Category Archives: business trend

New Kid on the Texas Block. Transportation Group to Ease Traffic Jams & Fight Tea Party. 3 Bits Informed Intel

The new group: Texans for Traffic Relief

Who is in the new group: Business groups, local elected officials & highway industry interests

3 key points to know about :

  • The group is focused on the 4  largest metro areas
  • The group formed in response to frustration from anti-toll activists
  • Transportation funding is inadequate and Texas needs “Common-sense solutions that add to available road money and embrace innovation are crucial to easing congestion”

Texas State Senator Hall response to…

Business Trend. Fighting Traffic Tickets from your Smart Phone. From the U.K. to the Sunshine State. Regulatory Quagmire Ensues.

A U.K. business has allowed drivers to fight parking tickets from their smart phones, and now that business trend is stateside in Florida. 

Here’s the regulatory quagmire:

  • The Florida State Bar is none to pleased of mobile phones practising law

The fight moved to federal court when The Ticket Clinic sued the Coral Gables tech start up.

The company, TIKD, is expanding nationally.

Miami Herald | Florida drivers can now fight traffic tickets from their phones. But that may not last.

 

State Fee Funds Construction Jobs. Contractors Behind it. Road Building Commences.

Alabama in 2016 Began collecting a fee of  $1 per $1,000 in project value on nonresidential building permits.

Genesis: The consruction fee was supported and pushed by the Alabama Associated General Contractors.

The funding for construction work skills is distributed by Alabama Construction Industry Craft Training Board.

Equipment World | New fee funds construction worker training in Ala.

EV Company + City Partnership for all EVs. 3 Key Points informed:intel

Tesla, the city of Barrie, in Canada, and a local chamber of commerce are putting together a chargins station deal for all EV owners. 

The details of the EV charging station deal:

  • Tesla is offering to install 12 Tesla superchargers + 4 generic universal chargers at no cost to the city
  • The local chamber of commerce is offering to foot operational costs of the charging station
  • The city wants to be seen as progressive and open for business

Barrie Today | Downtown Barrie BIA offers to help…

TREND. EV Truck Platooning. 4 Key Points.

  • Tesla is set to unviel its electric self driving truck in Novmeber 2017
  • The economics of truck driving has shown the greatest efficiency with a platoon of trucks
    • 7-8 trucks driving in close proximity
    • effectively reduces diesel costs for regular trucks and can reduce battery use
  • Long range (900 mile) EV trucks are thought to be cost prohibitive unless robotic battery changing (not charging) stations are available
  • Self driving electric trucks will focus on short range trips

MIT…

The Big Loophole in Self Driving Car Regulations and Legislation.

What’s missing from most state and federal self driving car regulations and legislation?  Big Trucks.

Self driving truck economuy is growing and the regulations and legislation are not keeping pace, or so say lawyer sin this field in California, the first state to implement self-driving car regulations.

The Recorder | We Asked California Lawyers for Views on the New Driverless Rules. Here’s What They Said.

3 Points. New Study. ROI for High Speed Rail.

The new study: Framework for Assessing the ROI for High-Speed and Intercity Rail Projects by the American Public Transportation Association

3 economic impacts considered beyond travel time & cost efficiency:

  • cost-benefit
  • economic impact
  • social impact analysis 

What does this new analysis include?

  • regional connectivity
  • global competitiveness effects
  • broader consideration of the public’s desire to meet and exceed longer term environmental, economic and mobility goals for future…

Roads Dedicated to Self Driving Cars. 3 Points to Know.

By 2040, I-5 between Seattle and Vancouver is expected to be dedicated 100% to self driving cars. It’ll take 3 steps to get there:

  • 1st, selfin driving cars will be able to share HOV lanes
  • 2nd, dedicating 1 lane entirely to AVs (self dirving or autonomous vehicles)
  • 3rd, convert all lanes ot autonomous driving vehicles only 

GeekWire | Major stretch of I-5 will be devoted exclusively to self-driving cars by 2040, new study predicts

Business Trend. Car Sharing Making Head Way Post-Hurricane Harvey.

The Business: TURO, a car sharing app, whereby you rent out your vehicle by day

How does insurance work? TURO insures you against damage that may be caused by a renter

How has TURO filled a gap after Hurriance Harvey?  If the type of vehicle you need to rent is not avialbale in traditional car rental, TURO can fill that gap.

KPRC | New car rental trend that made one man $25,000

TREND. Banning Gas Powered Engines.

Business Trend: Volvo says by 2019 it will stop making gas combustion engine cars

Regulatory Trend: California’s chief air-pollution regulator says he’s talking to the California Governor about phasing out combustion engines sometime 10 years in the future. 

Can States phase out combustion engines? States can their own air pollution standards, but they need EPA approval

International Trend: 

  • China has called for combusion engine ban at some myster date in the future.
  • the UK and France set…