• Episode 43: The one about car-sharing, with Enterprise Mobility and MILES Mobility
    Jan 8 2024

    GUESTS: Oz Choudhri, Enterprise Mobility and Oliver Mackprang, MILES Mobility

    ABOUT THIS EPISODE

    As regular listeners know, RIDE is not an automotive podcast. However, this episode is all about cars.

    We all know the story: despite growing congestion on our roads, cars spend something like 95% of the day parked.

    They’re also expensive to run and own. Indeed, for many people a car is famously the second-largest financial commitment after their house or home.

    So what if we could use cars when we need them, leaving the ownership to someone else, that someone else being a car club or a car-sharing operator happy to assume the responsibility for the total cost of ownership of these high value assets.

    In this episode of RIDE, we look at a clear example of usership rather than ownership, with two experts in car-sharing: Oz Choudhri, head of mobility solutions at Enterprise Mobility, and Oliver Mackprang, CEO of Berlin-based MILES Mobility.

    In this episode we discuss:

    • The differences between car club, car sharing, leasing, and rental
    • The challenges and opportunities of free floating and station-based or back-to-base models
    • How car sharing fits into the wider mobility ecosystem
    • Why car-sharing may be an attractive option for businesses, taking away the burden of fleet management, and helping with metrics such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environment, social and governance (ESG).

    You can subscribe to Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Feel free to share it, like it, give it a rating, sign up to the Ride LinkedIn page, and check out our website, ridemobilitypodcast.com.

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    49 mins
  • Episode 42: Autonomous trucks for first-mile, last-mile and 18,000 miles, feat. Kodiak and StreetDrone
    Dec 18 2023

    GUESTS: Mark Preston, StreetDrone; Dan Goff, Kodiak Robotics; Lukas Neckermann, PAVE Europe & Neckermann Strategic Advisors

    ABOUT THIS EPISODE

    Autonomous passenger cars are just one aspect of autonomous vehicle development. The autonomous vehicles we discuss in this episode are autonomous trucks pulling heavy loads.

    Martin and guest co-host Lukas Neckermann chat to Dan Goff of Kodiak Robotics and Mark Preston from StreetDrone about the use of AV technology in first-mile, last-mile, and long-haul freight and logistics.

    StreetDrone develops technology for autonomous logistics applications, with vehicles using its solutions for first- and last-mile short-distance heavy load haulage on private and off-highway roads in industrial compounds such as ports, notably the Port of Rotterdam, and factories, such as Nissan's Sunderland car factory.

    It's from Kodiak Robotics that we get the 18,000-mile reference in the title; the "Kodiak Driver" enables autonomous long-haul highway driving for Class 8 trucks - that is, US big-rig 18-wheelers. And it does this on an 18,000-mile network of highways that covers almost a fifth of the US Interstate System, taking in 14 states and spanning four time zones.


    ABOUT THE GUESTS

    Mark Preston is Co-Founder and CTO of autonomous truck systems supplier StreetDrone, and Director of Lola Cars Motorsport. He began his career in Formula 1, with stints as Head of R&D at Arrows, Principal Designer at McLaren Racing, and Founder & Technical Director of the Super Aguri Formula 1 team. After F1, he became the most decorated Team Principal in the history of Formula E.

    Connect with Mark on LinkedIn

    Dan Goff is Director of External Affairs at Kodiak Robotics. His career includes time at Accenture, the role of Deputy Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce, and the Board of the ACLU of Illinois.

    Connect with Dan Goff on LinkedIn

    Lukas Neckermann runs Neckermann Strategic Advisors, and is a co-founder of PAVE Europe.

    Connect with Lukas on LinkedIn

    Picture credit: Marcin Jozwiak

    You can subscribe to Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Feel free to share it, like it, give it a rating, sign up to the Ride LinkedIn page, and check out our website, ridemobilitypodcast.com.

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    58 mins
  • Episode 41: Delivering the goods in the EV age, feat. Inderveer Singh, EVage Motors
    Dec 6 2023

    GUEST: Inderveer Singh, CEO, EVage Motors

    ABOUT THIS EPISODE


    EVage Motors pitches itself not as an electric commercial vehicle company, but as "a tech-driven, innovations-led, purpose-powered, new-age electric mobility solution company."

    And the solution it's developing is to the problem of city pollution. EVage founders - who established the company in Chandigarh, northern India in 2014 - note that although cities occupy just 5% of the world's land mass, they are home to 50% of the world's population. They also struggle from poor air quality, and commercial vehicles alone are responsible for over a third of atmospheric pollution - hence EVage's focus on delivering sustainable commercial vehicles.

