Here are some of the interesting ideas & stories I read this week in the business of moving people. We’d love to know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Citymapper drops bus plans, looks to take on Uber. LINK
Arizona approves Waymo as TNC, directly competes with Uber LINK
Sony to form a joint venture with six taxi operators in Japan to launch AI-powered taxi hailing system. Predict when you’re likely to need a ride. LINK
The Apollo ecosystem is growing rapidly, now with over 90 partners. Furthermore, Apollo has been designated by China central government as the national autonomous driving platform. LINK
German study finds Chinese consumers are twice as trusting of autonomous vehicles as Americans and Germans. LINK
Renault launching electric car-only store LINK
How easy auto loans reinforced car dependence and killed transit ridership LINK
Daimler included emissions-cheating software on diesels in the US LINK
SoftBank insisted during the negotiations that it was perfectly willing to go invest in Lyft instead if the Uber deal fell through. Uber CEO perfectly sums up how he feels about taking money from SoftBank, “Rather than having their capital cannon facing me, I’d rather have their capital cannon behind me.” LINK
Uber is preparing to sell Southeast Asia unit to Grab in exchange for a stake in the company LINK
Ski Resorts are smart city experts. Cities wanting to get savvier about data collection might want to get their skis shined up. LINK
Bosch is entering the ride-sharing business with its acquisition of startup SPLT LINK
Congrats America, the TSA just broke the record for most firearms found in one week. LINK
