenic routes (pictured above) is a community bike centre and if you go in you might get one of jay’s big bear hugs, and pasta supply co which has a pannacotta that I dream about.
Londoners can register to attend this event imagining a Car-Free London, on March 15th. Shout-out to AFTR reader Bridget for the share!
Finally, this piece about preserving Black Modernist architecture is fascinating. It details a grant that focuses on protecting and celebrating the contributions of Black architects to the modernist movement, and the architecture across the US that will be elevated through this work.
That’s all from me. Have a beautiful weekend friends.
Sarah
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