Don’t give up on subways
America has been in a very long drought when it comes to public transit. Its best systems by far are those that were largely built in the first half of the 20th century. For some reason, however, over the past 50 years America has had a really hard time digging new tunnels and laying new track. So it’s a cause for celebration that Los Angeles has finally opened a long-awaited 3.5 mile subway extension, the first subway expansion outside of New York City in the continental U.S. since 2000. Hopefully we don’t have to wait another quarter-century for the next one.
Meanwhile, Waymo is way ahead of Tesla in the robotaxi race, but both companies had to fess up to embarrassing mishaps that underscore the many obstacles that remain to a truly driverless future. And in India Uber rival Rapido finds success on two wheels.
What you need to know
A BFD in LA: The opening of Phase One of Los Angeles Metro’s D Line extension was big news, not just for LA but for U.S. public transit. The 3.5 mile extension under Wilshire Blvd, connecting Koreatown to the Westside, is only the seventh expansion of underground rail infrastructure within a U.S. city since 2000, according to at least one tally. Of the six others, four were in New York and two were in Puerto Rico. It’s a fitting time for LA Metro to celebrate an expansion: the city has been planning for years to ramp up transit capacity ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and has even entertained talk of a “car-free” Summer Olympics in 2028. Whether or not that is actually feasible, the attempt will hopefully benefit Angelenos for decades after the athletes and fans leave town.
Unwelcome Waymos: Residents of the affluent Atlanta suburb of Buckhead complain that scores of empty Waymo robotaxis have been circling cul de sacs and clogging up streets. The Alphabet subsidiary acknowledged the “routing behavior” that had caused the concerns and vowed to address them. The issue of what to do with robotaxis when they’re not carrying passengers is likely to be a recurring challenge in the autonomous era.
Waymo’s California growth plateau: Harry Campbell highlights data showing that, after nearly two years of explosive growth, Waymo’s ridership in California has begun to plateau. Paid rides in the Golden State grew from 200,000 per week last May to about 300,000 in October, but it has not grown much since. Has it met its total demand in California or is it simply not able to meet greater demand with its existing fleet, especially as it devotes resources to new markets?’
Tesla offers more deets on crashes: Tesla reveals that two of its crashes over the past year in Austin have actually occurred while the cars were being operated by remote drivers after the on-board human safety monitor requested assistance. Neither of the crashes were serious, but the fact that Tesla robotaxis have had to rely on human intervention to resolve simple problems may hint at why the company has been so slow to expand its ride-hailing operation.
A big raise for India’s Uber: Rapido, the Indian ride-hail startup, raises $240 million at a $3 billion evaluation. Rapido has positioned itself as a formidable rival to Uber by offering rides on two-wheel vehicles, the most common form of transportation in India.
What we’re reading
The microtransit hype cycle: Alexander Esposito, Co-Founder & CEO of Circuit, an on-demand electric shuttle service, describes how microtransit can serve an important function but cannot be what some of the early hype suggested it would be: a replacement for traditional public transit.
