Monthly Archives: December 2017

Lege Trend. Sunshine State Republicans. Alternative Transportation Authority to Fund Autonomous Vehicles. How it works:

The Bills,  HB535  and SB 1200, would:

  • Create the Statewide Alternative Transportation Authority
  • Repurpose an existing $60 million in rail funds to fund alternative transportation projects
  • The “alternative” projects would include:
    •  “Bus Rapid Transit”
    • Autonomous vehicles
    • Focus on urban areas like Tampa Bay area & Miami
  • For local governments to get to the satte alternative transportation dollars, counties and cities would have to match funds

WUSF Public Media | New Legislation Would…

Anatomy of a High Speed Rail Coalition in the Northwest. See the Study. Read the Study. Be the Study.

A recent feasibility study found that high speed rail could work in Washington State. So, what entities were backing the study?

  • Microsoft
  • Washington Building Trades
  • Washington Roundtable
  • Association of Washington Business
  • Business Council of British Columbia
  • Portland Business Alliance

How was the study funded? A $300,000 legislative appropriation and donations from Microsoft and Washington Building Trades

Is the Washington State proposal for high speed rail looking for private investors? …

3 Points About Pay As You Drive in California

  • Caliornia’s pilot pay as your drive program is called the  California Road Charge Pilot Program
  • The state policy support arguments for pay as your drive: fairness as pay as you drive accounts for EVs, hybrid and feul efficient vehicles
  • The opposition to taking the pay as your drive statewide: the privacy issues of mileage trackers.
    • will mileage trackers be placed in cars? will they track GPS locations?
    • will mileage trackers be installed at gas pumps and charging stations?
    • will…

Texas High Speed Rail Station Land Deal Makes 2017 Deal of the Year List

Houston Business Journal included the station land deal between Texas Central and the City of Houston on its list of deals of the year for 2017.

Why did it make the list? Because the City of Houston-Texas Central deal was the first of its kind for the high speed rail project.

Houston Business Journal | HBJ’s 2017 Deals of the Year: Economic Development

3 Bits informed:intel. New Port of Galveston Director.

The Port of Galveston named Rodger Rees, the new director. 

What you need to know about Rodger Rees:

  • Before Galveston,  Rees was deputy executive director and chief financial officer at Port Canaveral, Florida
  • Top Priorities for Mr. Rees: Increasing revenue & improving bond ratings to finance future projects
  • The Port’s Future capital investment plan includes building a third cruise terminal
    • The prot receives 80% of its revenues from cruise ships

Houston Chronicle | Port of…

7 Western States Join Forces to Connect EV Charging Stations. What you Need to Know to Make your Own:

The 7 states: Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming

The MOU: Regional Electric Vehicle Plan for the West 

The 7 Interstate Corridors: 

  • Interstates 25, 70 and 76 in Colorado;
  •  Interstates 15, 84, 86, and 90 in Idaho;
  •  Interstates 15, 90 and 94 in Montana;
  •  Interstates 15 and 80 in Nevada;
  •  Interstates 10, 25 and 40 in New Mexico;
  • Interstates 15, 70, 80 and 84 in Utah; and
  •  Interstates 25, 80 and 90 in Wyoming. 

The goal of the states: to ease “range anxiety”

…

Business Trend. Ride Share + Non-Emergency Health Care Transportation

The business: Startup Circulation

Business model: offering non-emergency transportation to medical appointments utilizing existing ride share companies

Regulatory/Legislative: Transportation services for state managed health care plans / insurance regulation

What other ride share/health care partnerships are there:  Lyft partners with CareMore Health Systems

Is there data to support it? Data shows it reduces wait times by 30% and transportation costs by 1/3

BostInno | Circulation Now Works…

Gas Tax Trend. 3 Points Supporting Show Me State Gas Tax Increase. Read the Bill.

Legislative Gusto:  Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee & vice-chair of the 21st Century Missouri Transportation System Task Force filed SB 734  to raise the gas tax

Support for the gas tax increase:  

  • Likely to come from a recommendation of the 21st Century Missouri Transportation System Task Force, 23-member task force of state officials and private citizens.
  • the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association calls it the most equitable funding approach
  • Mayors in 27 cities…

Local Trend. Ordinances on Robot Delivery Services. 5 Bits informed:intel.

The City: San Francisco

The ordinances: Address “cargobots” on city sidewalks and place these 5 limitations:

  • Companies can have 3 robots a piece
  • 9 total robots for the entire city
  • bots will be relegated to low population industrial areas
  • constant human monitoring
  • Speed limit of 3 miles an hour