Good day my good friend.
You can probably imagine that when writing this newsletter, some days are much easier than others. And some days I do get a severe case of writers block, and it is a real struggle to write anything. Today is one of those days, and so my apologies if this is a bit short.
Also, just some advanced notice for you. Friday December 16th will be my last newsletter of the year. Normal service will resume again on 3rd January 2023.
If you have any suggestions for interesting news items or bits of research to include in this newsletter, you can email me.
James
Drones are not droning on
Some tech gets all the hype. You know what I mean. Autonomous Vehicles, Mobility as a Service and the like. But one technology that has just got on with it with minimal fuss and bother? Drones. And it has done this by…being useful. Infrastructure providers are using them for structural surveys. They are even being used for counting traffic. Plus there is the admittedly less successful use case of parcel delivery, from which plenty of lessons have been learned.
Now drones are being expanded elsewhere. Here in the UK, drones are being used to deliver critical deliveries for the NHS across the Solent, and drone airports are being trialled in Coventry. They may even change the ways that buildings are designed. I think that some of these may be a step too far as the business case is not that clear. But drones have earned their shot at this, as opposed to other tech which has been talked up by billionaires, but has done nothing.
Regulating ride hailing – a different approach
When it comes to regulating ride hailing companies, there are several spheres of thought. The first one is simple: ban them. The second is also simple: keep them to the same standards as taxis and private hire vehicles. The third, and one that is relatively unexplored, is a more academic one. How can we regulate them in a way that doesn’t discourage them, but ensures fair competition.
This research paper explores such a question. It starts on the principle that Uber and Lyft compete unfairly in the ride hailing market, and proposes solutions to ensure fair competition to maximise social value. Interestingly, the researchers show that if authorities regulate the per trip commission by installing a commission cap, it gives the maximum social value.
Random things
These links are meant to make you think about the things that affect our world in transport, and not just think about transport itself. I hope that you enjoy them.
China just announced a new social credit law. Here’s what it means. (MIT Technology Review)
A French Village’s Radical Vision of a Good Life with Alzheimer’s (The New Yorker)
Engineers Pick the Ten Best STEM Toys to Give as Gifts in 2022 (Smithsonian Magazine)
25-Year-old Window Cleaner is Scrubbing Road Signs for Free to Improve Safety and Give Back to Community (Good News Network)
Something interesting
What is the hardest place in the world to get to? Real Life Lore goes 3D in exploring this, and concludes that the hardest place to get to is up.
If you do nothing else today, then do this.
How do you use tech to make a rezoning proposal in a city interesting? You do what inCitu did. Its amazing, and involves VR, AR, and SnapChat.
Mobility Matters 