Uber’s budding robotaxi empire
(5min read) Plus: Tesla's embarrassing bid for a trademark.
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The on-off trade war with China shaking the U.S. auto industry doesn’t appear to be slowing down America’s largest ride-hail company. Four years after selling off its own autonomous driving unit, Uber is in a mad dash to partner with the world’s leading autonomous driving companies. Thousands of its American customers are already hailing driverless rides in Waymo vehicles, and by next year Uber plans to be offering autonomous rides in Europe, Asia and the Middle East through partnerships with three Chinese AV startups. It’s too early to tell what the robotaxi era will bring, but you can no longer deny that the robotaxi era has begun.
One company that is conspicuously absent from recent robotaxi buzz is Tesla, and yet it was Tesla that asked the U.S. Patent Office for a trademark on “robotaxi.” Also, 16 U.S. states sue the Trump administration over billions for EV chargers, Foxconn gets into automaking, scooter and bike-share ridership skyrockets in Atlanta, Chicago passes a big “green housing” plan, Austin considers the pros and cons of “highway caps,” and how did this one suburb in Canada get everybody to ride the bus?
What you need to know
Uber’s expanding robotaxi empire: The American ride-hail giant announces partnerships with two Chinese AV startups –– Momenta and Pony.ai –– and expands an existing partnership with another, WeRide. Uber will begin operating robotaxis powered by Pony.ai software in the Middle East by the end of the year, while it will start offering autonomous rides with Momenta in Europe in early 2026. Meanwhile, it has expanded its fleet of robotaxis with WeRide in Abu Dhabi to 50.
Autonomous workaholics: Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says the 100 Waymo vehicles operating on the Uber app in Austin are completing more trips per day than “over 99%” of the human drivers in the Texas capital. Memo to human drivers: please don’t take that as a challenge to drive all day and night! That will only embolden calls for an all-autonomous future.
Waymo’s new factory: In anticipation of expanding into even more cities across the country, Waymo partners with contract manufacturer Magma to build a 239,000 square foot factory in Arizona that converts cars into robotaxis.
Fare Assessment: What's Going on in New York City's Transportation Policy with Matt Daus
In this episode, Nick Perloff-Giles is joined by Matthew Daus, Partner at Windels-Marx and former Commissioner of the New York City TLC. They discuss the political headwinds facing congestion pricing, the challenges and successes of modernizing taxi service in the city, and what insurance markets might yield in policy to come.
Seriously, Tesla? Tesla has yet to deploy any autonomous ride-hail vehicles but it nevertheless asked the U.S. Patent Office to grant it a trademark for “robotaxi.” That request was rightfully rejected, but the office is still considering whether to grant the company a trademark for “cybercab.”
States sue Trump over EV funds: 16 Democratic states sue the Trump administration, accusing it of illegally withholding $3 billion in funds designated for EV charging infrastructure in the Inflation Reduction Act. Among the arguments made by the coalition of states, led by California, Washington and Colorado, is that hampering the construction of charging stations will only help China as it races to become a global EV leader.
Atlanta goes loco for Lime: Lime logged over 210,000 rides on its scooters and bikes in Atlanta in April, up 61% over the same month last year.
Foxconn gets into EVs: The Taiwanese iPhone manufacturer will begin to produce EVs for Mitsubishi.
DoorDash buys Deliveroo: The American delivery app buys its most prominent UK counterpart, Deliveroo, for $3.85 billion. DoorDash’s tremendous cash advantage over Deliveroo is yet another indicator of the major advantage of listing in the U.S., rather than in London.
Geely moves to take Zeekr private: It looks like the Chinese auto giant is taking Zeekr, its luxury EV unit, off the New York Stock Exchange only a year after its IPO. Geely already owns two-thirds of the stock, and taking it private allows it to focus on the startup’s long-term vision without worrying about big swings in its stock price likely to come from the U.S.-China trade war.
Chicago’s big ‘green housing’ plan: The City Council in the Windy City approves an ambitious plan to loan $135 million to developers to build mixed-income housing to sell back to the city. The new housing will be split between 70% market-rate units and 30% low-income units, mostly in affluent parts of town.
What we’re reading
How did this suburb figure out mass transit? Brampton, a suburb of Toronto, looks like a transit hell. It’s dominated by single-family homes and industrial uses. And yet, against all odds, it has become an incredible transit success story. The city of 700,000 logs more than 225,000 bus boardings on a typical weekday, a transit mode share well above that of all but a few U.S. cities. What’s the secret? Frequency, frequency, frequency.
Are highway caps worth it? Our own Jack Craver looks at the implications of Austin, Tex. committing hundreds of millions to install deck plazas and parks on sections of I-35, the notorious highway that is about to be expanded. Supporters of the caps say that they will serve to heal a notorious racial divide and spur economic development, while detractors say that there are far more impactful and equitable ways to use that kind of money.
A look inside the New York Subway’s nerve center: The Financial Times has a fascinating exploration of “the theater,” the half-acre room in Hell’s Kitchen where 100 people oversee the New York subway’s operations.
CoMotion's mobility goodness brought to you by:
Jack Craver,
Editor, CoMotion NEWS
jcraver@comotionglobal.com
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