Transportation

Gaming Lyft’s Citi Bike algos was a lucrative side hustle for a while

A New York Times article Thursday highlighted a lucrative side hustle that is emblematic of the times we live in: gaming algorithms to earn money. In this case, folks figured out they could maximize the payout from Lyft’s Citi Bike “Bike Angels” program by taking advantage of a company algorithm used to meet its supply-and-demand

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A leadership shake-up at Motional, inside the fight over TuSimple’s cash, and Fisker waffles on recall repairs

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! The latest news cycle is a good reminder that even a grizzled old reporter who thinks she has seen it all can still be surprised — and

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Cruise robotaxis return to the Bay Area nearly one year after pedestrian crash

Cruise is returning to the streets of Sunnyvale and Mountain View for the first time since it paused operations in the Bay Area after a robotaxi struck a pedestrian in October 2023. The company said Thursday that it will put “several” vehicles driven by humans in the two cities that will initially perform mapping. The

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United to use SpaceX’s Starlink to bring free Wi-Fi to flights

United Airlines announced last week that it came to an agreement with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring the Starlink internet service to its entire fleet. That’s a huge partnership for both parties, and as this rollout takes place, anyone who flies United will be able to access free Wi-Fi on their flight.  Right now, United

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Kiwibot acquires an ad startup to turn its delivery robots into mobile billboards

From the standpoint of any advertising executive, Kiwibot has left a lot of money on the table since its robots began making food deliveries on the UC Berkeley campus back in 2017. After all, the semi-autonomous wheeled systems tend to traverse high-traffic areas. In 2024, they can still draw a crowd of curious onlookers. However you

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CEO of self-driving startup Motional is stepping down

Motional, the autonomous vehicle startup backed by Hyundai, is shaking up its leadership ranks. Karl Iagnemma, an early pioneer in the autonomous vehicle industry whose startup Nutonomy lies at the foundation of Motional, is stepping down as president and CEO. Iagnemma will move over to a senior strategy advisor role, while CTO Laura Major will

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Fisker reverses course on making Ocean owners pay for recall repairs

Bankrupt EV startup Fisker is reversing course just a few days after telling owners that they would have to pay labor costs for recall repairs. The company edited the FAQ page on its website to say “Fisker will provide the necessary parts (including the labor) at no cost to you.” Fisker originally broke the bad

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