RSG249: David Zipper on Why Robotaxis Will Be Even Worse Than Ridehail

The Rideshare Guy Podcast

In this episode Harry speaks with David Zipper. David Zipper is a Visiting Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Taubman Center, focusing on the intersection of urban policy and new mobility technologies. He has extensive experience in urban development, having worked in city hall, as a venture capitalist, and as a policy researcher. David is a Contributing Writer at Bloomberg CityLab and has held influential roles in Washington DC and New York City, promoting entrepreneurship and economic development.

• 0:00 Intro 7:47 Why did David want to write an article about robotaxis/rideshare? 9:48 How does David define sustainability? 11:55 What will be the biggest impact of robotaxis? 19:25 Why does public transit struggle to compete with rideshare? 22:21 What do robotaxi companies claim? 26:38 Why does the claim of better safety fail? 30:00 What will the robotaxi business model be? 36:46 Will the trade offs with robotaxis be worth it? 39:27 Where can you find more from David?

• David's website https://www.davidzipper.com

• David's Twitter https://twitter.com/DavidZipper?ref src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwqr%5Eaut hor
• David's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-zipper-6833006/
• David's Article in The Verge https://www.theverge.com/23948675/uber-lyft-cruise-robotaxi-pollution-autonomous-vehicles
• David's previous RSG podcast: RSG159: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2h3HZVYub7DXfClhL4VztW?si=3a49179f562f452d