Next summer, L.A.'s public transportation agency is set to launch a new program that allows users to access a bike, scooter, train or bus in South Los Angeles with one universal pass. The pilot — the first to put a "universal basic mobility" (UBM) approach into practice in the city — is being rolled out with the help of the L.A. Department of Transportation (LA DOT), Uber Transit, TAP, BlueLA and Curb Mobility. Read more >>
Here's what else we're reading in the news:
- TikTok has named Shavone Charles as its new head of diversity and inclusion communications.
- Power Global, a Pasadena-based clean energy company, is set to supply EV batteries for a three-wheeler vehicle company in India.
- Facebook has told the LAPD to stop misusing its platform for surveillance following one report of the department's use of fake accounts.
- In another sign that Redbox is joining the streaming wars, the movie rental company has acquired rights to the thriller film "Assailant."
- The former Twitter head of global content partnerships, Jennifer Prince, is set to join the L.A. Rams as its chief commercial officer.
- Fisker's electric vehicle, the Ocean, has won the inaugural Zevas award for zero-emission vehicle.
- Rocket Lab, the Long Beach-based rocket company, is partnering with Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory to commercialize new space radio technology.
Metro Is Launching a Universal Pass Experiment in South LA
L.A. Metro's pilot program, which will involve 2,000 eligible users over the course of one year, will focus on an area roughly bounded by Crenshaw and Alameda and Florence and the 10 in South LA. The idea is to offer a multi-modal transportation through a single portal will increase transportation equity for some of L.A.'s most vulnerable populations.
Ford and Rivian Nix Plans to Make an Electric Vehicle Together
Ford, one of Rivian's biggest investors, no longer has plans to develop an electric vehicle using the high-flying EV company's tech, Rivian said on Friday. Ford and Rivian originally planned to co-develop an electric Lincoln SUV, but after the pandemic set in, the two canceled the collaboration.
Column: LA's Vision for Micromobility Is Failing. Here's How to Fix It
Los Angeles could better serve its communities by being more open with its data around ridership trends, reporting where revenue is being spent, and investing more into infrastructure to support its micromobility ambitions, writes Jason Thomas, a former strategic finance operator at Bird scooters.