Image: Santa Cruz Works

When JoeBen Bevirt founded the company now known as Joby Aviation in 2009, electric aircraft were on few people’s minds. Tesla’s first electric vehicle, the Roadster, had arrived on the market just one year earlier, and it was not yet evident that EVs would transform the automotive industry, let alone aviation. But Bevirt was convinced that he could revolutionize urban transportation with electric air taxis, also known as electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOLs for short).

In a departure from many conventional aircraft manufacturers, Bevirt embraced a rapid, iterative design process that Joby refers to as “design, build, and test.” According to Jon Wagner, who spent five years as senior director of battery engineering for Tesla before joining Joby in 2017, “the original concept was that the more times you go through the process, each time you can identify improvements or problems that need to be addressed. And if you have a very good system for going through that iterative process quickly and at a low cost, then you can take risk, because if it fails, you just go again.”

With no existing supply chain for electric aircraft, Joby applied this iterative design strategy to almost every component of its eVTOL, including its all-important electric power train. Joby cycled through several generations of a geared electric motor before Wagner joined the company, leading development of a direct-drive motor with superior reliability, performance, and noise characteristics. With Joby’s aircraft now undergoing certification with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, IEEE Spectrum caught up with Wagner to learn more about the company’s power-train technology and where he expects it to go in the future.

Ryan Naru, Aviation Policy and Regulatory Affairs Lead at Joby; Matt Daus, President of IATR; Jim Neumann, Principal Owner of TrueDNA; and Peter Goldwasser, Executive Director of Together for Safer Roads

Source: IEEE Spectrum

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Image: Santa Cruz Works

A new report, Mobilizing for Fair Regulation & Competition with Transportation Network Companies (TNCs), prepared for The Transportation Alliance Foundation in collaboration with the University Transportation Research Center (UTRC), explores how technological innovation and evolving consumer expectations have reshaped the for-hire vehicle market while exposing significant regulatory imbalances between traditional providers and TNCs.

The report, written by Matt Daus, Transportation Technology Chair at UTRC, draws on national industry surveys, regulatory analysis, and case studies from various parts of the United States. It points out several major challenges faced by taxi and limousine operators today. These include inconsistent regulations that place tougher requirements for licensing, insurance, and vehicle standards on traditional providers compared to TNCs; increasing operating costs, especially for commercial insurance and vehicle compliance, that put pressure on smaller fleets; and a growing technology gap as app-based platforms become the standard for booking, dispatch, and payments. Survey respondents also mentioned other obstacles like unfair airport access policies, the rise of illegal and unlicensed operators, and accessibility mandates that often disproportionately affect taxis. These factors create a regulatory environment where providers offering similar services are subject to very different rules, which leads to competitive pressures that threaten the sustainability of regulated taxi and limousine services over time.

The findings in this report are consistent with and supports the need for action implementing the recommendations found in the modernization reports published by the International Association of Transportation Regulators that can be found here.



Click Here to Read the Full Report

It’s Free, and You Can Skip Traffic: Miami Beach’s Water Taxi Is Catching On

When Grace Dutton saw a sign outside her hotel near the Venetian Marina and Yacht Club in Miami promoting a free water taxi to and from South Beach on Wednesday morning, she knew she had to take a ride.

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Uber, Lyft Launch New Shuttle Service at Logan Airport

Travelers heading to and from Logan Airport now have a new way to skip the stress—and maybe even the TSA line. Starting Thursday, April 16, MassPort, in partnership with Lyft and Uber, is launching scheduled urban shuttle services designed to make airport trips more affordable, predictable, and efficient. These new shuttle options let passengers book individual seats on shared vans that run on fixed routes and schedules.

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FIFA Rejects Calls to Fund World Cup Fan Transportation in New Jersey

FIFA officials issued a formal response on Thursday, April 16, 2026, to New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill regarding her public demand that the organization fund public transit for fans attending the 2026 World Cup at MetLife Stadium. The dispute centers on the financial responsibility for an estimated $48 million in transit costs. As reported by Fox News, the tension escalated after Sherrill posted a video criticizing reports of potential $100 train tickets for the event. The Governor argued that the global soccer governing body should absorb transportation expenses given their projected $11 billion in revenue from the tournament.

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Toronto Will Not Hike Cost of Transit During World Cup As Other Host Cities Announce Big Fare Increases to Venues

Officials with the province and city have confirmed that Toronto will not be following suit with some other World Cup host cities who are charging substantial sums to and from soccer venues during the tournament this summer. At an unrelated news conference on Thursday morning, Ontario Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said Metrolinx would “absolutely not” be increasing fares on GO Transit during World Cup games.

