Problems with technology, old and new
We’ve got transportation problems to report. Let’s start with the new tech: Waymos are getting stuck on flooded roads and Tesla’s robotaxis are taking forever to show up or not showing up at all. But even flawless autonomous vehicles can’t make up for the challenges the American public sector faces in delivering basic transportation infrastructure. For instance: Chicago’s terrible deal to surrender control of its parking meters, Austin’s inability to turn billions of dollars into functioning light rail, and the declining state and increased costs of U.S. roadways.
What you need to know
Waiting on Tesla: Reuters reporters who tried to hail a Tesla Robotaxi in Austin, Houston or Dallas encountered long wait times or no service at all and drop-offs were sometimes far away from the destination. Nevertheless, Elon Musk said he expects unsupervised autonomous ride-hailing by Tesla to be “widespread in the U.S. by the end of this year.”
Waymo suspends service in Atlanta after flooding incident: Just a week after issuing a software update to prevent its vehicles from driving into flooded streets, one of its vehicles in Atlanta drove right into a flooded street. Fortunately the car was unoccupied. Nevertheless, it prompted Waymo to halt service in Atlanta, where it has operated for almost a year.
America’s pothole epidemic: About 20% of America’s roads are rated in “poor” condition. The plague of potholes is a serious threat to people’s safety and pocketbooks at a time when the cost of driving is already brutal. But the chief source of funding road repairs, the gas tax, has not risen in more than 30 years and is being undermined by hybrid and electric vehicles. Just what is a car-dependent nation to do?
Parking meters for sale: Chicago’s parking meters are for sale, again. In 2008 a group led by Morgan Stanley bought the 75-year rights to the Windy City’s meters for $1.15 billion, a deal engineered by then-Mayor Richard Daley to address a budget deficit. It soon came to be seen as the epitome of a penny wise/pound foolish decision; the rights have already generated nearly $2 billion of revenue and there are 57 years left on the lease. Now the current owner is looking for a new buyer. The city was interested but eventually deemed the price too high. A New York-based investment fund, Stonepeak Partners, has stepped forward. City government has a say over who buys it, but unfortunately it no longer has any say over the billions in revenue.
The tragedy of Austin light rail: Voters in the car-centric Texas capital decisively voted in 2020 to raise their own taxes to fund an ambitious light rail system. Six years later the project has been significantly pared back and delayed, the epitome of America’s increasing inability to deliver infrastructure in general and public transit in particular. We delved into this issue last year.
What we’re reading
The consequences of America’s EV surrender: Our friend Marc Amblard describes the way America’s retreat on EVs is widening the gap between U.S. automakers and its rivals in Europe and Asia. The puzzling thing is that the CEOs of GM and Ford concede that EVs are the long-term future but it’s hard to see how they will be part of that electrified landscape given their recent decisions to pivot back to ICEs.
