Uber’s very bad year just got a little worse, reported Crain’s New York. An administrative law judge upheld a state Department of Labor ruling that three former Uber drivers were employees, not independent contractors. The decision was announced June 13, the same day that the embattled ride-hail giant’s tarnished CEO said he was taking a leave of absence.

The Department of Labor ruled last October that the drivers were eligible for unemployment insurance benefits. Uber plans to appeal the latest decision, but if it stands it could mark a major blow to Uber’s economic model. The e-hail service classifies drivers as contractors, which exempts the company from having to pay into the state’s unemployment insurance fund. Uber has more than 50,000 drivers in New York.

The latest ruling marks another victory for the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, which had filed a federal lawsuit against Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Department of Labor after the drivers’ unemployment claims were initially held up for “executive review.” According to the alliance, once the lawsuit was filed, the Department of Labor began a review of the claims and found for the drivers. In overruling Uber’s objections to that decision, Judge Michelle Burrowes of the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board said in her June 9 order that in addition to the three former drivers, “all others similarly situated” at Uber were also entitled to employee benefits from the company, going back to January 2014.

“We believe this affects all Uber drivers in the state of New York and will have a significant effect on other pending cases,” said Nicole Salk, staff attorney for Brooklyn Legal Services, which represented the three drivers. “Moreover, the Department of Labor must consider this decision for all new unemployment insurance claims by any Uber driver going forward.”

Salk said there were more than a dozen other pending hearings in which the Department of Labor has found that Uber drivers were employees and which Uber has appealed.

“The message here is simple,” said Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the Taxi Workers Alliance, in a statement. “If you’re going to control the workers to maximize your profits off their labor, you owe them their rights and benefits under the law.”

The three drivers—Levon Aleksanian, Jeffrey Shepherd and Jakir Hossain—have already received their benefits. But it may be a while before Uber starts contributing to the state unemployment insurance fund.

Uber has until June 29 to file its appeal. Once the Appeal Board renders a decision, the next stops could be the Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court and, from there, the New York Court of Appeals.

Read more:

https://qz.com/1005254/three-uber-drivers-were-ruled-employees-for-unemployment-purposes-by-new-york-state/

• Bhairavi Desai: “You owe drivers rights and benefits.”

Volkswagen Group-affiliated transportation software company MOIA wants to revolutionize ride-sharing, commuting and how people travel around cities — and it has purchased D.C.-based Split as part of that effort.

The deal with Split, which offered low-cost rides inside the District before shutting down its operations in September and switching to transportation-related software (and moving at least some of its operations to Finland), was first reported by The Washington Post. But in a blog-post on Medium CEO and founder Ario Keshani said they will be “pushing the envelope” on the future of transportation at MOIA.

Keshani did not disclose how much MOIA paid for the company, or how many employees were heading to MOIA, or even what type of assets were purchased by MOIA, but in the blog post he thanked the entire Split team, including those “who will continue on with MOIA, and those who won’t.”

So what on earth is MOIA? It’s a little unclear. Officially launched in December, MOIA is an independent Berlin-based company that wants to become one of “the world’s leading mobility service providers by 2025,” with a focus on developing IT-based on-demand ride-hailing and car-poooling services and other “amazing concepts,” according to its website.

“We don’t know exactly what concepts and products MOIA Next will develop in ten years’ time — nobody does — or where this will take us. But we do know that we will work very hard to enhance the existing transportation system as a whole and lead the way to the future,” its website said.

Split is MOIA’s most recent purchase — it bought parking payment operator PayByPhone when it launched late last year. The push into the on-demand driving space pits it against big tech competitors like Uber, as well as other auto manufacturers that have gotten in on the game recently. MOIA is an independent company under the Volkswagen umbrella.

Split began in late 2014 and started service in the spring of 2015 serving just downtown D.C., but had grown outward, adding Southeast D.C., Petworth, Hill East and other neighborhoods to the list. It had raised at least $11 million, according to Crunchbase, with transportation company Transdev.

MOIA, the new mobility company in the Volkswagen Group, is taking over the Finnish software company Split Finland Oy. As a wholly owned MOIA subsidiary the Espoo-based company will be known as MOIA Finland Oy. The main tasks of the team led by co-founder Teemu Sihvola will include the development of the pooling algorithms that will be used to manage MOIA’s ride-pooling concept.