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Elbit's Starliner UAV to Start Test Flights in Canada's Arctic

After several years of delay, Canada’s Canadian Coast Guard will conduct routine test flights over the Arctic this summer with the Israeli-made Hermes 900 Starliner UAV manufactured by Elbit Systems. Department of Defense Spokesperson Craig Maccartney was quoted by Canada’s CBC News as saying that the Elbit Starliner drone would conduct the Arctic flights “as part of the final testing before the drone can be accepted into our fleet.”

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Canada’s Internal Trade Barriers Are Blocking the Road to Driverless Trucking

Driverless transport trucks from Volvo Autonomous Solutions may be powered by technology with Canadian roots—including from Toronto-based Waabi—but it could be a long time before they head north to Canada’s highways.

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Flight Test Milestone Puts U.K. Electric Air Taxi Leader in Rarefied Air

Leading American electric air taxi developers Joby Aviation, Archer Aviation, Beta Technologies, and Wisk Aero are primed to contend with at least one European competitor. U.K.-based Vertical Aerospace on Thursday revealed that it is the first European company to complete a full transition flight with a full-scale, prototype eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) model.

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Autocab Announce New CEO to Scale International Growth

Autocab, one of the world's leading taxi booking and dispatch software providers, has announced that Frans Hiemstra will join the company as the new CEO. Having served as Regional GM for the Middle East and Africa at Uber, Hiemstra brings a decade of experience of working across international markets in taxi, fleet and private hire vehicle businesses. He takes over from Safa Alkateb, who has led the business since 2012 and departs in June to explore a new challenge.

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Chamber Welcomes Introduction of Shuttle Bus Service & London Taxis

The Chamber of Commerce says the introduction of a shuttle bus service is particularly important while the cable car remains out of action, helping visitors reach one of Gibraltar’s most popular tourist sites. It has also backed the arrival of new London taxis, describing them as a boost for both tourism and Gibraltar’s British identity. However, the Chamber is calling for further investment in transport, including a hop-on, hop-off bus service and a free shuttle from the cruise terminal into town.

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Amid Soaring Fuel Prices, These Cities Are Offering Free Rides 

The state government of Victoria (the Australian equivalent of a U.S. state administration) made all metropolitan and regional public transport, including trains, trams, and buses, free from March 31 to April 30. The official reason? To provide cost-of-living relief as fuel prices skyrocket across the globe. Going zero-fare will cost about $48 million.

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Manila: House Vows to Pass Motorcycle Taxi Bill

The House of Representatives has vowed to pass the long-delayed Motorcycle (MC) Taxi law in the 20th Congress. During Wednesday’s hearing of the Legislative Energy Action Development (LEAD) Joint Committee, senior lawmakers committed to deliver the legal framework for MC taxis and transport network vehicle services (TNVS). The committee is tackling the impact of rising fuel prices on key sectors, including transportation workers.

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Dubai Completes First Air Taxi Station Ahead of Planned 2026 Launch

Dubai has completed its first air taxi station near Dubai International Airport, marking a key milestone in the emirate’s push to develop advanced urban mobility infrastructure, the Dubai Media Office said. Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum described the project as a “strategic leap” in Dubai’s journey to lead the future of urban mobility and reinforce its position as a global hub for innovation.

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Image: Tap a Taxi

Eight Irish taxi drivers have come together to launch a new app designed to rival established platforms such as Free Now and Uber, with the key distinction that drivers retain 100 per cent of the fare. The app, Tap a Taxi, was quietly rolled out on March 16 across Dublin and surrounding areas by drivers operating under the All Ireland Taxi Representatives Association. The initiative stems from frustration among drivers over fixed fare options and the proportion of earnings taken by multinational platforms.

David Mitchell, one of the founders, said there were 500 drivers using the service at launch, a figure that has since grown to 1,500. The group, made up of seven men and one woman, is targeting 3,000 drivers within six months. Mitchell told The Irish Times that a Dublin driver earning around €50,000 annually through commission-based apps could be paying up to €12,500 in fees.

In contrast, Tap a Taxi operates a co-operative model, charging a one-off €300 share fee and a flat monthly subscription of €120, regardless of trip volume, while taking no commission from fares. The company is owned by the drivers themselves. Mitchell, who has worked as a taxi driver for four years, said the app is set to expand to Galway, Sligo and Waterford in the coming weeks. ‘Our eight heads got together and we just started to investigate the possibility of launching our own app,’ he told The Irish Times.

We had multiple calls with app owners throughout the world and then we ended up going with a company from Estonia. We are nearly four weeks live and we’re flying.” He said the co-op structure ensures any income is reinvested into marketing and growth.

Source: Extra.ie

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