Episode 234: The Humble Curb

This week we're joined by Stephen Smyth, Co-Founder and CEO of Coord. He talks about the need for digital infrastructure to be a new layer on top of physical infrastructure in order to inventory our existing assets including curb space. We chat about the tools Coord has created to measure and document curbs, how they work, and how this seemingly innocuous space will change over time with regulation. We also have a little futurist discussion about street space and learn how regulations might change when fleets are operating on the street rather than mostly individual vehicles. 

“We talk about mobility as a service, we think of the service as a fleet. Going forward if we look at this as a regulation technology issue, cities and public agencies will be interacting with businesses for a given individuals trip or delivery versus the individual themselves. I think that’s an important shift, and actually it may make it easier to change regulations because there is a layer in between the interaction between the city agency and individual which can create resistance to change potentially. I think that if more trips are delivered by businesses instead of individuals in private cars we can innovate more quickly.”