Split Finland was founded in 2011 as Ajelo Oy. Up to 2015 the Finnish start-up developed the software behind the ride-pooling concept Kutsuplus, which was operated by Helsinki Region Transport. The US-based ride-pooling company Split took over Ajelo in 2014 with the goal of using its software to develop a ride-pooling concept in Washington D.C.

Ajelo developed the world’s first fully automated pooling solution. That technology enables ride requests from users who are travelling in similar directions to be served with just one vehicle in a fully automated and dynamic way. Would-be passengers use an app to notify the system of their location and destination. An algorithm then calculates the most efficient route possible for the shuttle. This is the only way to make highly efficient and sustainable real-time shared mobility possible.

Read more at http://telematicswire.net/moiato-take-over-the-finnish-software-company-split-finland-oy/#X2RCWpB5RuZ3iELI.99

• Split joins MOIA and Volkswagen.

Fast-growing Chinese bike-sharing startup Mobike has announced its first launch markets outside of Asia. Founded out of Shanghai in 2015, Mobike has been available in dozens of cities across China since it first launched last year, and it landed in Singapore back in March. Today, the company announced that it will launch in the U.K. cities of Manchester and Salford later this month, taking its total city count across its three markets to 100.

The U.K. launch marks the start of a major European expansion for Mobike, with plans to arrive in a “series of European cities” over the next few months.

“We are already in talks with a number of other cities around Europe and are sure the successful pilot will be the first of many partnerships, allowing us to make cycling the most convenient and affordable choice for those in cities all around Europe,” said Mobike U.K. general manager Steve Pyer.

Mobike, for the uninitiated, provides cities with the bikes and the technology platform, including mobile apps. For durability, and to help sidestep costly repairs, the Mobike bikes are chainless, sport puncture-proof airless tyres, and are supported by an anti-rust aluminium frame. To unlock a bike, a user scans the QR code with their phone.

Mobike has raised $325 million in venture funding — with Tencent leading a $215 million round in January of this year — and notable previous investors include Foxconn, Temasek, and Sequoia Capital.

Similar to the way data is increasingly being garnered from car-based ride-sharing services to improve transport infrastructure in cities, Mobike uses GPS in its bikes so it can access real-time trip data to properly allocate its fleet and analyze how variables such as weather and traffic impact its service. This also allows it to help city planners “in a variety of smart urban planning projects,” according to Mobike.

With congestion a growing concern for conurbations globally, bikes have emerged as a hot trend among investors. Last September, Didi Chuxing invested “tens of millions” into Ofo, a rival bike-sharing startup that went on to close a whopping $450 million round earlier this year. And over in the U.S., LimeBike recently raised $12 million in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz.

Read more: https://venturebeat.com/2017/06/12/chinese-bike-sharing-startup-mobike-expands-into-europe/

• Mobike expanding into Europe.

Transdev, a leading global provider of mobility services, and Delphi Automotive, a global leader in developing automated driving solutions, today announced a commercial partnership to develop a global, fully automated, mobility-on-demand (AMoD) transport system.  The system will utilize Transdev Universal Routing Engine (URE) and Delphi’s previously announced automated driving platform – the Centralized Sensing, Planning and Localization (CSLP) platform which Delphi is developing in partnership with Mobileye. Transdev and Delphi will start collaborating on pilot programs in Paris-Saclay and Rouen (Normandy) France, as the first EU driverless, on-demand mobility service on an open road.

Yann Leriche, chief performance officer and lead of the B2C business line at Transdev group said, “With Delphi’s expertise in driverless technology, we will accelerate our capabilities to develop a global autonomous transportation system, from client interface to vehicle intelligence. Our ambition is to offer the best ‘PACE’ mobility solutions to our clients: Personalized, Autonomous, Connected and Electric. Combining the strengths of our two companies, leaders in their field, will enable us to introduce innovative driverless services in our current and future operations, confirming the position of Transdev as a pioneer in integrating autonomous transport systems into global mobility networks.”

“This latest announcement will help accelerate the development of commercially viable automated vehicle solutions,” said Glen De Vos, Delphi senior vice president and chief technology officer. “With Transdev’s deep understanding of mobility operations, this collaboration will further strengthen our AMoD and data management capabilities, while expanding our automated driving platform to include a variety of different vehicle types. As a result, we’re confident this collaboration brings us closer to providing all of our customers and partners with an affordable, reliable and scalable automated driving and mobility-on-demand platform.”

• Transdev and Delphi will start collaborating on pilot programs in Paris-Saclay and Rouen (Normandy), as the first EU driverless, on-demand mobility service on an open road. 

