| | | | | | | Presented By Hertz | | | | Axios What's Next | | By Joann Muller, Jennifer A. Kingson and Alex Fitzpatrick · Jan 20, 2023 | | Want to try an electric car without committing to buying one? You're in luck, Joann reports today. Today's newsletter is 1,155 words ... 4 minutes. | | | | | | 1 big thing: Hertz' EV push |  | | | A Chevy Bolt EUV beside a Hertz car rental office. Photo courtesy of Hertz | | | | Hertz aims to speed the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) one city at a time, starting with Denver, where the car rental giant is launching a public-private partnership to add more neighborhood chargers and prepare workers for future jobs, Joann Muller reports. Why it matters: Renting an electric car gives potential EV buyers a no-risk way to try before they buy. But it can be a daunting choice — especially for first-time EV renters in unfamiliar areas who don't know where to charge. Driving the news: Under the initiative announced Thursday, Hertz will work with cities to tackle such worries and try to spread the benefits of electrification, like cleaner air and lower long-term costs, to disadvantaged communities. Details: Hertz will bring up to 5,200 electric cars to its Denver rental fleet, which currently includes around 8,100 vehicles. - The cars will be available for rent by Hertz customers as well as by Uber drivers under a previously announced partnership.
- To support those customers, Hertz and its partner BP Pulse, an EV-charging network owned by oil giant BP, will install "dozens" of public EV chargers at Denver International Airport and elsewhere around the city.
- Hertz will also provide curriculum and training to the city's technical high school and will offer summer job opportunities through Denver's Youth Employment Program.
The big picture: A key part of the initiative is to make sure EVs and chargers are accessible to everyone. - EVs are prohibitively expensive for many, and as Axios has reported, chargers are easier to find in wealthier neighborhoods nationwide.
- The Uber partnership will make the expansion of charging infrastructure more equitable in places like Denver, Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr tells Axios.
How it works: Hertz will share with city planners anonymized data about its cars to ensure new chargers are installed in the places they're needed most, Scherr said. - "We know where those EVs are going, and where they dwell overnight. That matters because if a city is going to build out its charging infrastructure, that capital needs to be spent in the right way."
- Uber drivers often rent their car for weeks at a time, and take it home at night to neighborhoods that might not ordinarily attract investments in public charging, he explained.
- "A byproduct of our rental of EVs to Uber drivers is a more equitable distribution of charging infrastructure that's in the city's interest."
What they're saying: "This partnership with Hertz will provide invaluable data about where we need charging infrastructure the most, as well as provide new opportunities with this new technology to create good-paying jobs for our current and future workforce," Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock said in a statement. The bottom line: Scherr says the partnership is also good for Hertz, which aims to make 25% of its 500,000-vehicle U.S. fleet electric by 2024. - "The greater the proliferation of charging stations, the better it is for our business."
- Hertz has committed to buy 100,000 electric cars from Tesla, 175,000 from GM, and 65,000 from Polestar.
Share this story. |     | | | | | | 2. Mayors call for immigration help |  | | | New York City Mayor Eric Adams outlined an agenda for immigration reform at the U.S. Conference of Mayors winter meeting in Washington, D.C. Photo: Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images. | | | | At their winter gathering on Capitol Hill this week, the nation's mayors delivered a bipartisan message to Congress and President Biden, Jennifer A. Kingson reports: Help stop the flow of migrants and asylum seekers into our cities — and give us the funds to take humane care of those who arrive. Catch up fast: Record numbers of migrants and asylum seekers arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border have created humanitarian crises, logistical headaches, and a political nightmare for President Biden from nearly the start of his presidency. - Republican governors like Texas' Greg Abbott and Florida's Ron DeSantis have bused thousands of migrants to liberal cities like New York, Washington, D.C., and Chicago to challenge Biden's border policies, prompting the Democratic mayors of those cities to ask for federal help.
- In early January, Biden released a new policy in an effort to curb illegal border crossings.
In a nod to the gravity of the issue, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was dispatched to the conference for the first time and held a closed-door session with mayors on immigration. - "What we truly need beyond the dollars from the federal government is comprehensive immigration reform," said Todd Gloria (D), mayor of San Diego, before the mayors-only session began.
Zoom out: New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) captured the mood of the conference in demanding a "national call to action on three of the most serious issues facing us as a nation: gun violence, the fentanyl epidemic, and asylum seeker crisis." Between the lines: The nation's mayors skew heavily Democratic, so they're taking pains not to offend the Biden administration. Read the rest. | | | | | | | | 3. Waymo's opening drive |  | | | Photo courtesy of Waymo | | | | Next month's Super Bowl in Phoenix will be a huge coming-out party for Waymo, whose driverless vehicles will transport fans from the airport to downtown venues, Joann reports. Why it matters: For many Super Bowl visitors, it will be their first opportunity to ride in a driverless car. - For Waymo, it's an opportunity to stress-test its service during what will be one of the city's busiest weekends of the year.
- It's also a way to keep drunk drivers off the road on Super Bowl Sunday, when officials typically see a spike in deadly crashes.
Driving the news: Waymo is partnering with the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee to incorporate autonomous taxis into fan experiences the week before and during the Big Game. - Visitors (and locals) who download the Waymo app can summon the "Waymo Driver" in an autonomous Jaguar I-PACE to pick them up from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport via the 44th Street and Washington PHX Sky Train Station.
- They can also hail a robotaxi for rides in and around downtown.
Yes, but: The Super Bowl venue itself — State Farm Stadium in Glendale, west of Phoenix — isn't in Waymo's service area, which means fans will need to find another way to the game. Read the rest. | | | | | | | | A message from Hertz | | Bringing fleets of electric vehicles to Denver and beyond | | |  | | | | This week, Hertz Electrifies launched in Denver to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles. What this means: Hertz is partnering with America's cities, starting with Denver, to extend the benefits of electrification to underserved communities. Find out more. | | | | | | 4. 📸 Grocery-bot |  | | | Photo: Eric Lalmand/Belga Mag/AFP via Getty images | | | | A worker loads a robot with groceries to be delivered to a nearby customer in Zaventem, Belgium. - The robot, made by Turkish startup Delivers.ai, provides autonomous, touch-free delivery services in various communities and college campuses.
The big picture: Delivery robots are becoming increasingly popular around the world — but they're far from perfect, as Joann has written. | | | | | | | | 5. Phoenix pilots 24/7 bathrooms |  | | | Photo courtesy of Portland Loo | | | | Phoenix is piloting a new public bathroom unit to provide people experiencing homelessness with a safe and dignified place to use the restroom, Axios' Jessica Boehm reports. Driving the news: The city is funding a single-stall bathroom called a Portland Loo at a new shelter. - The Loo has an anti-graffiti coating, a see-through top and bottom to discourage illegal activity, and blue lights to prevent drug users from locating veins.
Backstory: The design is in use in dozens of U.S. and Canadian cities. - It costs nearly $150,000, plus installation fees of up to $50,000.
What's next: Phoenix officials are considering another loo in a park or somewhere else outside of a shelter area. Read the rest. | | | | | | | | A message from Hertz | | Hertz launches electrification initiative with U.S. cities | | |  | | | | Hertz Electrifies will bring fleets of electric vehicles, expanded charging capacity and EV skills training to cities. The strategy: Hertz is launching the program with the City of Denver and aims to bring up to 5,200 EVs and help expand charging infrastructure in the community. Learn more. | | | | Big thanks to today's What's Next copy editor, Patricia Guadalupe. Was this email forwarded to you? Get your daily dose of What's Next by signing up here for our free newsletter. |  | | Are you a fan of this email format? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters.
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