    In this episode, you’ll hear co-founder & CEO Inderveer Singh talk about:

    🇮🇳 Why an Indian company is bringing an all-new electric CV brand to market
    ✅ How to balance sustainability with vehicle performance
    🚚 Why electrification is important not just for OEMs and fleets, but for the truck drivers themselves
    ✅ The EVage scalable skateboard platform
    🏭 The company’s M3 modular manufacturing strategy
    🔋 Innovative LTO Li-ion EV battery technology
    🌍 Ambitions for overseas expansion

    Connect with Inderveer on LinkedIn

    You can subscribe to Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Feel free to share it, like it, give it a rating, sign up to the Ride LinkedIn page, and check out our website, ridemobilitypodcast.com.

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    48 mins
  • Episode 40: The Wunder-ful world of future mobility, with Gunnar Froh
    Nov 22 2023

    Guest: Gunnar Froh, CEO, Wunder Mobility

    ABOUT THIS EPISODE

    Wunder Mobility provides white label software-as-a-service (SAAS) and hardware for vehicle sharing operators with fleets of e-bikes, e-scooters, e-mopeds, and cars. Based in Hamburg, the company was founded almost a decade ago and has now provided solutions for over 200 cities around the world.

    We sat down with Gunnar Froh, Wunder Mobility’s founder and CEO to talk about the evolution of shared mobility, the role of electrification and autonomous technology, ChatGPT and AI, carpooling and public transportation, the 15-minute city, and the need for solutions for extra-urban and rural mobility.


    You can subscribe to Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Feel free to share it, like it, give it a rating, sign up to the Ride LinkedIn page, and check out our website, ridemobilitypodcast.com.

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    37 mins
  • Episode 39: The smell of future mobility, feat. Tristan Rousselle, Aryballe
    Oct 31 2023

    GUEST: Tristan Rousselle, Founder & CEO, Aryballe

    ABOUT THIS EPISODE

    What is digital nose technology? And what role could it play in future mobility?

    Our guest on this episode is Tristan Rousselle, founder and CEO of Aryballe, a digital olfaction firm that uses biochemical sensors, advanced optics, and machine learning to detect odour and turn it into data. This data is worth little, however, without a database behind it, and Aryballe’s USP is a searchable digital library of smells.

    In this episode, we talk about Aryballe’s digital nose technology, the origins of the company, how digital olfaction can be used in automotive and future mobility applications, domestic robots with noses in their fingers, and of course, cheese, wine, and fish odours.

    Connect with Tristan on LinkedIn

    SHOW NOTES

    Humans Can Identify More Than 1 Trillion Smells
    https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/humans-can-identify-more-1-trillion-smells

    European Union-funded Rose project, in which Aryballe is a lead participant (Restoring Odorant detection and recognition in Smell dEficits)
    https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/964529

    Moorfields patient receives world’s first 3D printed eye
    https://www.moorfields.nhs.uk/news/moorfields-patient-receives-world-s-first-3d-printed-eye?

    Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2004 awarded jointly to Richard Axel and Linda Buck for their discoveries of “odorant receptors and the organization of the olfactory system.”
    https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2004/press-release/  

    You can subscribe to Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Feel free to share it, like it, give it a rating, sign up to the Ride LinkedIn page, and check out our website, ridemobilitypodcast.com.

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    39 mins
  • Episode 38: Inside the 15-minute city, with Carlos Moreno
    Sep 29 2023

    GUEST: Professor Carlos Moreno

    ABOUT THIS EPISODE

    When we first conceived the Ride podcast, one of the topics at the top of the list was the 15-minute city. This episode features an interview with Professor Carlos Moreno of the Pantheon-Sorbonne in Paris, the man credited with conceiving the 15-minute city.

    Until just a few years ago, the 15-minute city was a compelling urban planning theory around which new and future mobility solutions would be developed. It was only really known about by mobility nerds.

    The idea of the 15-minute city is ambitious, yet simple: citizens and communities should have everything they need in daily life - such as work, recreation, shops, public services - within a 15-minute walk or bicycle ride from home or any point in the city.

    But in the last couple of years, the 15-minute city has gone on to become mainstream news, a highly controversial issue which has divided communities, with views often unsurprisingly matching political affiliation - and it’s attracted the ire of conspiracy theorists and tabloid media in particular.

    But it’s a concept that’s widely misunderstood, by the public and by urban planners alike, and it’s frequently bundled into, or confused with often unpopular or poorly conceived traffic and transport policies. As a result, the term 15-minute city has become a synonym for a so-called war on motorists.

    This interview has been rescheduled a couple of times, and our interest in speaking to Professor Moreno has changed from initially wanting to find out more about the concept, to asking why he thinks it’s become so controversial, and to give him the opportunity to present his side of the story.

    You can subscribe to Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Feel free to share it, like it, give it a rating, sign up to the Ride LinkedIn page, and check out our website, ridemobilitypodcast.com.

