InDrive expands to the US, Grab acquires supply in Singapore, VanMoof bankrupt, Getir struggles and FlixBus grows

Ride-Hailing & Taxi, Buses & DRT? ????

Grab acquires Trans-cab, Singapore’s third-largest taxi operator, for an estimated $75M. Trans-cab has circa 2,200 taxis and 300 private-hire vehicles that will add to Grab’s taxi and car-sharing solutions. Reason for the acquisition: alieviting driver shortage pains: “by boosting the number of drivers on our platform and helping them to operate more efficiently, we improve how quickly and reliably we find a ride for our passengers, whenever they need one”. The acquisition is expected to be completed in Q4/23.?

InDrive enters the US. The company’s first market is Miami, Florida. As always, InDrive is highlighting its negotiation feature, allowing riders and drivers to settle on a price between them. To push its way through, InDrive announced it will not be taking commissions until the end of 2023, allowing drivers to take home 100% of ride revenue. A minimum price of $10 per ride in Miami has been set. Readers might remember that Uber is piloting a similar negotiation function in Lebanon. That was due to >250% inflation in Lebanon, but could be used at home if needed.?

Also, InDrive expands in Nigeria and opens freight services, to “move materials of more than 20 kg to as high as 20 tons and above”. Interesting.?

Flixbus launches in Finland, making it the company’s 41st country! Operations will start with 9 cities and will connect Finland to Tallinn by ferry.?

Alto, premium ride-hailing, growing its business development team and leaves San Francisco to focus on current and new markets. According to the company, ““rideshare usage in San Francisco is still 40% below pre-pandemic levels and hasn’t rebounded”.?

Huge demand for VTC licences in Malaga, following the EU Court’s rejection of Spain’s cap on licences. Malaga has 2,740 cabs and 2,468 VTC operating - and the past month saw 2,830 new VTC licence applications! The local government has 5 months to process the applications, at which time either the market will be flooded with new licences, or we’ll see another legal procedure taking place.?

Liftango launches DRT service Brazil in partnership with Transbus, public transport operator, and Optai, local consultants. The 7-vehicle service (which is set to grow to 16) complements a 32-bus fixed route-scheduled bus service.

Circuit launches on-demand electric shuttle service in Washington D.C.’s Mobility Innovation District (MID). In addition Circuit will offer a fixed route to workers and visitors of a large non-profit and will offer discounted rides for low-income residents. Via launches in Camden, New Jersey, US. Mobi in Selangor, Malaysia.?

Treepz launches a partner program aimed at travel agencies, event hosts, and hospitality companies. Remember, Treepz is now a car-share company.?

Careem Pakistan partners with premium service White Car for airport transportation in Karachi. White Car is now integrated into Careem’s app. Careem Jordan partners with microfinance Tamweelcom to allow captains access to vehicle and work permit financing. Careem Egypt partners with PaySky to enable instant payments for Captains via the “Yalla” service. Around 20-25% of trips are paid by card, and PaySky’s solution enables quick payouts, within minutes, to captains who need the cash.?

Sharing/renting ????

Turo partners with Metrolinx, a Canadian government commercial organisation, to make Turo the official car sharing partner of GO Transit, the regional public transport operator in Ontario. Turo vehicles could be easily requested to stations operated by GO, for example allowing people to book a Turo from train stations.?

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VanMoof declares bankruptcy ????

VanMoof, maker of premium electric bikes, an industry leader which in total raised close to $200M, and sold bikes for over €3,000 a piece, declared bankruptcy. The company has its share of challenges: bikes were sold for gross loss (i.e. cost to produce and maintain warranty > price of e-bike to customer); and supply chain issues slowed deliveries.?

Owners/users are in limbo, as they require VanMoof’s servers to operate to access a unique key which enables smooth operation of the bikes, and to have access to the company's maintenance and repair services. Competitors are closing in - Cowboy quickly developed an app to allow VanMoof users to continue using their bike via the new app. Blurby Bike is offering a trade-in deal. Dance is offering discounts on service.?

Next, the company will look for buyers. For a deeper analysis by Flywheel.?

Micromobility ????

Elerent, a micromobility franchise business, is partnering with Helbiz to launch 600 e-bikes in Malta. Nextbike expands in Italy, adding two more cities and 170 bikes. Bird expands in Canada, now in 20 cities. Helbiz wins three more years and up to 1,000 scooters in Palermo. Brussels extends work with Vianova for mobility analysis.?

Voi partners with Swobbee in Hamburg on battery swaps, on a three year contract. This follows three successful joint ventures, and has the potential to expand to other places in Europe.?

Spin exits Pittsburgh after a two year pilot program. While the pilot seems to be successful, Pennsylvania laws define e-scooters as illegal, and the city, which was able to run a pilot, has not been able to change state legislators' minds in time.?

