Monthly Archives: October 2018

LEGE TREND. Lawmaker calls for Review of Ride Share State Law. Where. What. Why. & Why Now?

Where: South Carolina

What:  State Representative Wendell Gilliard, D-Charleston is calling for all business to be treated fairly

Why: All transportation service companies, including taxis, should have the same rules to play by, sich as:

  • same insurance requirements
  • same licensing fees
  • muncipal caps

Why now? Now we have the data about ride share

Statehouse Report | NEWS: Lawmaker wants Uber, Lyft regulations to be reviewed for fairness

Business TREND. Ride share fee increase fund fund EV purchase.

How will Uber raise rates? By imposing a clean air fee

How much does Uber intend to raise? $260 million

How will the $260 million be used? to help all of its drivers in the city trade their gasoline-or diesel-powered vehicle in for an EV

Where is this happening? London, England

Future Car | Uber to Raise Prices in London to Help Drivers Switch to EVs

Lege Trend. Trucking Industry Backs Oil and Gas Opposition to a Ballot Proposition.

A Colorado ballot propsition to curb drilling near neighborhoods see trucking industry support oil and gas in opposition.

The opposition arguments from trucking industry:

  • it will harm the economy, and my small trucking business
  • it will harm local tax revenues when oil and gas revenues decline
  • it will harm education fudning

 

Glennwood Springs Post Independent | Counterpoint: Opposed to Proposition 112

New Report. Ride Share Increases Fatal Accidents. The Numbers.

The researchers:

  • John Barrios of the University of Chicago
  • Yael Hochberg and Livia Hanyi Yi of Rice University

The numbers:

  • When ride share beings operating in a city, fatal accidents increase by 2-3%

The method:

  • official statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
  • overlaid with the dates Uber or Lyft began operating in a city
  •  compared to accident rates in those cities per vehicle miles traveled 

Business Insider | The meteoric rise of Uber and Lyft may have…

TREND. Congestion Pricing. More Government Affairs Spending.

Congestion pricing initiatives in local governments saw Uber announce $10 Million in spending.

  • $1 Million is dedicated to fighting NYC’s congestion pricing

Is this a reaction to anything? Yes studies that say ride share increase congestion in cities

Daily Mail | Uber plans to spend $10 million lobbying for new ‘congestion pricing’ taxes on drivers in cities across US

EV Fleets. What does research say about them helping with EV numbers?

According to new data analytic rubic by National Association of State Energy Officials and Cadmus, government fleet incentives are the least helpfulw ith EV policies because:

  • no evidence demonstrates that it improves EV adoption
  • fleets are usually too small to make an impact by visibility

 

Utility Dive | New tool helps states identify EV policies that work, and those that don’t

 

Lege TREND. Disguising a Gas Tax Bill for Transportation in a School Finance Deal. Here's How:

Where:  Utah

The legislative compromise: The Utah Legislature and Supports of Increasing School Funding made a deal that would:

  • put a 10cent gas tax question to the voters and then require legislative implementation after the vote
  •  the Legislature in exchange:
    • froze the state basic property tax rate for 5 years
    • created a new tax rate for the weighted pupil unit thereby creating a $292 million increase in education funding.
    • if the gas tax is approved, funds would be divded like this:
      • 70…

Lege TREND. Local Voters Approval for Ride Share Taxes? 4 Opposition Arguments.

Voters in San Francisco in November 2019 can vote wehter to approve a 3,25% tax onn ride share. Thanks to AB 1184 ( 2018 | CA) .

The Heartland Institute offers reasons to oppose a ride sahre tax:

  • San Francisco cost of living is already high enough
  • Termites. “Taxes such as this one are like termites: They eat at the foundation of the community,”
  • Taxes drivers. Drivers may get stuck paying the tax
  • self-sabotaging regulation

Heartland Institute | SAN FRANCISCO VOTERS TO CONSIDER TAXING UBER

TREND. 6 Reasons California is talking about scrapping its High Speed Rail

 

  • not feasible financially 
  • not feasible politically
  • its a costly failure, it’d be cheaper if California bought Southwest Airlines and flew Californians around
  • High Speed Rail project is a net greenhouse gas producer
  • The questions outweigh the answers, we need tangible gains from the project
  • let’s ask voters, again

Sacramento Bee | Should California Scrap its High Speed Rail?