E0: Introducing Inside Transportation/News Roundtable feat. @Jason + @dudejohan

Inside Transportation

This is episode zero of the Inside Transportation podcast. This podcast was made possible by Ford Motor Company (www.ford.com) and Fenwick (www.fenwick.com). Featuring Jason Calacanis (Angel investor, LAUNCH, Inside.com) and Johan Moreno (Inside.com). Subscribe to Inside Transportation newsletter: inside.com/transportation Subscribe to Inside Electric Vehicles newsletter: inside.com/evs Recorded on March 23, 2020. Show Notes: 0:00: Jason and Johan introduce the Inside Transportation podcast and what listeners can expect. 4:00: Coronavirus reduces traffic and pollution around the U.S. Traffic is down exponentially around the U.S. because of “stay at home” mandates around the country. Jason talks about his own experiments with “work from home” and the potential impact of work from home on transportation. New York Times article about reduction in Los Angeles pollution: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/22/climate/coronavirus-usa-traffic.html 10:30: Public transit has been severely impacted by the coronavirus. Ridership is down about 60 percent on the subways and 49 percent on buses versus the same Monday last year. Jason discusses why he doesn’t think there will be any drastic changes in people using public transit. New York Times article about MTA bailout: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/nyregion/coronavirus-nyc-subway-federal-aid-.html 13:25: Jason and Johan talk about personal car ownership and how it could be impacted by work from home. 15:35: Jason and Johan discuss whether ride-hailing and car-sharing companies would be impacted by the coronavirus? 19:30: Jason and Johan talk a bit more about New York’s transit system, specifically, and Jason proposes a radical idea on how MTA can generate extra revenue. 24:14: Airlines look for $50 billion in federal assistance and promise to end stock buybacks. Jason chimes in on why this may not be a good idea after all and how a potential bailout should be approached. Wall Street Journal article about airline bailouts: https://www.wsj.com/articles/airlines-seek-up-to-50-billion-in-government-aid-amid-coronavirus-crisis-11584378242 32:30: Scooter sharing companies are withdrawing their vehicles from many markets. Jason talks a bit about the promise of these companies and how the public should approach riding these scooters. The Verge article about these scooter sharing withdrawals: https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/20/21188119/electric-scooter-coronavirus-bird-lime-spin-suspend-bikes 40:00: Uber said it would still have about $4 billion in cash by the end of the year, amid COVID-19. Jason and Johan discuss this, with Jason sharing some thoughts on the promise of Uber and how they will get out of the coronavirus pandemic. Link to tweet: https://twitter.com/amir/status/1240619563336663042 44:00: Some potential electric vehicle buyers are rethinking their purchases, due to COVID-19, according to the Inside EVs Poll of the Week. 47:30: Jason and Johan sign off.