Week in Review: Oil prices and airline stocks race towards $0, auto accidents drop drastically, used car prices crash

Has another week gone by already? While we hope you’re handling staying at home well, certain sectors certainly haven’t: oil prices have dropped to their lowest level ever in the US, airlines are continuing to suffer amid global stay-at-home orders and closed borders, micromobility operators are starting to consolidate and the used car pricing apocalypse is just beginning. All that, plus an exclusive look at new data on how cities across the country are handling stay-at-home, in this week’s edition of CoMotion>>NEWS.

Episode 63. Greg Lindsay sits down with Dheeraj Bhardwaj, CEO of Arnab Mobility, to discuss how his company is bringing micromobility to the United Arab Emirates. Greg also chats with Jonah Bliss about the plummeting prices of oil, airlines, and used cars, as well as how cities are continuing to react to the ongoing lockdowns. Listen here.

Shifting strategy: as ridesharing demand drops, Uber pivots, launching two new services: Uber Connect and Uber Direct. Direct offers deliveries for items like pharmaceutical goods directly from stores, while Connect allows people to send items directly to one another. Send your friends some TP!

Carmageddon: the used car price apocalypse is beginning… a key benchmark for used car pricing has dropped 11% since March. As the auto giants are also major lenders, this could portend more pain for their already battered bottom lines…

Crash landing: now is not a good time to be an airline, or anyone with the first name Richard and the last name Branson. As global travel has effectively stalled, airline stocks are tanking and some carriers are closing up shop altogether. Case in point: Virgin Australia has already entered administration, and Virgin Atlantic also claims to be in major distress.

Ridership rebound: in New York, despite being so hard hit by coronavirus, transit ridership numbers have begun to creep back up since mid-April. Even the New York State Thruway has seen an increase in cars in the same time. A combo of spring fever and “good news” about NY’s virus plateau are thought to be the cause.

Earth Day delights: as people around the globe begin to embrace EVs and alternate fuels, the climate will thank us. In a major win for planet Earth, Sweden just became the third European country to close all its coal power plants.

Swiggy sacks staff: despite the booming global on-demand delivery market, Indian food courier startup Swiggy is cutting around 1,000 jobs. The move was made to focus on “growth and profitability” during these tough pandemic times.

Mobility 2.0: Recapping our recent CoMotion LIVE webinar, GovTech takes a look at how transportation agencies, and the entire mobility community, are finding opportunities in the current crisis.

Smoke on the water: nearly three dozen oil tankers are floating off the coast of California, carrying enough crude to satisfy 20% of the world’s daily consumption. The ships are acting as floating storage seeing as fuel demand has effectively collapsed.

Corona cuts: Chinese electric car company Byton has furloughed about half of its 450 workers at its U.S. HQ in Santa Clara. Looks like the M-Byte EV SUV might not be coming stateside all that soon.

A new beginning: The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator is rebooting its incubator program as a cohort model, welcoming 16 new startups. Keep a close eye on green mobility startups like ChargerHelp, SparkCharge and JumpWatts.

Polestar production: despite pandemic concerns, Volvo Car Group’s Polestar 2 EV will go on sale in the U.S. later this year. The Tesla contender will be available online and in retail showrooms on the West Coast and in NY as early as this summer.

Pileups plummet: as stay-at-home orders are emptying city streets, car accident rates are dropping precipitously. Unfortunately, traffic fatalities are actually increasing in some regions, as speed demons abuse the open roads.

Here to help: Riders Share is offering discounted damage waivers and eliminating trip fees for scooter rentals in order to help essential delivery order workers. With more and more displaced workers looking to make ends meet on delivery apps, this is a lot more sustainable than another surge in car rentals.

Dwell-time data: in a CoMotion NEWS exclusive, Habidatum reveals which cities are shutting down, and which are flaunting stay-at-home orders, through an in-depth data analysis.

Executive shuffle: GM’s AV subsidiary Cruise just hired Jeff Bleich, board chairman of PG&E, as its Chief Legal Officer. From protecting trade secrets, to dealing with liability when testing on open roads, he certainly has his work cut out for him.

Leaping regulatory hurdles: self-driving startup Voyage snagged a coveted CPUC permit that will allow the company to bring its AVs out of its current testing ground at a retirement community’s private roads, and onto public streets throughout California.

Sustainable self-driving: Cruise is fighting for cleaner air while working towards delivering its robo-taxi service. The AV company not only uses all-electric cars in its fleet, it now plans to use only “100 percent renewable energy” to power its vehicles.

The supremacy of cars: in our latest Mobility Perspective, law professor Greg Shill discusses how micromobility is challenging a legal paradigm that favors cars. Read the insightful piece on CoMotion>>NEWS.

Boosted boards bought: Boosted’s deal to be acquired by Yamaha fell through, opening the door for e-scooter operator Lime. Now, Boosted’s designs, software, parts and more are Lime’s, though it’s not yet known how it will be integrated into the micromobility giant’s portfolio.

Building bikeways: Following Germany’s lead, Paris is going to create 650 km of bikeways for post-lockdown travel. Not only is cycling good for keeping social distance, it’s great for Mother Earth.

Coming to America: Taiwanese electric scooter company Gogoro announced a new ebike brand, Eeyo, set to first launch in the United States. The vehicles are expected to be available in May, before launching in Europe and Taiwan later this summer.

Keeping tabs: North American Bikeshare Association put together a shared micromobility status tracker to help with service updates during COVID-19.

Take our money! Sleek e-bike maker Vanmoof announced a beautiful third generation bicycle, InMotion announced a powerful new electric unicycle with air-spring suspension, and Chinese Okai Vehicles announced a slew of new two-wheeled electric vehicles.

CityLab, explaining how Europe’s cities are making more room for car-alternatives, after coronavirus.

SmartCitiesDive, wondering if we can avoid private car revenge post-pandemic.

Curbed, asking that we don’t blame dense cities for the spread of coronavirus.

CleanTechnica, sharing a study on how the Tesla Model 3 is changing EV charging demand.

Mass Transit Magazine, listing off ten cities that have redefined public transportation during COVID-19.

The Los Angeles Times, explaining how past pandemics changed the design of cities and six ways COVID-19 could do the same.

GreenBiz, positing that coronavirus has exposed the fragility of auto-centric cities.

Startups & Corporate

Supply Chain Manager | Volans-i | Concord, Canada

Growth Manager | Blue Zoom Transportation Solutions | London

Product Manager | Goin | Seattle/Everett

Senior Sales Representative | Helbiz | Washington DC

Shift Manager, Bike Fleet | Motivate | San Francisco

Customer Success Manager | Replica | San Francisco

Packaging Lead | Matter Motor Works | Ahmedabad, India

Civic & Nonprofit

Transit Manager | Public Works Department Transit | Glendale, CA

Associate Engineer/Associate Civil Engineer | TLMA Transportation | Riverside, CA

City Route Bus Operator (Bus Operator) | Public Transportation | Anchorage, AK

Have a job listing that’s perfect for the CoMotion community? Please send it to Jim Manning.

Enjoy the Week in Review? Get it delivered directly to your inbox by signing up for the CoMotion>>NEWS newsletter.