Best of LinkedIn: Future Mobility & Market Evolution CW 35/ 36

00:00:00: Brought to you by Thomas Allgeier and Frennis.

00:00:02: This edition highlights key LinkedIn posts on future mobility and market evolution in weeks thirty-five and thirty-six.

00:00:08: Frennis supports enterprises with market and competitive intelligence, decoding disruptive technologies, customer needs, regulatory change, and competitive moves.

00:00:16: so product teams and strategy leaders don't just react but shape the future of mobility.

00:00:22: Welcome to the deep dive.

00:00:24: We're about to take a focused look into the most compelling future mobility trends and market evolutions we've observed across LinkedIn in calendar weeks, thirty-five and thirty-six.

00:00:34: Yeah, and our goal today is really to pull out the most important insights for you.

00:00:38: Think of it like a... concentrated shot of knowledge, a shortcut to getting up to speed on this incredibly fast-moving mobility landscape.

00:00:46: And looking at the sources, a clear picture emerges.

00:00:49: We're seeing micro-mobility governance getting tighter, autonomous pilots are actually moving beyond just concepts.

00:00:55: And there are some really solid OEM and city collaborations starting to anchor these multimodal data-driven models.

00:01:02: It's been a busy couple of weeks.

00:01:04: It certainly sounds like it.

00:01:05: So let's dive in.

00:01:06: We can start with micro mobility and shared mobility.

00:01:09: It's a sector that always seems to be well navigating that tension between needing innovation and dealing with tighter rules.

00:01:16: Definitely.

00:01:16: It's like push and pull.

00:01:17: Feels like two steps forward, one step back sometimes, doesn't it?

00:01:20: It absolutely does.

00:01:21: And what's becoming really clear, particularly from the UK scene, is this kind of fundamental tension.

00:01:27: we saw a post from James Bolton and Nick B pointing out how local councils there seem to be prioritizing maybe short-term revenue.

00:01:38: over really fostering innovation or thinking about the best outcomes for riders and residents.

00:01:43: And they argue this kind of, well, short-sighted views actually holding things back.

00:01:47: It's leaving opportunities on the table, especially around how cities could maybe monetize parking in smarter ways that actually benefit everyone.

00:01:55: That

00:01:55: point about councils and revenue is quite striking.

00:01:58: Why do you think that short-term thinking persists, especially when you hear people like Leigh Ann Gaffney Berkeley from Lyme actively calling for a stable, long-term legal framework?

00:02:08: she sees that as totally essential for safer, more sustainable e-scooter operations.

00:02:14: Without that kind of clarity, it's tough to make those big investments, surely.

00:02:17: It's a

00:02:17: classic chicken and egg situation, isn't it?

00:02:19: Yeah.

00:02:20: Councils feel pressure for immediate cash, maybe?

00:02:22: Yeah.

00:02:22: But that stability Leigh Ann's talking about is exactly what companies need to invest in better, you know, more sustainable operations.

00:02:29: Two cents.

00:02:30: And this is critical because, as Antonio Barbas pointed out, there are significant sort of hidden costs.

00:02:36: shared mobility.

00:02:38: He did this really interesting comparison.

00:02:40: Lime e-bikes in London, their permanent cost versus flat fee services.

00:02:44: Okay.

00:02:45: And he really questioned the sustainability of the current models, like, are we still using diesel vans at three AM to rebalance flights?

00:02:52: It makes you think about the real environmental footprint, the true cost.

00:02:55: That's a huge point.

00:02:57: If the operations aren't sustainable environmentally or economically, the whole thing struggles.

00:03:02: But, you know, despite these hurdles, we are seeing that push for operational excellence.

00:03:07: Thomas Morinier shared Quasit's mission, which is all about optimizing field ops for shared mobility.

00:03:13: Peak efficiency, right.

00:03:14: Exactly.

00:03:15: And Raymond Powell's highlighted MOB's new scan-to-ride feature, just trying to remove that friction for users, make it smooth or small things, but they add up.

00:03:24: They really do.

00:03:25: Yeah.

00:03:26: And thinking about sustainability beyond just the operations.

00:03:29: Ross Biotto brought up a pretty concerning statistic.

00:03:32: Something like up to forty percent of returned micro mobility products can end up in landfills.

00:03:36: Wow.

00:03:37: Forty percent.

00:03:38: Yeah.