Mobility, autonomous vehicles, connected cars and big data analytics present growth opportunities in 2017, finds Frost & Sullivan’s Mobility team. E-mobility solutions, autonomous vehicle technology, and other digitisation advancements are creating new and exciting opportunities in the automotive industry. By the end of 2017, global light vehicle sales are expected to cross 93 million units. Slight growth in North America and significant growth in Eastern European markets like Russia and Ukraine will offset the slowdown in the China and Japan markets. Big data and digitisation will increase revenue and customer penetration while marketplaces and tire eRetailers will challenge original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and traditional retailers. Increasing competition will also step up investment from volume OEMs in mobility services to move towards a car-as-a-service model.
2017 Global Automotive Industry Outlook, recent research from Frost & Sullivan’s Automotive & Transportation Growth Partnership subscription, finds that new mobility strategies, autonomous vehicle development, advancement in connected car technologies and big data analytics will be some of the key trends influencing the automotive market in 2017.

“Digitisation will underpin automotive industry strategies, with OEMs establishing digital divisions and investing in developing Internet of Things (IoT) platforms that support connective living solutions,” says Frost & Sullivan Mobility Industry Principal Shwetha Surender. “The growing digital ecosystem between automotive OEMs, software integrators, telecoms, and other companies will also bring new areas of competition, with revenue expected to grow to $1.3 trillion in 2030 from electrification, smart mobility, connected cars, and autonomous vehicle development, among others.”

Emerging growth opportunities in the global automotive market include:

• Mergers and acquisitions, especially in the startup space, to accelerate introduction of new technologies in to the market
• Diversification of OEM business models into fresh revenue streams such as mobility and fintech
• Partnerships between automotive companies to bring about much needed synergies that accelerate development and reduce costs
• Growth of shared mobility options to tackle urban congestion and environmental pollution; the future may see OEMs partnering with cities on transportation solutions
• Strong advances in autonomous, electric and connected cars in North America, especially the USA
• Recovering sales in Russia, Ukraine, Spain and Poland
• Focus on China’s aftermarket as new car profit margins reduce in the mature market
• Developments in voice recognition; focus areas include voice biometrics, real-time translation, artificial intelligence-enabled virtual assistants, deep speech and vision analytics
• Health, wellness, and well-being (HWW) platforms that integrate consumer health devices with the vehicle
• Growing used car market; by 2022, it is expected to become 2.5 times the size of the new car market in North America and 2.7 times the size in Europe
• Booming vehicle sales in all ASEAN countries with demand for crossovers and entry-level vehicles.

“As digitalisation increases in the industry, data security is vital,” notes Surender. “Companies will have to ensure strict compliance and fortified measures to prevent hacking. Cybersecurity adds to the overall security of the car, improves the brand image of an OEM, and allows more innovation, especially on the vehicle automation side.”

Companies to note, in this rapidly expanding ecosystem include Tesla with its EV technology; Toyota with its product offering and strategic partnership with Uber that is key to understanding diversification of portfolios; Mobileye, which has recently been acquired by Intel, showing the importance of its product offerings; and Google that is pioneering advances in autonomous and in-vehicle technology.

Frost & Sullivan’s distinctive research examines regional and global growth in passenger vehicles and light commercial vehicles sales across North America, South America, Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, South Africa, Egyptand Iran. The study explores advances self-learning, autonomous, voice recognition, vehicle cybersecurity, digital retailing, connected supply chains, IoT, electric vehicles, industry 4.0, HWW, connectivity and telematics; and details opportunities in applications like e-mobility, autonomous connectivity, mobility-as-a-service, advanced manufacturing, and vehicle to X (V2X) communication.

• More on this at Frost & Sullivan’s annual Intelligent Mobility Workshop on June 28-29. Delegates at Frost & Sullivan’s Intelligent Mobility workshop, held annually in London since 2009, have witnessed the realisation of mega trends on the future of mobility, spawning a new generation of products and services. More: https://ww2.frost.com/event/calendar/intelligent-mobility/

Mention autonomous vehicles, and people conjure two visions of the future. The rosy picture features a world in which cars zip around by themselves, allowing commuters to while away their time checking email as they benefit from technology expected to save 600,000 lives by 2045. The dystopian view holds that all those vehicles will put some 5 million truckers, cabbies, and other drivers out of work.

The truth, of course, lies somewhere between the two extremes. But however it shakes out, the global economy will see a big boost. Like, a $7 trillion, with a t, boost.  That’s the word from the data crunchers at Intel and the research company Strategy Analytics. The robocar sector could add as much as $2 trillion to the US economy alone by 2050.

