2019 issue – Page 11 – InfoHive

Local TREND. Ride Share Wants Tolling?

In Seattle, Uber is supporting tolling for:

Are they doing this elsewhere? Yes, $10 M committed nationally to support sustainable mobility

Why does ride share support congestion pricing tolls?

Illinois Tollway Highway Authority is considering incorporating EV charging into its I-294 modernization.

EV methods being considered are:

EV charging lanes
- informed:intel gave you info on the lanes first tried in Sweden around Arlanda airport near Stockholm
EV charging stations
EV super charging stations

State Representative Landgraf proposes a change to transportation funding to help rural west Texas that includes:

Let oil producing areas retain a small percentage of severance taxes
- The Rainy Day Fund has $11 Billion balance
- $7-$8 billion is the standard for emergencies
Dedicate the severance tax revenue “to the region where it’s generated”
The dedicated revenue would pay for:
- adequate infrastructure
- first responders
“save lives and allow commerce to travel more freely”

Requestor: Liberty County Attorney

Questions for the Texas Attorney General to answer:

Can County law enforcement enforce weight restrictions or do they need DPS certification?
Can DPS revoke a law enforcement’s authority to enforce weight restrictions that were granted by a county commissioners court?
Does a county commissioner court’s grant of authority equal to authority under Texas Transportation Code§ 621.402(e)?

Where: Missouri Governor Parson looks to address trucker shortage

Legislative & Regulatory Options for getting more truckers on the roads:

No penalties for unpaid child support. Allow licenses to continue when there is unpaid child support. Legislative change.
Train Inmates. Inmates should be able to train as truckers while they serve time
Utilize state trucks for training. Missouri Department of Transportation trucks could be used in lieu of simulators for training drivers

Californai Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 2989 (2018 | CA) exempting helmet use from riding electric scooters on city streets.

SNCF America says Central Texas Partners high speed rail proposal in Texas will:

Japan is not right for Texas. ” Texas Central “project is right for Japanese companies subsidized by Japanese taxpayers and wrong for Texas,””
Texans should decide on rail. Texas should decide whether projects are high speed rail or fast trains
Rail should connect to other projects. The Japanese high speed rail has an interoperability problem in that it cannot connect to other rail.

Looking to China and Norway, leaders in EV sales, shows these governments:

Norwegian government began promoting the use of EVs in 1989
- early incentives
- early promotion of the incentive programs
- cut the annual registration tax on EVs
- exempted all EVs from road tolls
- EV owners to bypass the 24% value added tax
Chinese government is focusing on promoting EVs through research and investments in EV manufacturing companies
- China is implementing a program like California’s Zero…