00:03:38: So his company Repair and Run is tackling that directly with circular economy solutions focusing on local repair, integrated reverse logistics.

00:03:46: Yeah.

00:03:46: Basically giving these things a much longer life.

00:03:48: It's a vital piece of the puzzle often overlooked.

00:03:51: It absolutely is.

00:03:52: But even with these environmental and regulatory challenges, the growth in micromobility is, well, hard to ignore.

00:03:59: But Milo Alangas cited Nabi Se's latest numbers, showing a huge thirty-one percent jump in trips between twenty-twenty-three and twenty-twenty-four.

00:04:07: Thirty-one percent.

00:04:08: Yeah.

00:04:08: And the Akatsman Trial apparently had a big impact there.

00:04:11: And looking bigger picture, Probin Joel Jones and Anna Tutova analyzed Bolt's twenty-twenty-four revenue hitting nearly two billion.

00:04:19: Wow.

00:04:19: With micro-mobility bringing in a very significant chunk, hundred and twenty to a hundred and fifty million, this isn't a niche thing anymore.

00:04:26: It's serious business.

00:04:28: No doubt.

00:04:28: But as you said earlier, with that growth come the growing pains.

00:04:32: Lars Christian Grotemulsen pointed out the ongoing problem of, you know, e-bike clutter in London.

00:04:37: Seems as partly because the rules for e-bikes and e-scooters are different, creating these inconsistencies.

00:04:42: But on a more positive note, we are seeing great efforts towards inclusive dockless bike share.

00:04:46: Anna DeSantos in Raleigh is championing that, making sure these services work for more people.

00:04:51: And really embedding it in communities too.

00:04:54: Monte Watson showcased the Belt Hub in Atlanta, a neat example of place-based micro-mobility.

00:04:59: But what really caught my eye was Nethish Push Barrage talking about developing a wheelchair-accessible cargo cycle with SAE bikes.

00:05:07: Oh, interesting.

00:05:07: Yeah, that's genuinely pushing for inclusivity, breaking down barriers we might not even think about usually.

00:05:12: That's

00:05:13: fantastic progress.

00:05:14: Okay, so shifting gears a bit.

00:05:16: Let's move from micro-mobility to something that feels maybe more futuristic, but it's getting very... very fast.

00:05:22: Autonomous and ADAS, the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems.

00:05:27: This space seems to be moving from pure concept to, well, more tangible deployments.

00:05:32: Yeah, and what feels really significant, a real shift, is that concrete step Christoph Weigler shared.

00:05:38: Uber and Memento setting a for Level Four Autonomous Vehicle Testing in Munich.

00:05:43: — Twenty-twenty-six,

00:05:45: Munich.

00:05:45: That's specific.

00:05:46: — Exactly.

00:05:46: It's a firm timeline for a major deployment.

00:05:49: It signals a clear path towards practical use, not just R&D.

00:05:52: That

00:05:53: is a big commitment.

00:05:53: And we're seeing movement elsewhere too, right?

00:05:56: Hanco highlighted Waymo expanding in Seattle.

00:05:58: That's bound to fuel expectations for wider availability.

00:06:01: For sure.

00:06:02: And Douglas Stark gave a firsthand account from San Francisco, writing in a robo taxi.

00:06:07: He noted how quiet the waiting experience is with autonomy.

00:06:11: But he also made this really sharp point.

00:06:12: that while robotexes change how we move, micromobility still really impacts how fast the whole city flows.

00:06:20: It's a subtle but important difference in impact.

00:06:22: That's a great observation, and it touches on consistency, doesn't it?

00:06:25: Yeah.

00:06:25: Riyadjitha looked at the different robotexy availability between Phoenix and San Francisco airports.

00:06:30: The experience isn't the same everywhere.

00:06:32: Right, it's patchy.

00:06:33: Yeah.

00:06:33: Yeah.

00:06:34: And David May from HSBC offered a very Let's say sobering perspective.

00:06:40: He stressed the big gap between the robotaxi hype and the current operational reality, especially on market revenue projections and limits on like wallet share.

00:06:50: He thinks the path to mass adoption is going to be much more gradual than some people expect.

00:06:54: Okay, so gradual adoption.

00:06:56: What does that mean for say owning a car?

00:07:00: Elias Moussa put forward this idea.

00:07:02: privately owned vehicles acting as on-demand autonomous taxis, turning your car into an investment.

00:07:09: Interesting concept.

