Zag Talk

Jonah Bliss

Jonah and Greg give you the low down on all the week's latest urbanism, delivery, mobility and tech policy developments. www.thecurbivore.com

  1. 11/27/2025

    Can Sustainable Delivery Be a Sustainable Business? Delivery Mates' Kevin Savage Makes the Case

    Over the past few months we’ve had the distinct pleasure of digging deep in the world of sustainable delivery: we’ve kicked the tires on the new Honda Fastport, snuck in to Amazon’s NYC equad operations and studied how cities and third party delivery networks are working together to get couriers onto e-bikes. That’s all well and good… but those are huge companies that have big bucks to spend on pilots (or worse yet, PR stunts masquerading as pilots.) What about the every day businesses that want to move their goods a bit more sustainably? And what of the hard scrabble logistics businesses that need green mobility to be not just “the right thing to do,” but actually work profitably? That’s why Jonah was pleased to sit down with Kevin Savage, the COO of Delivery Mates, for the final episode of this season of the Zag Talk podcast. Many others have tried, with a rather spotty track record, to make carbon-free deliveries work. Delivery Mates, with its fleet of electric vans, e-mopeds and equads, and some special sauce around its in-house software, may just have cracked the code on making it work. Do give the episode a listen; Kevin shares plenty of insights from decades in the logistics biz. Plus, Sela and Jonah go deep on London’s latest plan to tackle congestion, the newest sad SPAC saga (hint: it’s Luminar,) Starship’s partnership with Uber and much more. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thecurbivore.com

    38 min

  2. 11/13/2025

    Lyft’s Not Content With Second Place in the Robotaxi Race

    As robotaxis race towards becoming a regular part of our mobility landscape, it at first looked like Lyft had no interest in joining the competition, instead letting deep pocked competitors like Waymo and Uber push ahead (while wisely avoiding the costly mistakes that took down others like Cruise and Argo AI.) But in the past year, the pink mustache has emerged as a serious AV contender, striking up meaningful partnerships with the likes of May Mobility, Mobileye, Nexar, Tensor, Benteler, Baidu and even Waymo itself. Lyft-branded robotaxis are now rolling around Midtown Atlanta, with more geographies set to come online shortly. Stephen Hayes, Lyft’s VP of Autonomous, Fleets, and Driver Operations, has been leading that charge, alongside other weighty responsibilities like orchestrating the company’s fleet management platform for tens of thousands of vehicles, while trying to keep Lyft’s human drivers from sweating too much about the idea of mechanical competition. (Talk about a tricky job!) Stephen and Jonah chat all about that, Lyft’s evolution over the past decade and a half, the lessons learned from running Flexdrive and much more in a must-listen episode of the podcast. Plus, Zag’s Athena Browning and Jonah Bliss get into all the latest mobility news: what to make of Q3 earnings, the boom in used bikes and top takeaways from Smart City Expo 2025. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thecurbivore.com

    32 min

  3. 10/30/2025

    Can Corporations Nudge Workers Towards Greener Commuting Options?

    A city can spend all the money in the world on making its streets multi-modal, on transit investments and the like, but if all the jobs are still located out in the burbs, commuters will likely opt to stick with their cars. That’s why corporate mobility is so important — the interplay between governments and employers that can nudge workers onto greener mobility options. For this episode of Zag Talk, Jonah Bliss chats with Maria Angelica, an urban planner and consultant at Factual about the challenges that cities, workers and employers face, the carrots and sticks that can be deployed (which can really vary depending on if you’ve got a single job site or a distributed workforce) and innovative approaches being deployed in Europe and worldwide. More importantly, Maria has authored a new course on Corporate Mobility for UMX, the European Union’s free, self-guided educational platform for all things transportation. Interested parties can take a crack at the course now. Also on this week’s pod, Zag Daily Editor Sela Musa and Jonah chat about high-end two-wheelers like Also and Infinite Machine, big transportation changes headed to the U.K., Grubhub’s new partnership with Instacart, the latest plans for California Forever and more. Tune in above, and thank you to our episode sponsors at EITC Urban Mobility. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thecurbivore.com

    37 min

  4. 10/16/2025

    Senator Scott Wiener Discusses YIMBY's Big Win: SB79

    Dense housing and public transit: two great tastes that taste better together. You’d think this classic combo would be a no-brainer, as building mid-rise housing helps with affordability and locating it near rail stations lets folks cut down on commuting costs, while putting more commuters near each metro stop leads to improved transit ridership. Talk about a virtuous cycle! And yet in California, and the nation as a whole, this has been an oddly hard sell. You’ll see rapid transit stations, some over a century old, surrounded by incredibly expensive single family homes. Finally, finally, this is set to change, with Governor Newsom just signing Senate Bill (SB) 79, the Abundant & Affordable Homes Near Transit Act. Championed by state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco,) this hard-fought win comes after nearly a decade of trying, with similar bills not quite making it all the way to the finish line. On the eve of the bill’s passage, Jonah Bliss caught up with Senator Wiener, to discuss the statecraft that went into creating this landmark legislation, what’s changed to finally get other state leaders ready to embrace more housing, how California can continue to lead the nation, the role he views for the state in an era of a hostile federal government (not to mention a few hostile tech leaders in his home district,) and much more. This is a must-listen conversation, please do tune in to the full thing (which also includes a few news items of the week: new transit routes, air races and drone regulations, and the role of AI in transportation. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thecurbivore.com

