Archinect - News

Lyft joins the race in building its own self-driving technology

2017-07-24T14:36:00-04:00

[P]erhaps enticed by predictions of a $7 trillion autonomous driving industry, Lyft is saying it wants a build its own technology stack so it can operate its own self-driving cars. To accomplish this, Lyft is opening a new 50,000-square-foot engineering facility in Palo Alto, California, that it’s calling the “Level 5” center in reference to the most advanced level of autonomous driving. Kapoor said the goal is to have “hundreds” of engineers working out of the facility by the end of 2018.

According to The Verge, Lyft is yet to release more concrete details of their plan, including which components of a self-driving car they will build themselves or how much money they plan to spend. Last month, Lyft announced their partnership with self-driving car startup NuTonomy to launch a test pilot of NuTonomy's cars in Boston later this year.

Developing flexible parking garages for a rideshare-dependent LA

2017-04-18T13:37:00-04:00

The strategy reflects a consensus among some developers and planners that California’s vaunted car culture is inevitably going to run out of gas...[Andy] Cohen, co-chief executive of Gensler, predicts car ownership will peak around 2020 and then start to decline, with more Americans relying on some form of ride-sharing than their own vehicles by 2025. That means cars gradually would disappear from home garages, curbs and parking structures, freeing up acre upon acre of real estate for new uses.

Some developers are already planning for a not-so-far-off future Los Angeles where more people primarily rely on ridesharing (including from autonomous vehicles) than driving their own car, particularly in the form of parking garages that can be redesigned for other uses like commercial spaces or live/work units.

“...despite what some believe is the inevitability of a transportation revolution, many builders are reluctant to pay for flexibility until changes in driving habits are more pronounced, said Los Angeles real estate attorney Justin Thompson of Nixon Peabody. A lot of developers may think, ‘Well, that’s going to be on the back burner for a while,’ Thompson said, ‘but the progressive developers are going to factor this in.’”

New study finds ride-sharing apps like Lyft and Uber have no effect on drunk-driving fatalities

2016-08-02T17:43:00-04:00

The introduction of ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft hasn't had any impact on the number of fatalities related to drunken driving, a newly published study finds. Researchers at the University of Southern California and Oxford University looked at the 100 most populated metropolitan areas, analyzing data from before and after the introduction of Uber and its competitors, and found that access to ride-sharing apps had no effect on traffic fatalities related to drinking alcohol.

Uber has claimed previously that its services help decrease instances of drunk-driving, by providing an easy alternative to inebriated drivers. Uber cites a study it did with MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, that found "anecdotal evidence" in line with this popular belief, as well as a report by Temple University that pointed to "a correlation between decreased alcohol-related driving fatalities and the introduction of Uber services in California."

Temple University's report didn't control for other variables that could have affected the rate of drunk-driving fatalities, and was focused in California. The takeaway from the USC/Oxford study seems to be that ride-sharing services like Uber or Lyft do not necessarily help curb drunk-driving incidents any more than taxis, when all such services are just as accessible.

Google launches Waze Carpool with cost-neutral pricing

2016-05-26T18:46:00-04:00

The pilot program is limited to about 25,000 employees of companies including Walmart and Adobe Systems... Waze will match riders with drivers already heading along similar routes during the morning and evening rush hours. [...] Waze Carpool is charging riders just $0.54 a mile, which is also what the IRS recommends companies reimburse their employees per mile for business-related travel. “Waze Carpool focuses on covering costs, not generating an income,” the company explains.

Google purchased Waze, the Israeli GPS-based navigation system with real-time travel details submitted by users, in 2013 for $1.15B. With a fleet of already operating autonomous vehicles, Google stands to leverage its Waze transit data in big ways for an autonomous taxi service that could hit companies like Uber and Lyft hard.

That $0.54 rate for the Carpool rides is also significant because it won't lead to the same insurance-scrutiny that has plagued other ridesharing companies:

Waze Carpool’s $0.54 rate is also important from a regulatory standpoint. As Waze explains, car insurance policies in states including California typically cover “not for profit, share-the-expense carpooling.” By framing its operations that way, Waze Carpool may be able to avoid the scrutiny around insurance coverage that has at times sidelined Uber and Lyft.

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Protesting fingerprint checks, Uber and Lyft end rides in Austin

2016-05-11T13:01:00-04:00

The decision to leave an energetic city known for its young, well-educated population offered a stark illustration of how strenuously the companies oppose new rules that would require them to perform fingerprint background checks on drivers. Ending the service also meant that about 10,000 drivers would be out of work, Taylor Patterson, an Uber spokeswoman, said. “Folks are devastated,” she said. “People are saying, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to pay my rent.’”

In cities like Austin—with no comprehensive rail service, a dominant car culture and a large youthful population—ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft are omnipresent. Lyft sponsored the city's huge annual SXSW festival in 2016, and as the city has been growing "faster than any other metropolitan area in the country," public transportation for tourists and commuters alike is strained.

Other ridesharing services besides Uber and Lyft will continue operations in the city, while Lyft and Uber consider how to continue operating in other cities (like New York and Houston) that also require drivers undergo fingerprint background checks.

More ridesharing news:

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Women-only Uber alternatives face pushback from antidiscrimination laws

2016-03-30T17:04:00-04:00

Civil rights lawyers say the new service being touted by local entrepreneurs, Chariot for Women, would probably conflict with Massachusetts’ antidiscrimination laws. [...] safety of female passengers has dogged Uber and Lyft Inc. and regulators around the country are debating new requirements for ride-hailing services that include [a] background check [...] SheTaxis, or SheRides, faced questions from regulators in 2014 when it launched an app that connects female passengers with women drivers.

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