00:07:10: And Lucas Neckerman discussed VMFast's personal RoboCar, Tensor Auto, aimed at U.S.

00:07:15: preferences, premium, techy.

00:07:18: suggesting ownership might still be a thing, just with an autonomous angle, not only shared fleets.

00:07:22: Right, different models emerging, which is exactly what Antonio Grasso's frameworks help us understand these stages of driving automation.

00:07:29: He really emphasizes how the role shift between human and machine as the tech levels up.

00:07:34: It's not an overnight switch.

00:07:35: No, definitely a gradual handover.

00:07:37: Exactly.

00:07:38: And it all connects back to wider urban life.

00:07:40: Burned Grush raised a really critical concern.

00:07:43: If transit gets cut while robotaxis grow, could that actually make urban inequality worse?

00:07:48: A two-tiered system.

00:07:50: That's a crucial consideration.

00:07:51: Technology doesn't exist in a vacuum.

00:07:53: We need to think about the social impact.

00:07:55: Absolutely.

00:07:56: Okay, let's pivot again.

00:07:57: to EV charging and energy.

00:07:59: This is so fundamental for EVs taking off, isn't it?

00:08:02: Without good charging, everything else stalls.

00:08:04: Totally.

00:08:05: And what's interesting here is how local policy meets the practical rollout.

00:08:10: Max Sullivan shared that Westminster rejected cross-pavement, private EV charging, safety, accessibility concerns.

00:08:16: Okay,

00:08:17: that makes sense.

00:08:17: But that decision also came with this call to equalize VAT between home charging and public charging.

00:08:24: highlighting a potential cost barrier for people who rely more on public chargers.

00:08:28: Yeah, that VAT difference is a real equity issue.

00:08:31: Meanwhile, Rob Chan laid out Australia's EV Outlook.

00:08:34: They're really focusing on roaming charging networks, vehicle to grid V-to-G.

00:08:38: Where the car feeds power back.

00:08:39: Exactly, and integrating shared mobility too.

00:08:42: Pointed out that EVs basically become batteries on wheels, soaking up sunshine, storing energy.

00:08:48: It's about energy management, not just driving.

00:08:50: That link between mobility and the grid is huge.

00:08:53: It changes things fundamentally.

00:08:54: It really does.

00:08:56: Okay, next up, urban planning, smart cities, and policy.

00:09:01: How are cities actually adapting their plans and rules for all this future mobility stuff?

00:09:06: Well, a prime example of smart city tech making a real difference is in Quebec City.

00:09:11: Google's AI optimized traffic lights.

00:09:14: Juliet Rothenberg reported they're aiming to cut congestion by up to thirty percent.

00:09:18: Thirty percent.

00:09:19: And emissions by ten percent.

00:09:20: These aren't tiny tweaks.

00:09:21: They're significant gains in city efficiency.

00:09:23: And efficiencies like that feed right into the bigger debate about street space, don't they?

00:09:28: Studies from Montreal, highlighted by Therese Gresko and Andrew Savage, they make such a powerful case for giving more road space to micromobility.

00:09:35: The numbers are stark.

00:09:37: They really are.

00:09:37: Cars apparently occupy almost eighty percent of infrastructure area, while micromobility gets, what, like one point five percent?

00:09:44: The potential for using that space better is just enormous.

00:09:47: And to help planners actually make those changes, which can be controversial.

00:09:51: Landric Jr.

00:09:52: Bennett introduced this proposed Equal Infrastructure Allocation Score, or EIA score.

00:09:57: It's basically a tool to guide fairer investment and, crucially, help planners defend reallocation projects with data.

00:10:04: Data to back up the policy makes sense.

00:10:06: It's about designing cities for people, right?

00:10:09: Nicholas Hoffman offered some really practical guidance on mobility hubs, how to design, operate, finance these key connection points.

00:10:17: Those multimodal nodes.

00:10:18: Exactly.

00:10:19: And Yannick N's modeling work in Vancouver sounds fascinating.

00:10:22: using agent-based models to understand how demand and actual human behavior shape how networks perform, getting a more realistic

00:10:29: picture.

00:10:30: On the pure policy side, over in the UK, Ben Hubbard talked about the new LCEV Category Low Speed Zero Emission Vehicle.

00:10:37: It's meant to properly legitimize things like e-scooters, maybe even self-driving taxis, give them a clear legal footing.

00:10:43: Okay,

00:10:43: creating a framework.

