The special offer is still here, you know…
Good day my good friend.
Technically I’m not working this week. I say technically, as I have a to-do list to work through still, but I am not in meetings for all of this week and my wife is giving me a slightly evil look for working on my laptop. Still, it means I can take the dogs out whenever I want. Here are your stories for today.
James
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Sometimes the sunk cost fallacy can work in your favour
Never underestimate the power of simply getting spades in the ground on your project. This week, the Midland Mainline electrification between Kettering and Leicester will start works. The economic case for the scheme rests on faster journey times and the lower costs of running electric trains compared to running diesels on the same line. In a time when electrification is falling out of favour with other government departments, how did this get through?
I can’t say for certain, but maybe an old procurement and engineering trick helped. Getting contracts signed and getting spades in the ground before the policy context changes. This started with the Bedford to Kettering section being electrified a couple years ago, and with construction contracts being awarded some time ago as well, it makes any scheme so much harder to cancel.
The e-scooter candle is still burning bright, at least in terms of raising funding and expanding
Just this week, Voi announced that not only had they secured over $100m in Series D funding (venture capital funding, for my non-techie followers), but they are also looking to IPO next year (Initial Public Offering, or putting their shares on the stock exchange, for the same audience). Lime plans to use some the money it has raised to expand in the Middle East, and Tier has acquired a Wind subsidary company.
It is easy to be cynical about venture capital funding and investment. Sometimes investments don’t come off, sometimes we do, and we tend to remember the ones that don’t come off more. What you need to remember is the basic judgement that they make: do the potential returns justify the level of risk involved? And we tend to only look at the risk from one angle (will there be enough riders?). While fools and their money are easily parted, VCs are generally not fools.
When looking at delivery drones, its not just a question of what packages drones can deliver, but its also an old question: does the network exist?
In previous newsletters, I have often spoken about the issue of drop density in short-haul logistics. Namely to drop lots of parcels in an area it costs less over the same time period than travelling long distances. The exact same issue is now existing in drone delivery. While some areas of the UK are testing them out, the current technological constraints of drones limit them to short haul delivery, and while you are not paying a driver, your need lots of drones to cover a small area.
Recent research has sought to develop models for developing drone delivery networks. Namely where to place charging infrastructure and drones themselves to maximise the efficiency of a delivery drone network. This is useful work as it seeks to build upon existing tech, and give logistics companies and policy makers a realistic look at how delivery networks can be delivered.
Random things
Here is what’s in today’s Christmas stocking.
The privilege of staying home: COVID and the highly skilled workforce (openDemocracy)
A ‘Green’ Energy Project Leaves A Mississippi Town Gasping For Air (Huffington Post)
The World’s Most Profitable Traffic Jam (BIG by Matt Stoller)
EU split on proposals to extend carbon pricing to road transport, ban polluting cars (Euractiv)
Biden Boosts Fuel Economy Standards to Fight Climate Change (Transport Topics)
Interesting things
You will have probably seen variations of this over the years, but the sheer scale of our online world is always fun to see.
If you do nothing else today, then do this
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