transportation

transportation

Photo by Jan Baborák on Unsplash

Gen Z pop icon Olivia Rodrigo’s number one song on Spotify is titled Driver’s License. The song begins “I got my driver’s license last week / Just like we always talked about.” It’s an interesting choice from Miss Rodrigo, because according to The Internet, Gen Z is less interested in getting their driver’s license and driving in general than previous generations. Yes, no matter where you look, there are articles suggesting that, ironically, the generation nicknamed “The Zoomers” doesn’t really want to…zoom.

Analysts have pointed to everything from Uber to anxiety to Facetime as reasons why Gen Z is less inclined to get behind the wheel than previous generations. From a climate perspective this is terrific news. Less cars on the road means less pollution, less demand for fossil fuels, less lithium mining needed for EVs, less congestion. If you’re trying to sell cars to the next generation, on the other hand, the trend may be alarming. The question is, are the trends legitimate?

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Photo by Ringo Chiu/ Shutterstock

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Over the past week Mullen Automotive has released several pieces of promising news.

For starters, Mullen’s pilot program with aviation services company Menzies wrapped up at LAX on Monday this week. Mullen has declared the trial a success, boasting that its two electric cargo vans achieved 100% uptime over the course of 1,500 miles driven while reducing costs by an estimated 66% and carbon emissions by 83% compared to gas-equivalent vehicles. As dot.LA noted back when the pilot was announced, airport services are an ideal use case for electrification due to the short trip distance and ease of charging as the vehicles can remain close to charging infrastructure installed at the airport. As part of the press release, Mullen said that Menzies has requested modifications to the vans in the form of increased seating and more windows. Neither of which seem like particularly heavy lifts.

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Justin Janes, Vizeos Media

Three years ago, Los Angeles went into lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, cities like L.A. are struggling to hold on to pandemic-era transportation and infrastructure changes, like sidewalk dining and slow streets, while managing escalating demand for curb space from rideshare and delivery.

At Curbivore, a conference dedicated to “commerce at the curb” held earlier this month in downtown Los Angeles, the topic was “Grading on a Curb: The State of our Streets & Cities in 2023,” a panel moderated by Drew Grant, editorial director for dot.LA.

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