Zevo wants to add robotaxis to its car-share fleet, starting with newcomer Tensor|BREAKING:
Driverless cars are no longer restricted to the realm of sci-fi thanks to companies like Waymo deploying commercial robotaxi services in multiple cities. And a number of automakers, big and small, are trying to bring that same level of autonomy to personally-owned vehicles over the next few years.
If that happens, what kinds of things could you do with a personal AV? Maybe you’ll be able to send…
Zevo wants to add robotaxis to its car-share fleet, starting with newcomer Tensor
Driverless cars are no longer restricted to the realm of sci-fi thanks to companies like Waymo deploying commercial robotaxi services in multiple cities. And a number of automakers, big and small, are trying to bring that same level of autonomy to personally-owned vehicles over the next few years.
If that happens, what kinds of things could you do with a personal AV? Maybe you’ll be able to send…
Zevo's EV-only car-share fleet helps Tesla homeowners earn money
Hebron Sher remembers daydreaming in 2019 when Elon Musk promised Tesla’s vehicles would grow to be robotaxis, able to going out on this planet to earn money for homeowners. Sher was already a consumer of the car-sharing platform Turo, and the thought of turning a Tesla into a good larger moneymaker was a lovely proposition.
However as years glided by, Musk didn’t comply with by way of on that…
“Marks Her Car Like Bus,” Windsor Star. November 26, 1942. Page 7.
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PRETTY FRANCES GIFFORD. Hollywood actress, simplified the "Share Your Car" program with the aid of this 'destination sticker" on her windshield. Thus she runs no risk of taking someone to the wrong place. (Acme Photograph.)
Several US cities are piloting “universal basic mobility” programs that subsidize bus rides, e-bikes and scooters in the hopes of sparking an economic boost.
“In Bakersfield, participants will receive free passes for Golden Empire Transit’s local bus lines and five free rides per day on Spin’s shared e-bikes and scooters. The participants will be recruited by and from the Dream Center, Kern County’s resource hub for current and former foster youth, many of whom are homeless, said Jayme Stuart, a child and family services coordinator.
Pandemic service cuts left holes in a public transit system that was already failing to reach key job centers, Stuart said. Many Dream Center youth who are employed often rely on Uber and Lyft to get to work, taking big chunks out of small paychecks.
It’s one of several pilots in U.S. cities testing the concept of “universal basic mobility.” In Oakland, up to 500 residents will receive prepaid $300 debit cards for transit and shared mobility services later this month. Pittsburgh plans to launch a year-long study with a 50-person cohort next spring. Los Angeles is preparing a similar grant-funded program focused in south LA.
GIG carshare is an eligible use of the $300 debit card in oakland’s universal basic mobility pilot program. flickr/dianneyee
“Angela Sanguinetti, a research environmental psychologist at the University of California, Davis, is overseeing survey-based studies of the pilots in California. She’s interested in which modes participants chose for getting to different destinations, and how the programs affect their economic standing, quality of life and health.
“A lot of them start to feel defeated because they’re only working part-time to begin with,” she said. Between rent, bills and groceries, the financial pressure is enough to make a lot of them quit, she said, or simply not pursue other opportunities. The UC Davis study will help officials understand the role that transportation expenses play, Stuart says: “If we remove the transportation barriers, will they be more successful?”
Among the Dream Center’s first recruits is 21-year-old Star Carrigan, who believes that having access to an e-bike will allow her to make the 12-mile commute from her home in east Bakersfield to an Aldi grocery store that advertises $18 hourly wages. That’s more than she’s making in her work for the county’s youth conservation corps, which requires her to get a ride or pay for a Lyft to remote destinations.
“Just biking there would be exhausting,” she said. “But the e-bike could help me cruise for a good distance.”
Research has shown that steady transportation is closely tied to economic success in the US, and the idea of providing discounted access to multiple services beyond public transit for disadvantaged riders is something that’s been discussed in the field for years. The advent of mobility apps is now making it possible, said Michael Smart, an urban planning professor at Rutgers University.”
