Europe vs. gig-economy, Didi ?? HKEX, a-lot-of-autonomous and what happens when the tube strikes?

This week we focus on the gig economy model being contested in Europe (including the UK, don’t tell Boris); many new autonomous services in ride-hailing and deliveries; q-commerce is starting in the US and one Zeelo electric route.?

Q: A London tube strike causes ±20% drop in tube use on a Friday; by how much would bus ridership increase? Answer at the end.?

gig-economy: ‘return of the employee’ ??????????

The gig-economy model is being contested in Europe.?

Back in March Uber UK reclassified its drivers as ‘workers’ (rather than independent contractors) following a supreme court ruling. This week the UK court ruled that Uber’s operating model is not compliant with the current rules; that means that Uber (etc.) cannot be the platform they claim to be, but must operate as taxi companies, liable for passengers and drivers. For Uber specifically, this could mean that a ￡1.5bn VAT liability Uber has might see HMRC coming to collect, and for all ride-hailing companies, that future VAT would need to be paid on drivers’ earnings.?

In Europe, draft legislation from the European Commission is shifting the burden of proof or the gig-economy status to the ‘platforms’, setting tough rules for them to follow if they want their workforce to be recognized as independent contractors. More in a long read on TechCrunch.?

Didi & GETT: ‘’stocks aren’t forever’ ??

Last week I reported that Didi is likely to delist from the NYSE - and a day later it was official - Didi’s new home is in Hong Kong. Don’t lose sleep - current stock rights could convert to new stocks. This closes the 6 months long saga that saw Didi ‘bullied’ by the Chinese regulators; pretty much closes any chance of any other Chinese company listing in the US and probably an indicator of the other Chinese companies leaving.?

GETT employees are likely to get $0 in the upcoming SPAC. In simple terms, the reason is that the company is valued at $1.1bn - but previous raises have been at higher valuations, and investor shareholders get priority compensation… and there is just not enough ‘value’ to go around. So employees are being promised to push back options by two years, hopefully the company would be able to enable them to get a piece of the pie. Bummer.?

Autonomous cars ?? & trucks ??

Baidu and Pony AI will be able to start charging fees for their robotaxi (with safety driver) operations in a 60 sq km space in Beijing. This follows successful pilots from both companies, and places China, together with the US, as the front runners of commercial robotaxi services.?

UAE reveals its first driverless taxi led by Bayanat. The 1st stage will see five level 4 robotaxis (with safety driver) transporting people between nine stops. Seoul (South Korea) is launching three driverless (with safety driver) cars in a closed loop. An autonomous bus will be added in December, and fares will be added in January. Kamakura city (Japan) is launching autonomous vehicles in a healthcare pilot. Robotic Research raised $228M to develop… autonomous vehicles. It turns out that the company has been building autonomous vehicles for the DoD for past two decades.?

A remote-controlled driverless-car ride-hailing pilot is being conducted by Imperium Drive in Milton Keynes, UK. Riders summon a vehicle, which a remote operator ‘drives’ to them; at that point the rider becomes the driver for the journey booked, and ‘returns’ the vehicle to the remote operator at the end of the ride. This remote-driverless method has been tested in other countries before, but this is the first in the UK.?

Delivery ?? + Autonomous ??

Walmart and Gatik have been operating two autonomous trucks (no driver!) on a 7-mile loop since August. The operations are managed between a fulfilment centre and a neighbourhood market. Read Drive Sweden’s analysis for more. Segway wants to be the go-to manufacturer of sidewalk delivery robots, and is partnering with Coco to produce 1,000 remotely-controlled units. Serve raises $13M to expand sidewalk robot delivery. Nuro and 7-Eleven to pilot autonomous delivery service in California.??

Just Delivery ??

DoorDash is starting q-delivery in New-York and is doing so with a full-time employee model. Employees will be employed by a newly created company - DashCorps. DoorDash has been very active in the regulatory fights to maintain the gig-economy model; this change could mean that the company is betting that politicians are to win the fight on the future employment model, limiting it until it becomes irrelevant. Q-commerce competition is gearing up in the US, with Instacart & Getir launching their own operations.?

Swiggy, India’s top delivery app, is going into q-delivery with a $700M investment in its Instamart brand. Zepto, q-delivery rival, is said to raise another round shortly.?

In August, US Gopuff acquired UK Dija, in a move to build a global grocery delivery company. Post-acquisition, it appears that Dija employees are feeling left out, and many are leaving. Sfited article tells the story in detail.??

In other news ??

Zeelo launched the UK's 1st fully electric employee commute service. As one of the team members making this happen, I’m very excited. Some say that electric commute services help stocks jump higher.?

Ola is valued at $7.3bn. Ola Electric (the scooter maker) to start delivery on December 15th, two months after it said it would. Intel is going to take Mobileye public at a $50bn valuation. Bolt expands in Ghana and increases prices by 3% in Nigeria. Miami brings back e-scooter pilot from January 15th, this time with new safety rules: riders must wear a helmet; 10 mph on sidewalks; no side-by-side riding and no more than 2 operators per block. SWVL has a new board member. Carwow secured $55M via venture debt to grow internationally.?

What happens when the tube strikes? On Nov. 26th a strike shut down a large part of the tube, resulting in a ±20% points rider decline. from 63% to 44% week-on-week. The bus? Only 3% point increase, from 77% to 80%. People just stayed home.???