Granted, much of that money will go to the GMs and Ubers and Googles of the world, and the auto industry could see a seismic shift in where it generates dough. “Over time, service, application and content revenue generated by mobility-as-a-service will supplant the value of vehicle sales as core sources of shareholder value creation,” the report states. Translation: These companies will make big bank moving you and your Amazon purchases around. So what’s the American worker to do? The report outlines adjacent boom industries that will benefit from the coming robocar revolution. Plan on sticking around through the 2030s and beyond? A few hot tips:

Become a Data Maven. All those cars will generate loads and loads of data about, well, just about everything. Who you are. Where you go. What you do. How often you do it. Coupled with data gleaned from your smartphone, credit cards, and, in a particularly creepy twist, maybe even biometrics, and anyone who wants to can get a highly detailed picture of you. That kind of data is worth a lot, and the consulting company McKinsey predicts the car data industry could be worth as much as $750 million by 2030. Storing, organizing, and analyzing that data will be a big job.

Stick With IT. The Intel report predicts businesses’ “IT intensity”—that is, how much money they spend on information technology—will almost double. Generally, IT intensity and labor intensity are inversely related: The more cloud services and predicative analytics do the work to store and use information about you and your self-driving vehicle, the fewer actual human workers a company needs. But someone need to tend to these data architecture beasts—not crunching the numbers themselves, but making sure the systems are humming along as they should.

Fix All the Cars. Robocars won’t need you, but they’ll still need mechanics. That’s true even if, as many analysts predict, fewer people are buying cars. Instead, they’ll rely on on-demand taxi services to ferry them about, which explains why the number of miles people and things travel in vehicles is expected to rise in the autonomous future. The more cars move around, the faster they’ll wear out. Those that aren’t replaced will be repaired, which means lots of jobs for mechanics and others who keep cars motoring along. “This area will require tech training as well as mechanical knowledge but should be a source of new jobs for displaced drivers,” the report notes.

Read more: https://www.wired.com/2017/06/impact-of-autonomous-vehicles/

• Robocars could add $7 trillion to the global economy

Innovative ideas from across the globe that contribute to advancing public transport were rewarded in the closing ceremony of the UITP Global Public Transport Summit (15-17 May 2017) in Montréal.

Every two years, the UITP Awards acknowledge ambitious and innovative sustainable mobility projects contributing to the sector objective of doubling the public transport modal share worldwide by 2025. The 2017 UITP Awards highlight successful projects implemented around the world in the period 2015-2017 that place public transport at the heart of the urban and local mobility system. Successful projects should be ambitious, innovative and transferable to other cities and regions.

Winners were selected by an international panel of experts and announced at the closing ceremony of the UITP Global Public Transport Summit. “I’m very pleased to announce the winners of the UITP Awards 2017. We received more than 230 applications for the Awards and it just goes to demonstrate the commitment of the public transport sector towards the provision of innovative services to meet the ever growing demand for mobility in cities around the world,” said UITP Secretary General Alain Flausch.

Winners of the UITP Awards 2017:

Public transport strategy. Cape Town Transport and Urban Development Authority (South Africa) for the project, ‘Cape Town Transit Oriented Development Strategic Framework’ (TODSF). The TODSF represents a paradigm shift in the city’s approach to integrated land and public transport development and growth management. The approach and methodology could be replicated for use in for many other growing cities around the world. Effective implementation of the TODSF would result in a 20% improvement in public transport mode share by 2032 which in turn would result in significantly less carbon dioxide emissions for the transport sector in Cape Town.

Customer experience. City Government of Muntinlupa and the Lingkod Muntinlupa Foundation (Philippines), for the project, ‘Leading the e-Jeepney revolution in the Philippines’ – the e–Jeepney creatively re-defines the customer experience of a flexible public transport service that is a core feature of mobility in the Philippines. It utilises new technology to enable booking and payment, and an eco-friendly vehicle for service delivery, based on a customer-centred approach to service design. This is an exemplar project for redefining flexible mobility services that is transferable to many developing areas of the world.

Operational and technical excellence. Vasttrafik and Volvo Group (Sweden) for the project, ‘ElectriCity’ – multi-stakeholder electric bus demonstration project implemented in Gothenburg (Sweden) on public transport line 55, connecting two university campuses. This project successfully integrates all elements of modern bus-based mobility solutions and points to the future of bus services worldwide. Its innovative technology is deployed in real operation conditions and it is perfectly integrated in the public transport system.

