Uber & Waymo: friends or foes?
Dates to remember
- CoMotion LA ‘25 on Nov. 12-13: Register now until Nov. 12 and bring your colleagues, friends or plus-one for 50% off. Complimentary tickets available for public sector & media.
- CoMotion GLOBAL in Riyadh on Dec. 7-9: Register now until Dec. 7 for CoMotion GLOBAL and bring your colleagues, friends or plus-one for 50% off. Senior public officials, accredited media, and other key stakeholders are invited to register here for a complimentary ticket. Registrations will be reviewed by our comittee.
Welcome to CoMotion NEWS, your weekly roundup of news and analysis of the mobility revolution. If this email was forwarded, you can sign up here for NEWS.
The past week is a stark reminder that politics has a big effect on how we move. EV sales in the U.S. are plummeting now that the EV tax credit is gone, Pennsylvania’s failure to fund Philadelphia transit has led to trains catching on fire, and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s anti-car policies have transformed parking lots into logistics hubs.
In San Francisco, Uber challenges frenemy Waymo, whose CEO makes a provocative prediction: the public will eventually accept that autonomous cars will occasionally kill. Meanwhile, Joby starts making blades in Ohio, Waabi hits the road in Texas, GM is cutting EV jobs, and India’s burgeoning long-distance bus sector gets another boost.
What you need to know
U.S. EV sales plummet: The official figures aren’t in yet, but both J.D. Power and S&P Global Mobility estimate that EVs accounted for only 5% of vehicle sales in the U.S. in October, the first month after the expiration of the EV tax credit. That’s down from 12% in September, when people rushed to take advantage of the tax credit. It’s also down from 8% during the same month last year.
A smart (bus) investment: Indian inter-city coach operator IntrCity SmartBus secures $30 million in fresh funding at a valuation of US $140 million as it aims to expand its foothold in India’s booming long-distance bus market. The company grew revenue by 67% in the last year and says it is on the precipice of profitability.
GM cuts EV positions: General Motors announces sweeping cuts at its U.S. EV and battery manufacturing operations, including more than 1,200 permanent layoffs at its Detroit EV plant and temporary shutdowns at battery plants in Ohio and Tennessee. The company attributed the moves to “slower near-term EV adoption and an evolving regulatory environment.”
Less than 2 weeks to go!!
Join us at CoMotion LA ‘25, ‘Unlocking the New Mobility Playbook’ featuring the OMF Summit Track, on Nov. 12-13.
This year’s ninth edition features mobility leaders including:
- Marcel Porras, Deputy Chief Innovation Officer, LA Metro
- Joanna M. Pinkerton, SVP - Digital Infrastructure Solutions, HNTB
- Rex Richardson, Mayor, City of Long Beach
- Bill Panos, Senior Vice President, LA28
- Dani Simons, VP, Communications & Public Affairs, Alstom
- Vishay Nihalani, Director of Product Management, Waymo
- Henry Greenidge, Head of Policy - Autonomy & Robotics, DoorDash Labs
- George Kivork, GM of Los Angeles, Archer Aviation
- Jackie Birdsall, Senior Principal Engineer, Toyota
The program has never been more timely with topics including: Mega Event Mobility, The Future of Sustainable Transportation, AV’s & Emerging Mobility Technologies, Digital Infrastructure, Funding & Investment in Mobility, Policy Innovation & Governance, Advanced Air Mobility, and Ports, Airports & Transportation Hubs. View the Agenda.
Act fast, register now and bring your colleagues, plus-one for 50% off.
Joby starts making blades: Air taxi startup Joby Aviation begins building propeller blades at its plant in Dayton, Ohio, with plans to produce 15,000 a year. That is enough to produce 500 aircraft a year.
Paris parking lots find new life: The major policy shift against personal vehicles in the City of Light has reduced demand for parking lots, leading property owners to turn them into something more useful. Massive parking lots under the Champs Elysées, for instance, are being converted into logistics hubs where retailers can store goods that are then delivered by e-bikes.
Illinois saves Chicago transit: The Illinois legislature takes measures to prevent massive cuts to Chicago’s transit systems, raising the sales tax by a quarter cent in the Chicago region. The tax is expected to generate an additional $478 million a year. The legislature also voted to redirect $860 million in gas taxes to transit agencies across the state. This stands in stark contrast to Pennsylvania, where a split legislature could not come to an agreement on a long-term funding plan for Philadelphia’s embattled transit system (see below).
