Motus Report: Business Driving Activity Rebounds to 70% of Pre-Pandemic Levels
As the first quarter of 2021 drew to a close, a growing number of economic sectors in different parts of the country are reopening.
As leaders execute and adjust business plans, they keep an eye on indicators that can inform them about activity across their industry sector and in their region. Field activity is a metric that illustrates economic health and activity for most markets.
This report shares these trends, using business mileage levels to explore the pace of recovery across various industries.
• Average business mileage across the U.S. has increased to 70% of pre-pandemic levels.
• While activity levels vary from region to region, there is an even wider variety among industry sectors and their many subsectors.
Giant Screens, Spartan Interiors: Electric Vehicles go High Tech
Automakers are making electric vehicles incredibly austere and geared toward motorists who are accustomed to doing just about everything on their mobile phones.
EVs are transforming how Americans "refuel." There are changes happening inside the cabin, too. Radio dials now programmed into massive tablets that are mounted to the center dash. Simple functions like heated seats and climate control operated via an oversized screen. In Volkswagen's ID.4 crossover, a screen is not required to switch songs or turn on the ventilated seats.
A vertical, 11.15-inch screen replaces nearly all of the switches, buttons and knobs in the Polestar 2. Like the ID.4, the electric sedan has no dedicated start/stop button and navigation, entertainment and climate control are all handled on the screen. Polestar 2's inclusion of Google’s native infotainment system, an industry first, separates itself from the pack. The avant-garde, minimalist interior is a traditional Scandinavian design.
Read the article at ABC News.
‘Zoom Zombies’ are Zoning Out Behind the Wheel After Video Calls, Auto Safety Experts Warn
As millions of Americans spend hours at a time in videoconferences - and then hop in their car - many are struggling to maintain their concentration, making experts fear this zoning out due to cognitive overload could be contributing to a surge in roadway deaths.
“After you get into your car, you may be operating on autopilot,” Joan Claybrook, a former head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said. “I think computer use, in general, can overload you."
A new study by Root Insurance found 54 percent of the 1,819 adult motorists surveyed said they have had trouble concentrating on the road after videoconferences. The younger the driver, the worse the problem. For Gen Z motorists, 65 percent reported losing focus while driving, while it was 61 percent for millennials and 48 percent for Gen Xers.
Read the article at NBC News.
Uber and Lyft Have a Driver Shortage Problem, and It’s Costing Them a Lot of Money
Uber and Lyft have a driver shortage problem. With the number of US-based drivers for both apps down around 40 percent, the two companies are pledging to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to lure people back into the driver seat.
Uber announced Wednesday that it was launching a $250 million “stimulus” for drivers in the hopes of speeding their return to the platform. According to data from Apptopia, the number of US-based drivers logging into Uber during the first three months of 2021 was down 37.5 percent year over year. Lyft saw a 42.3 percent drop over the same period.
The hope is that these incentives can help persuade those drivers who logged off after being discouraged by the lack of riders to eventually come back. A major challenge for this effort, though, is that COVID-19 continues to be a huge drag on Uber’s and Lyft’s respective businesses.
Read the article at The Verge.
Biden’s Infrastructure Plan Would Reduce Our Reliance on Cars
The infrastructure of the United States is built for cars. The impulse to build around cars is hard-wired into almost all our funding formulas, institutional norms and culture. But the big new spending package from the Biden Administration represents a potentially historic departure from our car-centric approach to infrastructure.
The Administration's proposal, which will cost more than $2 trillion, would boost funding for public transit pretty dramatically, adding more than $10 billion per year - roughly doubling annual federal transit spending. Biden's proposal would also give intercity rail transport a needed shot in the arm, providing an additional $80 billion for rail upgrades.
Biden's infrastructure bill is full of other needed transportation investments, like $20 billion for complete streets: streets with sidewalks, bike lanes and facilities for transit that can help make short walks safe and accessible for more Americans.
Read the article at CNN.