Smart financing and business models. Addax Assesoria Economica e Financeira LTDA, Empresa Metropolitana de Transportes Urbanos de São Paolo S.A. (Brazil) for the project, ‘Public Private Partnership – Baixanda Santista – Bus and LRT integrate system’. Simultaneous award of a whole metropolitan region of public service transport to one single private partner concession company including both LRT and bus modes. Broad financing model, additional revenues possible and planned, integrated transport approach. An example of how to finance the new public transport systems needed to answer to the increasing mobility demand in growing economies.

Small cities and low density areas. Nordjyllands Trafikselskab (NT) – public transport authority of North Denmark for the project ‘Around your world’. This project offers an excellent, complete and integrated mobility solution for residents in low density regional settings, including: hourly services all day, an on demand responsive service and a travel planner. Strategy covering the entire region of North Denmark and all modes of transport (including carpooling, car sharing etc.)
Design. Atkins, Network Rail and MACE (UK) for the, ‘Birmingham Gateway Project’. The ‘Birmingham Gateway Project’ is the £750m landmark transformation of Birmingham New Street Station. The project significantly increased users’ space perception and passenger flows inside the building, with brighter, cleaner platforms and a better access. A contemporary station exterior which reflects the dynamism of this vcity. The project integrates new pedestrian links across the city centre, giving direct access and interchange with the planned Metro stop in Stephenson Street.
Y4PT young leadership. Ulrich Strötz, Software Team Lead in Door2Door, Germany, has been chosen as the 2017 UITP Young Leader. Ulrich Strötz is a straightforward example of natural leadership with both strong technical skills and the capacity to easily motivate and challenge his team. Education MSc Geographic Information Science & Cartography 2012–2014 BSc Forest Ecosystem Management 2008–2012.
UITP has also handed over today the following Special Recognitions to two overarching projects that demonstrate outstanding strategic commitment and ambition:

• Société du Grand Paris for the “Grand Paris Express” Project.

The new automated ring metro encircling Paris will answer the expected public transport ridership increase and reinforce the public transport service in areas poorly served today. The project has started implementation and will imply a €28bn investment by 2030.

• Moscow City Government, Mosgortrans and Moscow Metro for the successful implementation of Moscow’s ambitious an integrated urban transport strategy. In the last five years Moscow has gone through the upgrade of the land transport network, the extension and modernisation of the underground network and the renovation and further completion of the Moscow Central Circle.The creation of a unified parking space, the launching of a cycling infrastructure and the introduction of pedestrian zones are also part of Moscow’s achievements.

For more information: https://uitpsummit.org/awards/

• UITP awards recognise ambitious and innovative mobility projects.

THURSDAY 4 May

Introductory keynote -A view towards the horizon:

“The mobility landscape today and a view towards the horizon.”

Shwetha Surender, Program Manager Mobility,Automotive &Transportation. Frost & Sullivan, London.

surender – Taxi and mobility update

FutureTrends I:The City in Charge!

Ivo Cré,Deputy Director, POLIS Network, Brussels:“The city’s growing importance.”

ivo cre – Polis-4May_TaxiUpdate2017

Prof.Dr. Cathy Macharis,Vrije Universiteit Brussels; Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences & Solvay Business School; Head of Research group MOBI – Mobility, Logistics and Automotive Technology Research Centre:

“Rethinking mobility for a human city.”

Macharis-Human city_for taxi conference final

Serge Metz, CEO UNIT, Paris:“The Future of the Industry.”

serge metz

FutureTrends II: Is MaaS (Mobility as a Solution) in the Driving Seat?

“The leading Role of PublicTransport in New Mobility.” Kaan Yildizgöz, Training Director, International Association of Public Transport (UITP), Brussels.

Kaan Mobility Intell

Sampo Hietanen, CEO MaaS Global Ltd,Helsinki: “Mobility as a Service – does it change the world and when?”

Sampo -TaxiBus 04052017

Alwin Bakker, Founder and CEO Resultancy.nu, Rotterdam – Consultancy in future mobility: “The Autonomous Future.”

Bakker – Taxi and Mobility 2017

FutureTrends III:Different Outlooks,Different Driving Seats?

Herwig Kollar, Taxi Deutschland eG/Board member taxi and PHV association BZP, Frankfurt. “Do we really need a new business model?”

herwig kollar- Vortrag_Brüssel

Tarek Mallah, COO NuRide Transportation,NewYork:“A changed industry needs a new business approach.”

