USA TODAY International Edition
Trump picks Lyft exec to join Transportation Department
Ex- McConnell aide Derek Kan could be working with Chao
SAN FRANCISCO Anyone reading the tea leaves on how the Trump administration may treat ride- hailing and self- driving car companies was just handed a bit more tea.
The White House said late Thursday that President Trump would nominate Lyft general manager Derek Kan to join the Department of Transportation as undersecretary of transportation for policy. Plans for the appointment were initially reported by Reuters.
Between 2006 and 2010, Kan was an adviser to Sen. Mitch McConnell, R- Ky., the current majority leader and the husband of Elaine Chao, the Trump administration’s transportation secretary. Kan also has been on Amtrak’s board for the past year.
“Derek is a valued member of our team and we wish him luck in whatever path he chooses,” said Lyft spokesperson Adrian Durbin.
The administration’s new DOT leaders have yet to put forward any major policy statements since taking the helm, remaining silent so far on outgoing DOT secretary Anthony Foxx’s September guidelines that would require self- driving car companies to report details of their progress to federal officials. Some automakers have complained the rules would be onerous and slow down development.
Chao, who was Labor secretary under President George W. Bush, has made comments supportive of ride- hailing companies such as Lyft and Uber, praising them for helping create jobs and solving transportation problems. But her views on the coming age of autonomous cars are largely unknown.
Dozens of companies, including major automakers and cutting- edge tech companies, are racing to develop autonomous cars for ride- hailing fleets, with most setting a 2021 deadline for production.
That an Uber executive is not in the mix for an administration post comes as little surprise, giv- en that Uber CEO Travis Kalanick abruptly quit Trump’s business advisory council in January after riders protested Trump’s first immigration ban by starting a # DeleteUber social media movement.
If Kan is confirmed, Lyft would have another influential friend in the administration. Investor Peter Thiel and General Motors CEO Mary Barra, whose company invested $ 500 million in Lyft, are advisers. Reports suggest that the automaker has plans to deploy self- driving Chevy Bolts as Lyft autonomous vehicles.
While consumers love the appbased convenience of both services, investors and analysts continue to puzzle over financial viability of the ride- hailing business model, with some suggesting that the only way to profitability is to remove the most expensive part of the equation: the driver.