Transit on fire: Rail commuters in the Philadelphia area have endured weeks of long delays and jam-packed trains after transit agency SEPTA was forced to take many of its oldest-in-the-nation trains out of service for inspection following a series of electrical fires. Unfortunately, SEPTA has far less money to upgrade its aging rolling stock after it was forced to raid its capital budget this summer to close a $200 million deficit in its operating budget. We recently wrote about the tragedy of SEPTA’s funding crisis and the threat it poses to one of America’s few transit-oriented cities.
Join the visionaries shaping transportation, technology, and urban innovation across every continent at CoMotion GLOBAL on Dec. 7-9 at the KAFD Conference Centre in Riyadh.
From global policymakers to urban innovators, these voices are shaping the next era of urban mobility — smarter, more sustainable, and more connected than ever before.
Latest confirmed speakers include:
- Majid Mufti, CEO, NEOM Investment Fund
- Diana Caiza, Mayor, Municipality of Ambato
- Dr. Nasiphi Moya, Executive Mayor City of Tshwane
- Gunnlaugur Erlendsson, CEO, ENSO
- Hashim Alfatayerji, Founder & CEO, Cararak Ventures
- Steve Adler, Former Mayor of Austin, Texas
Register now and bring your colleague, friend or plus-one for 50% off. Senior public officials, accredited media, and other key stakeholders are invited to register here for a complimentary ticket. Registrations will be reviewed by our comittee.
Uber challenges Waymo in San Francisco: In other markets Waymo vehicles are operating on the Uber app, but in San Francisco Uber is launching its own premium robotaxi service, putting it in direct competition with the Alphabet-owned autonomous driving pioneer. Uber says its service will launch in 2026 and use Lucid’s electric Gravity SUVs equipped with autonomous software developed by Nuro.
What happens when a Waymo kills someone? Waymo CEO Tekedra Mawakana says her company’s driverless vehicles are 91% safer than human drivers, but acknowledges that that still means they’ll eventually kill someone. She predicts, however, that society is ready to weigh the data and recognize that autonomous vehicles will save lives overall. We’ll see … polls suggest Americans remain deeply skeptical of AVs.
Waabi and Volvo hit the road: Toronto startup Waabi unveils a new autonomous truck developed jointly with Volvo, combining the “Waabi Driver” AI model with Volvo’s purpose-built VNL Autonomous hardware. Waabi has been testing driverless trucks with safety drivers in Texas since 2023, but hopes to begin commercial operations soon.
….meanwhile, rival AV startup Aurora Innovation, which also has a partnership with Volvo, is already running driverless freight trucks between Houston and Dallas and last week announced it will expand to El Paso.
Lime’s pedal-free option: Lime, which recently recorded 1 billion rides, unveils its new pedal-free e-bike model — the “Glider” — in Los Angeles, offering riders a sit-down, throttle-powered option to navigate the city without pedaling. Look out for them at CoMotion LA next week!
Partner content
🌟🎤Join us at the Monaco Hydrogen Forum on December 1-2, where a stellar lineup of seasoned industry leaders will dive into the latest advancements in hydrogen technology! Don’t miss this opportunity to connect and learn.
Register now to secure your spot.
A highlight of the event is the prestigious Monaco Prize for Innovation in Renewable Hydrogen and Transportation, which has established itself as one of the most prestigious awards in the industry. This award celebrates groundbreaking innovations that are shaping the future of clean mobility.
When we caught up with last winner, Ben Medland of DRIFT Energy Ltd., he shared how the prize transformed their journey:
“Winning the prize has been the catalyst for a stellar year of progress at DRIFT Energy Ltd. The connections we made have helped us grow and strengthen the business, putting DRIFT Energy Ltd on the map and sharing our story with a wider community. I highly recommend the prize and conference—it’s been one of the highlights of our journey so far.”
Apply for the prize today. Applications close on October 31st - don’t miss out!
What we’re reading
The eternal reinvention of the American downtown: In an excerpt from The Unfinished Metropolis: Igniting the City-Building Revolution, author Benjamin Schneider describes remote work as only the latest in a series of existential challenges to America’s urban business districts. For instance, the surplus of vacant office space in many downtowns is itself a result of past efforts to “save” downtowns from perceived threats.
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