Cycle, full service bikes for B2B such as JET and Wolt, raises €10.3M to grow in Europe.??

Getir in trouble ??

The end of Getir UK? Last week the news was that Getir was shutting down UK warehouses and is struggling for cash; this week the news is that Getir is auctioning off bikes, helmets and fridges. And to increase orders, office workers are going to knock on doors in targeted neighbourhoods. In the background, Getir is reportedly seeking to raise $500M from the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala.?

Also this week, Getir completes liquidation in France (together with Gorillas), leaving a €200M debt. Another Getir company, Frichti, has been given additional three months to find a buyer.?

Getir is also rumoured to leave Italy and the Netherlands. TBC.?

Delivery ????

US delivery ‘usage rate’ graph. DoorDash leads with 73.7%, followed by UberEats with 50.4%, Grubhub with 37.2%. More + commentary inside.??

Delivery Hero takes full ownership of its Saudi subsidiary, buying the remaining 37% for $297M, representing a total worth of $802M. Delivery Hero’s market cap is roughly €11bn. The acquisition will allow Delivery Hero to expand its business in the GCC region.?

UberEats partners with Vroom, an online booking and store management software solution for convenience stores and small markets. This allows businesses on the Vroom platform to be listed on the Uber app and connect to Uber Direct, a white-label delivery solution, to handle deliveries.?

Manna, Irish-founded delivery drones, expands to the US and has Coca-Cola as strategic investors. The company is also expanding in Ireland, aiming to serve a 3.5km radius in less than 3 minutes.?

Drone delivery landing stations likely patent legal battle between Arrive and Valqari. To the full story. Co-op member rewards are now eligible through UberEats orders. HumanForest launches sustainable on-demand parcel delivery service in London.?

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Autonomous & remote-driving ??℡

Tesla plans to licence FSD (Full Self Driving) to other OEMs and says it is in talks. The identity of those potential OEMs is unknown.?

Aurora, autonomous trucking, sells $820M worth of stock to the public and private investors. Funds will be used to keep the company “well into 2025”.?

Cruise starts initial robotaxi testing in Miami. “Phase 1 is to familiarize our fleet with additional, diverse road conditions while collecting data”. City of Altamonte Springs launches autonomous shuttle pilot in partnership with Beep. Two electric shuttles will run a 1.5 mile fixed route, safety driver included. May Mobility and Spare partner to deliver on-demand transit using autonomous vehicles. No specified service has been named yet for this new partnership.?

Kodiak and Drivewyze partner to pilot a new autonomous truck inspection program, allowing pre-clear roadside inspections.

Flying cars ??

Vertical Aerospace VX4 completes first ‘real’ test flight. Video.?

Lilium announced $192M financing, with investments from Tencent, Earlybird VC and others; in addition, the company intends to issue shares worth $75M.?

Gig economy ??

California court rules against Uber in a matter of work expenses for UberEats workers. While this case itself has only started, the significance of this ruling is in that it allows workers to sue gig-companies despite signing private arbitration agreements. For more legal explanations.?

Investigation by the State of Washington on driver pay had Lyft conduct an internal analysis that found the company failed to pay drivers according to the state’s new minimum pay law. Lyft says that the difference, in the sum of $193,000, will be paid to drivers, and that the technical error causing the problem has now been fixed.?

Demonstration in Israel over Wolt’s new pricing system, which according to couriers lowers their wages by ±20% and eliminates transparency. The new pay, introduced in many European countries, takes into account delivery distance, weather conditions, the size of the delivery, the location of the courier or the restaurant and the time of day - BUT ALSO the amount he or she has already earned, the number of deliveries they received in a given period, and their behaviour.

Ele.me, delivery platform by Alibaba, extends social security and welfare benefits to its roughly 3 million couriers. China has over 200 million flexible workers, defined as those without a fixed-term contract. This move will likely pressure Meituan, the #1 player, with estimated 6 million couriers, to provide similar extended welfare to its employees.?

In South Africa, low pay and safety concerns lead to driver strikes and unionising efforts. Bolt takes 25%, Uber 28% commission. Drivers are also vulnerable to violence from the traditional taxi industry. It seems that drivers aren’t united enough to be able to pressure ride-hailing companies to act.??

In other news ??

Marti, Turkey’s mobility superapp, lists on NYSE after SPACing. Tesla built the first ‘Cybertruck’. Commercial production closer to the end of 2023. FEST receives WTVA certification for its cargo van electric vehicle. Mobileye has a new solution that reads and displays speed limits.?

The world’s most punctual trains are in Japan. with 98% on time (followed by Spain with 92%). Number of delays has grown from ±1,000 in 2002 to ±3,000? in 2021, this post breaks down the reasons.?

Railway industry photos.?

Cover photo from: https://www.newyorker.com/cartoon/a27503