Heya friends, happy Friday!
I am writing to you from Sardinia! I promise this isn’t becoming a travel blog, but I am taking full advantage of not working and being able to travel…. so this week I am in my favourite corner of Italy with friends. The days here are slow and long, and the Italians take their sweet time with every little thing (except driving, where they are speed demons??). More on the week’s happenings (very little) in bits and bobs.
OK, onto ze news!
NHTSA wants “active oversight” of AVs
Gone are the days when Muck could wiggle his way into the Oval Office to prevent this. I, for one, am not mad about this change. Increasing oversight over nascent technology that has an alarmingly high propensity for personal safety concerns (in terms of collisions, hacking, data sharing, etc.) is the right move, in my opinion. Better yet would be active oversight over our entire transport network and how cars have, in general, run amok, but I digress. (More details via Bloomberg)
Washington, DC nudges closer to AV expansion
Waymo is currently testing / mapping DC, but has ambitions to launch a full-blown service in DC as early as next year if a council bill passes. If the bill passes, Waymo will begin testing with no drivers before opening the service to the public for rides.
Tesla faces its first Jury Trial over the autopilot program
While many cases related to collisions (and deaths) involving Tesla’s autopilot program are settled outside of court, one from 2019 is being brought forward in front of a Jury. The case stems from a fatal accident in Florida in 2019 that involved a Tesla Model S sedan. “When the driver dropped his cellphone and bent to look for it, the car crashed into a parked sport-utility vehicle, killing one pedestrian and injuring another.” The case is being brought forward by the victim’s family.
“The plaintiffs are expected to argue, the court documents show, that Autopilot is supposed to ensure that drivers remain attentive but failed to do so in this case. They are likely to also focus on the car’s automatic emergency braking system, which is supposed to activate even if part of Autopilot is overridden.”
Quick hits:
Rotterdam airport is launching an autonomous bus shuttle (EuroNews)
Uber and Baidu partner for global AV expansion
For anybody not familiar with Baidu, this is a big deal. Baidu is China’s Google, and the robotaxi program that they run (Apollo Go) has been operating 1,000+ vehicles in 15 different cities globally. Details are still limited, but the vehicles will be deployed in countries outside the US and mainland China.
Lucid motors to roll out assisted driving tech
Lucid will push a software update later this month, which will enable hands-free driving on highways throughout the US. They join Ford, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, and Tesla in offering this level of driver assistance technology to customers. The update is only available to customers who’ve already paid for Lucid’s $2,500 “Dream Drive Pro” package. Since 2021, Lucid has only sold 20k cars, so the base for this new update isn’t huge to begin with.
Uber announces partnerships with Nuro and Lucid
Big week for Uber. Uber is also investing $300 million in Lucid Motors to deploy more than 20k robotaxis over the next six years. Nuro will build the technology that will be used by Lucid to enable the cars to drive without human input.
When you need to give a Waymo a ticket, what happens?
After a Waymo vehicle took an illegal turn in San Francisco, the police pulled over the vehicle, and bystanders recorded the interaction. The vehicle didn’t even have a passenger, so it folks were very confused about what happens next. However, nothing happens if an AV breaks the law in California (The Guardian). AVs continue to be exempt from traffic violations (a concern to focus on another time).
Quick hits:
May Mobility to launch in Atlanta (with Lyft) and Arlington (with Uber) later this year (Smart Cities Dive)
Riding in a Waabi freight truck (Bloomberg)
Waymo hits 100M miles driven (Inc. Magazine)
How to mitigate gentrification when making investments in transit systems
“Transportation investment is one factor in the complex feedback loop that causes and responds to gentrification. Transportation planners and policymakers need to understand where their work fits into this system to effectively preempt and mitigate the negative effects of gentrification that may be associated with transportation projects. Our research indicates that transportation agencies only occasionally incorporate planning to counter the negative impacts of gentrification into the implementation and funding of their transportation investments, such as to cover the costs of rental assistance for people who are cost burdened by rising housing costs.”
Uber’s quest to become the ultimate robotaxi app
“As a financial move, Uber’s effort to swallow the world of autonomous vehicles is a smart one. The company reaps the benefits of deploying robotaxis on its app — a share of fare revenue, positive association with a futuristic technology — without having to shoulder the enormous costs of developing the tech and the software needed to power the vehicles.”
Urban Revitalisation and the Regulation of Public Parking Space
“In this study, we examine how gentrification shapes the enforcement of residential parking permit violations while accounting for calls for service. And we consider if the relationship between calls for service and parking violations is contingent upon a given neighborhood's stage of gentrification. Using Washington, D.C. as a study site, we find that census block groups in early as opposed to late stages of gentrification tend to have the highest citation rates. And, this effect holds regardless of whether said block groups are located adjacent to those experiencing later stages of urban renewal.”
No job board until August, but feel free to reach out if you’re hiring and want to include a job posting here!
First and foremost, I am looooooving the content about the Astronomer CEO being outed as a cheater during a Coldplay concert with the head of HR for his company. It’s been a long time since something this funny has captured the cultural zeitgeist, and I’m loving every internet hot take / meme. Somebody listened to Vida La Vida one too many times, eh?
Last weekend I saw the new Wes Anderson film, The Phoenician Scheme, which I thought was entertaining but likely not something I’d watch again. It’s the same cast of characters. Same beautiful atmosphere. But something about the plot was predictable?
In my “I’ve quit my job and now I’m bopping around” era, I find myself in sweet Sardinia. My friends in London typically make an annual expedition to this island off the coast of Italy each July, where folks work, lounge, and eat gelato. It’s the most magical place and is somewhere my nervous system always resets. My diet is a fun combination of tomatoes, peaches, freshly grilled fish, and gelato. I swim each morning with the nerdiest googles to see the fishies.
Whenever I’m in Italy, the playlist of every day is Sufjan Stevens. I think it’s the perfect summer soundtrack regardless of geography, so maybe you’d also enjoy the whimsical escape.
That’s all from me. Have a beautiful weekend friends.
Sarah
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