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    40 mins
  • Episode 37: The one about electric tuktuks
    Jun 23 2023
    GUESTS: Chris Borroni-Bird, Afreecar; Prodip Chatterjee, Nunam; Sukhjeevan Uppal, eTukTuk

    ABOUT THIS EPISODE

    Mobility for all means just that - it shouldn't be available only to those fortunate enough to be free of the physical or financial impairments that might prevent access to mobility. Yet one billion people - an eighth of the world's population - survive on less than $2/day. They desperately need electric power - and affordable personal mobility.

    This episode of Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast is all about the provision of clean, affordable mobility in emerging markets. Our three expert guests for this episode dedicate their time to delivering just that:

    • Dr Chris Borroni-Bird, founder of Afreecar LLC
    • Prodip Chatterjee, co-founder of Nunam
    • Sukhjeevan Uppal, Chief Technology Officer at eTukTuk
    Topics in this episode include:

    • Next-generation tuktuks - and more, including bicycles and handcarts;
    • Electrifying mobility in emerging markets;
    • Developing affordable vehicles;
    • New mobility business models - including the use of blockchain;
    • And the role that could be played by used electric vehicle batteries.
    ABOUT THE GUESTS

    Dr Chris Borroni-Bird, founder of Afreecar LLC, has developed advanced vehicle concepts and technology at General Motors, Qualcomm, and the Google Self-Driving Project that became Waymo. His latest project, Afreecar, is a philanthropic initiative which seeks to provide affordable mobility to people in Africa who can't afford a car

    Connect with Chris on LinkedIn

    Prodip Chatterjee is co-founder of Nunam, a German-Indian start-up that develops affordable energy storage solutions using second life batteries. With Audi, Nunam has been exploring the potential for used EV batteries to electrify rickshaws in India

    Connect with Prodip on LinkedIn

    Sukhjeevan Uppal is Chief Technology Officer at eTukTuk, a company whose name appears to describe what it does, namely, make electric tuktuks - but as you'll hear in this episode, there's more to it than that

    Connect with Sukhjeevan on LinkedIn


    You can subscribe to Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Feel free to share it, like it, give it a rating, sign up to the Ride LinkedIn page, and check out our website, ridemobilitypodcast.com.

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    50 mins
  • Episode 36: Designing the future of mobility, feat. Dan Sturges
    May 25 2023

    GUESTS: Dan Sturges and Lukas Neckermann

    ABOUT THIS EPISODE

    Lifelong car fan and vehicle designer Dan Sturges discusses his new book, ‘Near to Far: A design for a new equitable and sustainable transportation system’. The book is both the culmination of a life in vehicle design and the automotive industry, and something a manifesto for the future of mobility.

    You’ll note the reference to Dan being a car fan, but not a petrolhead, for reasons that will become clear.

    The list of organisations which he has worked is long; a transportation designer, entrepreneur, and educator, his career started as an automobile designer at General Motors, and has since included time at, among others, ITS at UC Davis, GEM cars, Segway, Calstart, IntraGO, Local Motors, Acorn Delivery, and the US Transportation Research Board committee for New Public Transportation Systems and Technology.

    Dan has become increasingly disillusioned by the increase not just in the number of vehicles on the road, but also the size of those vehicles, many of which are disproportionately large for everyday use. And it’s that term, everyday use, which Dan seeks to address in his book. The references to vehicle size here lean towards what’s offered to North American buyers, but even in Europe, it's difficult to think of a vehicle that got smaller from one generation to the next.

    In this episode, Dan talks about how you can be a mobility advocate and a car fan – they’re not mutually exclusive; how car designers can help in the transition from ownership to usership; and why the transition is impossible without a holistic mobility ecosystem that incorporates new vehicles, new infrastructure, and new business models.

    Also on this episode is Lukas Neckermann, of Neckermann Strategic Advisors – Lukas is, as many listeners will know, a major advocate of urban mobility, and like Dan, has a background in the automotive industry.

    EPISODE NOTES

    You can learn more about Dan's book - Near to Far: A design for a new equitable and sustainable transportation system - by following this link, and by checking local Amazon stores for availability.

    ABOUT THE GUESTS

    Dan Sturges

    Dan is a mobility designer, educator, and entrepreneur. Learn more about Dan here - and connect with him on LinkedIn

    Lukas Neckermann

    Lukas is a consultant, speaker, mobility advocate and the author of several books on the future of mobility.

    Learn more about Neckermann Associates here

    Connect with Lukas on LinkedIn

    You can subscribe to Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Feel free to share it, like it, give it a rating, sign up to the Ride LinkedIn page, and check out our website, ridemobilitypodcast.com.

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    53 mins