Heya friends, happy Friday!
Starting with a bit of an odd newsletter preamble by sharing that a bird pooped on me this week, and supposedly that is going to give me seven years of good luck. If the typos magically disappear from this newsletter, you can thank the pigeons of San Francisco.
Secondly next week there will be no newsletter! I am wedding crashing in Mexico and look forward to telling you all about that later in March.
Alright, let’s dive right in shall we?
San Francisco sees a decline in AV incidents
The article notes two key changes that have resulted in fewer incidents being reported: (1) the ongoing suspension of one operator—Cruise, and (2) the tech learning how to better manage emergency vehicles. Cruise had ~300 active vehicles in the city daily and they felt ubiquitous. Per the article, “the noticeable drop in disruptions appears to have coincided with a decline in activity by Cruise, which has accounted for about two-thirds of all documented incidents.”
The death toll of distracted driving
According to new research, during the pandemic American drivers got even more distracted by their phones while driving. I’m going to call out some quick stats from the article / research:
Both phone motion and screen interaction while driving went up roughly 20 percent between 2020-2022
More than a third of that phone motion distraction happens at over 50 mph
The most distracted drivers are over 240 percent more likely to crash than the safest drivers
In 2020, 38.8k people died on US roads. In 2021, that number rose to 42.9k people, and the highest number of pedestrians were killed in 40 years
Dublin plans to ban driving in the city centre
*party parrot emoji goes wild*
Thank you Bridget for sharing this article! In an attempt to ease congestion and make central Dublin a more enjoyable place to be, the city is beginning a process of replanning central streets so that private cars and commercial trucks will be allowed access only if their final destination is downtown. “The tools used to achieve this are fairly simple: two “bus gates” on either bank of the River Liffey will prevent private vehicles from crossing, and several streets will be reconfigured so that vehicles traveling into downtown are routed along loops that ultimately direct them back out in the same direction.”
This week in tech layoffs 😔
Most notably, Apple has cut the cord on their AV program, Project Titan (BBC). Many team members are having their role shifted to Apple’s AI team, but a segment of the team was laid off. Wired has a really interesting piece discussing why the project died, and calling out Apple’s isolated approach to development. Additionally, Motional has laid off 5% of its workforce as it aimed to “enable long-term commercial success“ (TechCrunch).
Cruise looks to Texas for next bet
Taking a cue from Beyoncé, Cruise is looking to Texas for its second act. In particular, it’s looking into relaunching service in Houston and/or Dallas. Currently, Cruise’s entire fleet is still suspended (which anecdotally is very noticeable here in SF). I think Texas makes sense as it is a regulation-light-ish State when it comes to new innovations.
Chinese start-up Haomo raises $14M
The round is being led by Chinese automaker Great Wall, and is the first tranche of the company’s Series B funding. Haomo develops Level 2 advanced driver assistance systems for passenger cars, and also supplies Level 4 autonomous vehicle solutions to logistics vehicles.
AVs come to Beijing’s Daxing Airport
Last week Baidu and Pony.ai each received permits to offer autonomous vehicle services at Beijing’s Daxing International Airport. This makes Beijing the world's first capital city to run an AV passenger service.
Is proximity enough? A critical analysis of the 15-minute city
“Urban areas encompass essential social functions that are fundamental for the development and quality of life. This research explores why the concept of the 15-minute city, while commendable in its aspirations, might fall short in effectively mitigating urban inequalities, especially within densely populated and segregated developing cities. Using Bogotá (Colombia) as a case study, this paper advocates and develops a standardized index based on the availability of essential urban functions within a 15-minute walking distance. This index also integrates individual preferences, geographical attributes, and the quality of pedestrian infrastructure. Doing so provides a more comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing proximity, accommodating the diverse needs of various social identities.”
My parents got a new puppy this week (Bernadoodle x Labradoodle), and his name is Paddy (short for Paddington—beloved train station and bear). I will attac cute photos in future editions so you can witness the transit-loving cuteness.
I started watching the new Mr. and Mrs. Smith and it’s fun and entertaining. It reminds me of when Brad and Angelina broke the internet in 2005 with their rendition. Simpler times.
That’s all from me. Have a beautiful weekend friends.
Sarah
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