Switching from cars to electric, autonomous "People Movers"

In today's episode, we're thrilled to welcome Phil Pierce from Zoox, a company working to innovate the future of autonomous, electric “people movers” (don’t call it a car!). Phil is Zoox's senior public policy and safety strategy manager, and talks to us about the path to evolving urban transportation to accommodate more electric, autonomous, and on-demand mobility and fewer gas--powered, accident prone and highway clogging single-driver vehicles. 

Phil discusses the shift from car ownership to shared, eco-friendly transportation options. Zoox envisions safer cities with autonomous vehicles, transit, bikes, and pedestrians sharing roads. Safety is a priority, with Zoox surpassing human-driven standards.

Already, Zoox is testing autonomous rides on public roads in places like Las Vegas (a city that can use as many designated drivers as it can get!), which is a major step toward its future of more widespread use. Read more about it here: https://zoox.com/journal/las-vegas/ 

Join us as we explore Zoox's vision for sustainable, accessible, and enjoyable urban mobility.

A few takeaways you will get from this episode:

1. Understand the current transportation challenges, encompassing environmental impacts, high fatality rates, and car-dependent infrastructure.
2. How Zoox strives to create greener cities through reduced reliance on personal vehicles, repurposed infrastructure, and accessible, eco-friendly mobility for underserved neighbourhoods.
3. How autonomous vehicles can contribute to the transformation of public spaces, making cities more sustainable and enjoyable for all residents.

Our favourite quote:

• "Over a third of public space in most big cities, like in San Francisco where I live, is dedicated just to parked vehicles. Most of us that own vehicles, our vehicle sits there more than 96% of the time, so it's doing nothing [despite being] this huge investment...and Zoox is just a really great solution." - Phil Pierce

Learn more:

• Find Zoox on Instagram @zoox
• Job openings at Zoox: www.zoox.com/careers
• Visit Zoox’s website: www.zoox.com
• Connect with us on Instagram @101wayspod

Visit our website: www.savetheplanetpodcast.com