Monthly Archives: March 2016

TREND: Revenue from Extended Parking Meter Hours

Which local government is considering more parking meter revenue to fund a stadium? Sacramento

What changes to parking meters are proposed? Meters operate until 10pm, instead of 6pm

Why the extension in time? to cover the fans who attend events at the new stadium

Was this included in the King’s arena deal with the City? Some say by default, as the city agreed to ccommitting to the collection of millions of dollars in new parking revenue

Sacramento Bee | City Council proposes…

INTERIM. Sharing Economy. Sue the Driver, not the Company.

Who is suing ride share drivers? Taxi drivers in New Orleans have filed suit against 10UberX drivers, and not Uber, the company. 

How did the taxi cab drivers figure out who the ride shre drivers were? The drivers were filmed picking up riders

What does the lawsuit allege the ride share drivers did? unfair competition and a violation of Louisiana law requiring a chauffer’s license

NOLA | Cabbies v. Uber drivers lawsuit in court Thursday morning

The legal documents

5 Things Said about Brazos Valley Council Opposition to Texas High Speed Rail

  • Dallas Morning News editorial: “But the eminent domain scare tactic is getting old.”
  • Grimes County Judge Ben Leman: “Now we know that it will take huge amounts of eminent domain.”
  • Kyle Workman, Texans Against High Speed Rail: ““a strong message to the Japanese investors that one of the main target markets for this project absolutely does not want it.”
  • Brazos Valley Council of Governments media release: “a solid blow to [Texas Central’s] claim of strong support in the Brazos Valley…

TRENDING. 5 Recommendations from a Transportation Task Force. Hint: Gas Tax not Sustainable.

Which state’s transportation system was studied? Washington State

Who sat on this task force? 16 regional civic, business and government leaders

What did the task force recommend:

  • Regional solutions to big traffic problems like in the puget Sound Area
  • The gas tax is not sustainable source of funding due to fuel efficiency
  • Recommend a fee on miles driven as a fair and equitable funding solution
    • Compared a fee on miles driven to utilty usage. 
      • ““Like utilities, like your phone…

Trending. Issue on Horizon for Texas: Self Driving Cars Meets Data Security.

Data security of self-driving cars spurs calls for uniform data security standards for self-driving cars.

Have there been a push for self driving car regulations or statutes in Texas ? Yes, why yes, there has. 84R HB 933

Did those pushes include data security issues? No.

The Hill | Lawmakers worry about cyberattacks on self-driving cars

 

Data Shows Managed Toll Lanes Not Lexus Lanes. Key Intel in 3, 2, 1

A developer of North Texas highway projects with managed toll lanes checked the data to see who uses managed toll lanes. Here’s what was revealed:

  • The most frequent car make driven- Toyota
  • Did luxury cars make the list? Not the top 5
  • Are the top 5 car makes newer or older? Newer. 37% are newer than 2013 

The results: maybe Lexus lanes is an inaccurate moniker.

Dallas Morning News | Survey suggests managed toll lanes aren’t just for rich people in expensive cars

3 Points on What the Opposition to High Speed Rail Gets Wrong.

The Dallas Morning News editorial isn’t a fan of the Brazos Valley Council opposition to Texas High Speed Rail from Dallas to Houston. Let’s look at what the DMN says the BVC gets wrong:

  • There’s a public benefit to businesses along the train’s path and to consumers who won’t have to sit in 6 hours of traffic and can count on a 90 minute train trip
  • The risk will be born by the high speed rail investors- so subsidies. no special favors.
  • $36 billion in revenue over 25 years is estimated for…

3 Ways Self-Driving Cars Spark Road Improvements. Local Governments & States Unite.

In preparing for the machines to rule the earth, or for the lass dramatic self-driving cars, states and cities are upgrading roads.

Here’s the list of improvements made for driverless cars:

  • better road markings
  • upgraded traffic technology to communicate with connected cars
    • e.g. how long should a left turn arrow last?
  • smart phone apps to gather and report information about congestion and road conditions and foreseeably notify drivers of alerts

Governing | In Preparation for Driverless…