    47 min

  5. 10/02/2025

    Can Portable Benefits Improve Gig Work? With DoorDash's Max Rettig

    Managing policy for DoorDash is no mean feat; the globe-spanning 3PD often finds itself interfacing with cities across all sorts of issues: traffic / road safety, merchant relationships, courier behavior and more (and as the company continues to push into new territory — like drones or its in-house delivery bot — the regulatory interactions will only grow.) That’s why we were delighted to sit down with Max Rettig, Vice President, Head of Global Public Policy at DoorDash, to understand how the company views the policy landscape. Under his leadership, DoorDash has advanced some quite novel policy that has the opportunity — including portable benefits — to ensure gig workers receive health and safety net contributions — that stay with them even as they hop between competing platforms. Also on the pod… Jonah chats with Sela Musa about driverless trains, the latest spac-tacular startup, Telo trucks, the state of micromobility in the UK, and more. Listen in! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thecurbivore.com

    43 min

  6. 09/18/2025

    Getting Ebikes Into the Hands of Hard-Working Couriers

    Delivery is tough work, especially in dense, urban environments. Couriers and policymakers often find themselves pulled between competing priorities: cash-strapped workers often don’t have the resources to invest in a good e-bike, driving them to cheaper alternatives that aren’t reliable enough to get the job done and are prone to dangerous battery fires. That’s where Whizz comes in, offering courier-oriented e-bike rentals, while bundling in tricky things like maintenance and charging. And while renting is already easier on the wallet, Whizz is working with both the 3PDs and select cities to further subsidize their bikes, putting sustainable options into the hands of those that need it most. With the Zag Daily podcast now back from its summer break, Jonah caught up with Whizz’s co-founder Mike Peregudov to hear about the company’s latest expansion plans, the lessons he’s learned as he’s scaled the business, what it’s like to work with the big apps and even bigger cities, plus much more. Greg and Jonah also chat about Via’s IPO, while Athena Browning stops by to fill us in on all things connected and aerial. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thecurbivore.com

    54 min

  7. 07/31/2025

    Is Hydrogen Finally the Fuel of the Future? MH2Fund Is Betting on It

    Hydrogen is having its moment—not because of hype, but because the economics and demand finally line up. Heavy industry, shipping, and aviation are desperate for clean fuels, governments are throwing serious subsidies behind hydrogen production, and technologies that once seemed speculative are now commercially viable. For early-stage investors, this isn’t a science experiment—it’s a chance to back the picks and shovels of the next energy gold rush. On today’s episode of Zag Talk, Jonah Bliss joined by Sam Baker, who not only leads the MobilityVC fund, but has spearheaded a new collaboration with the Monaco Hydrogen Alliance to create the MH2Fund. MH2 will back promising early stage hydrogen startups, and we’re kicking things off with a new round of funding for SunGreenH2, a pioneering developer of low-cost, modular green hydrogen electrolysers. Also on the pod: Greg and Jonah talk Brightline bond troubles, LA’s newest rail lines and much more, while Sela stops by to update us on the UK’s newest twist to its long-running micromobility pilot. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thecurbivore.com

    36 min

  8. 07/17/2025

    You Want People That Found Something Secret - Steve Greenfield, Automotive Ventures

    On this week’s episode of Zag Talk, I’m joined by Steve Greenfield, General Partner at Automotive Ventures. Steve knows the mobility industry inside and out, having jumped from Manheim, Autotrader and TrueCar to investing in promising startups like Axion Ray, JOCO, Recurrent and SparkCharge. Steve shares his thoughts on where the industry is headed, but also what he’s found makes for a great entrepreneur, including honesty, integrity, EQ as well as IQ, and the feeling that “you want people that have, somewhere along their journey, found something secret” that they now feel compelled to build or solve. Also on the pod, Greg and I break down Moove’s $1.2B deal, pontificate on the Department of Sustainable Delivery, and also talk about Also; plus, the Zag team heads to the European AV Summit. Listen in! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thecurbivore.com

    52 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Jonah and Greg give you the low down on all the week's latest urbanism, delivery, mobility and tech policy developments. www.thecurbivore.com

Information

  • Creator
    Jonah Bliss
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2025
  • Episodes
    25
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Curbivore
  • Show Website
    Zag Talk