Author Archives: admin

Lege TREND. Ride Share Vehicle Standards.

California Senate Bill 1014 (2018 | CA)  requires ride share vehicles to:

  • 20% must be Zero Emmission by 2023
  • 50% must be Zero Emission by 2026
  • 100% must be zero emission by 2030
  • Rule making by the regulatory agency for quarterly targets of ride share zero emission vehicles

Forbes | California May Push Uber And Lyft To Go Electric, With Far-Reaching Consequences

3 Reasons why a Ride Share Cap is Bad

Where is this happening? NYC

What is happening? A locla official has proposed a cap on ride share rides to alleviate congestion in the central business district

What group is behind these 3 points of opposition to the cap?The Urban League

Why would a cap on ride share would be bad?

  • It would eliminate a transportation option for the outer boroughs and minorities
  • these areas are currently underserved by traditional transportation options like taxis and public transportation
  • the most…

Anatomy of a Transportation Proposal. 2:1 Defeat in a Fast Growing City.

The transportation proposal:

  • ambitious $5.4 billion transit expansion

The vote: 36% : 64%

Are there extenuating circumstances?

  • City & County government is consolidated
  • Most population lives outside the city proper
  • The proposal was promoted by the mayor who resigned in March

Transportation Proposal supporters:

What do opponetns say?

  • No public input after the plan was formed
  • transportation policy should be incremental not…

Lege TREND. Open Records Exceptions. PORTS. Economic Development. 4 Steps to protect Eco Devo records

State: Louisiana

Bill: HB 665 (2018 | LA)

What steps must a port take to except economic development records from disclosure?

  • the records must be “active economic development negotiations”
  •  publish in its official journal a notice that the records are being hidden, within 10 days after deciding to keep them confidential
  • protection from disclosure lasts 24 months
  • protection ends when negotiations are over

What records cannot be hidden from disclosure by the port?

  •  hazardous waste licenses…

Regulatory TREND. LEGE TREND. Procurement TREND. Switching to a 5 Step Contracting Process that Shifts Liability.

State: Arkansas

New transportation construction contract process: construction manager/general contractor (CMGC) form of contracting

Why the switch? liability and risks of cost overruns move to the contractor

What parameters did the Legislature put around the new contracting method?

  • 3 projects only
  • totaling no more than $200 million

How does it work?

  • Design Phase: contractors submit requests for proposals

  • After the design phase: contractor submits its cost estimate to build the…

TX Attorney General Opinion. What you Need to Know about the Constitution & Tollroad Funding. The 2019 legislative fix.

The question the Texas Attorney General Answered: whether the Texas Transportation Commission may use Proposition 1 and Proposition 7 funds on toll projects.

What complicated the question & answer: That roads in Texas are often mixed, partially free and partially tolled. 

Why do roads that have tolled and free lanes make the answer more complicated? There is no guidance in statute and no guidance in case law for whether a “toll road” and “toll project” are the same and thus the constitutional…

4 Reasons to Allow Cities to tax Ride Share in the Lone Star State

Background: HB 100 (TX | 2017) establishing ride share laws does not permit local taxation of ride share

4 Supporting arguments for local taxation of ride share:

  • Texas cities are losing out on millions in tax revenue occuring within their boundaries
  • Other cities are doing it
  • Cities are utilizing the revenue to improve transportation and safety
  • Other states have allowed cities to tax ride share to cover the cost of street maintenance, vehicle traffic, and registering drivers

 

Rivard…

Lege TREND. Model e-bike legislation. No local preemption. What you need to know:

9 states have passed model e-bike legislation, including:

  • AZ HB 2266 (AZ | 2018) 
  • CO
  • CA
  • AR (that’s Arkansas)
  • IL
  • MI
  • TN
  • UT (Utah, not any of the universities with these initials)
  • WA

The model legislation does this:

  • defines e-bikes as motorized electric bicycles with a watt definition
  • establishes Class 1, 2, or 3 e-bikes
    • Class 3 e-bikes would be restricted to on-road usage
    • Class 1 and 2 e-bikes may be ridden on bike paths
  • grants e-bikes the same rights of the road as traditional…

Regulatory TREND. Reclassifying Ride Share Companies as not solely Ride Share

Regulator: California Public Utilities Commission

What did the California Public Utilities Commission do? Reclassified Uber, because of Uber SUV and Uber Black, as partially as a charter party carrier (that’s how California regulates limos and party charters)

How was the company operating in California?  Mostly through a subsidiary, Rasier-CA, which the administrative law fact finder to be  ” “a mere instrumentality” of Uber

Appeals forthcoming? Yes

Rational of the fact finder: The company…

EV Charging Roads. The future of transportation procurement. Just the Facts:

Where have EV Charging roads been installed? Stockholm Sweden

What does the partnership look like to develop the road?

  • eRoad Arlanda is the development partnership
  • eRoad Arlanda partnered with  PostNord, the first company to use the new electrified roads

How long of a stretch of road has EV charging? 2 kilometers

How does it work? 

  • A track is laid into the roadway to allow for charging while driving
  • The track is only active when the vehicle is over it and charging
  • The vehicle…