Tarek NuRide – Redux

Michel Pêtre, CEOTaxisVerts, Brussels,“Taxi-sharing : removing the barriers.”

Petre – T&Mi update

Tomorrow’s Mobility I:Different Systems,Different Regulation?

Welcome by the Minister for Mobility and PublicWorks of the Brussels Capital Region, Pascal Smet: “The New Regulatory Model in Brussels – A Model for Europe?”

pascal -TAXIPLAN_EN

Olli-Pekka Rantala,Director-General of Services Department,Ministry of Transport and Communications of Finland.“Laying the groundwork for the Future of Mobility – Finland´s Transport Code”

olli-pekka – Laying the Ground for the Future of Mobility OP Rantala FINAL

Dirk Ritter, Section Head of the Transport Regulatory Authority,Ministry of Economy,Transport and Innovation, Hamburg/Germany:“Regulation and supervision of commercial passenger transport – necessary or not? The experience from the Hamburg practice.”

Ritter – Präsentation Taxi Brüssel2

KateToran, Director of Taxis and Accessible Services, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), San Francisco:“A view towards the horizon from where it all began.”

toran- Taxi & Mobility Update 2017 Brussels

Meera Joshi, Commissioner/Chair of the NewYork Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC):“NewYork’s approach to the regulation of a diverse industry.”

Simon Buggey,Transport for London (TfL).“New challenges for taxi and PHV regulation.”

buggey – Taxi and Mobility 2017 – London briefing

F R I D A Y M A Y 5

Olga Petrik,Transport analyst, Statistics and Modeling Unit International Transport Forum (ITF): “The remarkable outcome of the Lisbon mobility study.”

Petrik-urban mobility

Levent Erdogan, CEO Karsan Otomotiv:“Environmentally-friendly and accessible city buses for the inner city.”

erdogan-Minibus Concept 2.05.2017

Dr.Michael Galvin,Head of Regulatory Affairs,Addison Lee Ltd. London.

“New business models for a changed business environment.”

Kaae – the new Karhoo

galvin – taxi and mobility update 2017_version 1.0_20170501

Sonila Metushi,Manager – Mobility of People &Taxis, International Road Transport Union (IRU), Brussels: “The role and place of taxis in 2030: IRU’s Taxi of the Future initiative.”

Sonila Metushi

Matt Daus, President of the International Association of Transportation Regulators (IATR): “A quick update on new regulatory accents worldwide.”

Prof.Dr. James Cooper, Taxi Research Partners,Dallas.

“Taxis: grief, acceptance and opportunity.”

Bridj, a Boston startup that tried to merge the ease of hailing an Uber with the efficiency of commuter vans, abruptly shut down this weekend after funding talks fell apart, leaving thousands of riders looking for another way to get to work. The company, which had been praised for its innovative take on urban transportation, had been in extended negotiations with a car manufacturer, chief executive Matthew George told The Boston Globe on Sunday.

“It went from clear skies to a hurricane in about 24 hours,” George said, declining to name the carmaker. “Functionally, Bridj is no more.” Bridj was launched in 2014, with ambitions to reinvent the old-school city bus. Instead of lumbering coaches, the company used sleek commuter vans equipped with wireless Internet access to ferry commuters around the Boston area.

Routes were determined, in part, by the amount of demand in a given area from users of Bridj’s smartphone app. Fares were based on demand, ranging between $1.50 and $7, according to its website.

Despite early signs of promise, including a recent one-year project with Ford Motor Co. and transit officials in Kansas City, Mo., Bridj was unable to build a sustainable business. The Kansas City test was not extended. George said that financing from the car company would have given Bridj a big vote of confidence among investors and helped it to raise additional money. Bridj has about 50 employees and had raised $11 million from investors.

“Both sides had every expectation that the transaction would close. Despite assurances, and all parties acting in the best of faith, that didn’t happen,” he wrote in a blog post announcing the shutdown.

Boston was Bridj’s largest market, with as many as 50 vehicles operating at a time. In Boston, Bridj served Allston, Brighton, the Back Bay, downtown, South Boston, and the Seaport, along with Kendall Square in Cambridge and Brookline.

Read more…. https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2017/04/30/bridj-local-demand-bus-service-shutting-down/56xoGs674wYgyUWdrD9EuO/story.html

Bridj’s farewell page: http://www.bridj.com/welcome#new-page

• Bridj shut down last weekend after talks with a car manufacturer failed.