Public transit is big business
(5min read) Via’s $3.5 billion IPO
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Public transit is clearly big business, even in the largely car-centric U.S. Hence the $3.5 billion valuation sought by Via, the transit software company. And yet, transit systems certainly don’t feel rich. Philadelphia’s SEPTA is on the verge of cutting nearly half of its bus and rail service, a devastating blow to one of America’s few remaining transit-oriented cities. And as we discussed last week in our inaugural CoMotion Deep Dive, even when America spends heavily on transit, it still doesn’t get nearly as much in return as its peers in Europe and Asia. We can only hope that the desperate state of American transit will foster new business models – like using data centers to fund California’s embattled high speed rail project.
Also: Ford’s reinvents its century-old assembly line to deliver a $30,000 EV truck, the Trump administration finally relents and releases $5 billion for EV charging, the world’s only hydrogen rail service has supply chain issues, New Zealand moves towards an electronic road user fee, Joby hits an air taxi milestone, India gets another food delivery app, and Waymo’s CEO says Tesla robotaxis aren’t robotaxis. Finally: why have Canadian roads become safer as America’s have become more dangerous?
Via files for $3.5 billion IPO: Transit tech company Via files to list on the New York Stock Exchange, revealing that its revenue has risen 27% year-over-year even if it is not yet profitable. The vast majority of the New York-based company’s revenue comes from contracts with transit agencies and local governments. Via software is used to both optimize and plan existing bus and train routes and to power apps for new on-demand microtransit services that transit agencies in suburban areas are increasingly embracing.
Philly inches closer to transit apocalypse: SEPTA, the transit agency that hundreds of thousands in the Philadelphia area rely on for daily travel, will cut dozens of bus routes next week if the state legislature doesn’t approve funding to address the agency’s more than $200 million shortfall. If the funding crisis persists much longer, the agency will be forced to cut 45% of existing rail and bus service. The GOP-controlled State Senate has approved legislation ordering the agency to simply plug the hole by raiding its capital budget, which the agency says will undermine its ability to make basic safety upgrades for a system that is already struggling with mechanical and electrical issues from years of deferred maintenance. The Democratic-controlled State House is demanding a long-term funding plan to preserve SEPTA’s operations. (Full disclosure: the author of this newsletter lives a three-minute walk from a SEPTA rail station and desperately hopes the funding comes through!)
Ford aims small(er): In order to deliver cheaper EVs, Ford CEO Jim Farley is dismantling the assembly line system that Henry Ford used to make gas-powered cars affordable to the masses over a century ago. In what he described as a “Model T” moment, Farley unveiled a new “universal production system,” which replaces the single conveyor belt system with a three-branched assembly tree. Along with a new EV platform that will use lower-cost lithium iron phosphate batteries, Ford says the new system will be able to deliver a $30,000 midsize EV truck by 2027.
Trump admin finally releases EV funding: The Trump administration will unfreeze $5 billion in funds for EV charging infrastructure that a group of states have sued to access.
Hydrogen goes off the rails in Germany: The world’s first hydrogen- rail service is being forced to scale back operations and rely on diesel locomotives after an expected order of replacement fuel cells “failed to materialize.” This is the second time in a year that German rail company EVB has had to return to diesel due to disruptions in its hydrogen supply chain.
New Zealand moves to replace gas tax: Transport Minister Chris Bishop says it’s time to replace the fuel tax with an electronic road user charge based on kilometers driven. Right now, Kiwis who drive EVs must pre-purchase licenses for a set number of kilometers. The system envisioned in the future would use digital devices in vehicles to track their distance. Paying your driving tax will become just like paying any other utility bill.
India’s burgeoning food delivery system: Rapido, an Indian ride-hailing platform, begins testing food delivery in Bengaluru, putting it in competition with existing food delivery apps Zomato and Swiggy. But while the two incumbents take a 30% commission from restaurants, Rapido is charging a flat fee, which for now tends to result in lower prices for customers. Whether it’s a sustainable business model long-term is unclear.
Former Waymo CEO casts shade on Tesla robotaxis: Ex-Waymo CEO John Krafcik says that as long as there’s a safety driver behind the wheel, Tesla can’t say it has a robotaxi. And writing for Business Insider, Lloyd Lee similarly notes a number of incidents he had with a Tesla robotaxi in Austin, saying that it didn’t feel as “ready for the future” as Waymo.
A milestone for Joby: Joby Aviation, the Santa Cruz air taxi startup, becomes the first to complete a piloted eVTOL flight between two public airports in FAA-controlled airspace. The 12-minute flight between Marina Municipal Airport and Monterey Regional Airport may not seem like a big deal, but it’s an important step towards demonstrating that air taxis can safely share the skies with conventional aircraft.
The Canada-U.S. traffic death gap is growing: Until 15 years ago, Americans and Canadians died behind the wheel at about the same rate per mile traveled. In the past decade, however, Canadian road deaths have significantly declined as American road deaths have rapidly risen. Among other things, Canada’s adoption of automatic speed enforcement and its tougher penalties for drunk driving may help explain some of the divergence. It also helps that Canadians are less likely to buy big trucks and SUVs.
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What we’re reading
Could data centers save California high-speed rail? Ian Choudri, who now oversees California’s badly over budget high speed rail project, believes data centers could help save the embattled project. The rail system could generate big bucks by allowing data centers to be built in its right-of-way, hopefully more than making up for the federal grants that the Trump administration just revoked.
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What we’re reading
Is Los Angeles actually well-designed? In the Los Angeles Times, CoMotion’s very own John Rossant and Carlo Ratti, director of the MIT Senseable City Lab, argue that the things about Los Angeles that urban planners typically detest –– the sprawl, the gargantuan parking lots –– may prove to be assets in the next era of mobility and energy.
To wit: “Technologies like rooftop photovoltaics, vehicle-to-grid systems and AI-optimized resource flows do not depend on compactness. They benefit from space, sunlight and flexibility — qualities that Los Angeles has in abundance across its 1,600 square miles of urbanized area.”
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