00:10:45: Yeah.

00:10:45: And James got weighed in on needing to integrate behavioral science into micromobility rules to make sure they actually work.

00:10:52: Plus, Matthias Weiss highlighted Germany's big digitalization push, trying to get standardized mobility solutions for cities, which is a common headache.

00:11:00: Standardization helps everyone.

00:11:02: And data underpins all of this, doesn't it?

00:11:05: Johann Hogos and Halisby and Robert Joseph Martin showed off a new tool, tracks operators' real-time vehicle locations using open GBFS feeds.

00:11:14: standard bike share data format.

00:11:16: Right.

00:11:16: Useful for analyzing coverage.

00:11:18: And Karim Diya-Tubaje used isochrone analytics mapping travel times combined with connected vehicle data.

00:11:25: What did that show?

00:11:25: It

00:11:25: proved that for a thirty-minute trip in central London, you're more than twice as fast on a bike than in a car.

00:11:31: That's a powerful data-driven case for bikes in cities.

00:11:34: Twice as fast.

00:11:35: Hard to argue with that data.

00:11:36: Exactly.

00:11:37: OK, final theme.

00:11:38: Market moves and ecosystem.

00:11:40: Let's look at the industry dynamics, the partnerships, the shifts, reshaping things.

00:11:44: Well,

00:11:44: one thing that's really clear is M&A.

00:11:46: Mergers and acquisitions are constantly reshaping the mobility tech space.

00:11:50: Rajesh, as we're on noted, this is driven by sustainability goals, needing platform effects to scale up, and just strategic consolidation.

00:11:58: Companies realizing they need to team up or buy expertise.

00:12:01: Precisely.

00:12:02: Yeah.

00:12:03: But it's not just consolidation.

00:12:04: We're seeing new players, too.

00:12:06: Maria L. Volana-Gatan announced Yango's launch, positioned as this bridge between retail and mobility, focusing on sustainable urban services.

00:12:14: Interesting angle.

00:12:15: And Volkswagen's MOIA presence at the IAA show, highlighted by Rainer Becker, signals their ongoing commitment to an autonomous, shared model, specifically for cities.

00:12:26: It's definitely moving beyond just selling cars.

00:12:28: It's mobility as a service becoming reality.

00:12:31: And established players are partnering up.

00:12:33: Michael Welton highlighted BMW Group working with Rotterdam on digitally connected multimodal services.

00:12:38: Traditional OEMs are expanding their role.

00:12:40: Right.

00:12:41: And a new UK mobility insurance launch mentioned by Guillermo Campoamor shows the insurance sector is adapting to creating tailored products for these new mobility use cases.

00:12:50: The whole ecosystem is shifting, and it connects right back to manufacturing, doesn't it?

00:12:54: Ben Grimes and Justin Cosmides highlighted that convergence, advancing software-defined vehicles, sustainable transport, all enabled by digital manufacturing platforms like Bloom.

00:13:05: Yeah, and that point was echoed at Dr.

00:13:06: Philip Wackerbeck's IAA panel, too, discussing how case trends connected, autonomous, shared, electric, are really impacting finance and insurance across the whole sector.

00:13:17: So tying it all together... What we're really seeing across all these links and posts is this incredibly complex but definitely exciting picture of how we'll move in the future.

00:13:28: Data, collaboration, understanding what people actually need.

00:13:32: That seems to be the new currency.

00:13:33: Exactly.

00:13:33: And if you zoom out, you see how interconnected it all is.

00:13:36: The micromobility regulations, the AV rollouts, the charging infrastructure, the smart city planning, they all depend on this evolving ecosystem.

00:13:45: It's fascinating to see how these individual posts, when you put them together, show this collective push towards, hopefully, a more integrated, efficient, maybe more sustainable, urban future.

00:13:54: But still grappling with big questions.

00:13:56: For sure.

00:13:57: Big questions about equity, about actual human behavior, and that constant balancing act between innovation and blame.

00:14:05: sensible governance.

00:14:06: Yeah.

00:14:06: Lots to keep watching.

00:14:07: Absolutely.

00:14:09: Well, if you enjoyed this deep dive, new additions drop every two weeks.

00:14:12: Also, check out our other additions on electrification and battery technology, next-gen vehicle intelligence, and commercial fleet insights.

00:14:19: Thank you for joining us, and be sure to subscribe so you don't miss our next deep dive.