Category Archives: motor vehicles

1st Operational Privately Owned High Speed Rail in the US. The benefits:

  • Helps Small Businesses.  By bringing new customers & improve quality of life
  • Capitalized its own infrastructure. Unlike CA and TX, the FL project already owned its rail lines
  •  Ease Traffic Congestion & Environmental Impacts. Sustainable alternative to motor vehicles

 

The 1st privately owned High Speed Rail details:

  • began service January 13, 2018
  • service runs from West Palm Beach and  Fort Lauderdale
  • beginning May 19 service expands to Miami
  • the entity behind high speed rail: All Aboard…

+1 State Studying Pay as You Drive in Lieu of Gas Tax. the State. The Study. 6 Questions from Elected officials.

The State: Virginia

Which Virginia Governmental Agencies want to study a pay as your drive funding mechanism for transportation? state association of metropolitan planners and supported by the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization,

Which entity is being asked to study pay as you drive? The State Secretary of Transportation 

A state senator raised the following questions about pay as you drive:

  • How much revenue would it bring in compared to the gas tax?
  • How would you measure a…

Anatomy of a Smart City Road System. Funding. Procurement. 6 Goals. 1 Governor Order.

Funding:  $40 million federal grant and $10 million from Paul G. Allen Philanthropies

Goals of Smart Cities:

  • reduce collisions
  • speed first responder response times
  • curb freeway delays
  • get products to consumers faster
  • how to use data to improve city services and quality of life for residents
  • easier access to healthcare services

Procurement Oppostunities:

  • transportation technologies:
    • integrate self-driving cars
    • connected vehicles
    • smart sensors
    • developing transportation technologies

      • …

BUSINESS TREND. REGULATORY TREND. 3 Reasons Automakers Want to Work With California Emission Standards.

Why did Automakers adapt their strategy?

  • Concern over Trump Administration. The concern being that the Administration will pick a fight with the 12 states that follow California emission standards & automakers will be left fixing the problems
  • Uniformity & Certainty.  factions of varying regulations isn’t conducive to business
  •  Sales. 50 different EV car sales account for fewer sales than  F150 Ford truck sales

Governing | Long Adversaries, Automakers Now Want to Work With California on…

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…

Lege Trend. State Increases Gas Tax. Initiative & Referendum to Stop the Tax Increase. The Where. The What. The How.

Where: California

What: California Legislature passed a gas tax increase 

How is the inititiative and referendum moving to repeal the gas tax?

  • California’s Congressional Delegation is Supporting the initiative & referendum by Give Voters a Voice
  • State Republican party strategists fear conservative voters will stay home if the open primary doesn’t qualify a conservative candidate for the general election

Sacramento Bee | Gas tax repeal gets more cash from California GOP

Regulatory TREND. Rules for Self Driving Taxis in the Golden Poppy State. 3 Key Elements.

California Public Utilities Commission adopted new rules for self-driving taxis, and the key points are:

  • The 1st pilot program will be for at least 90 days and allow:
    • “Transportation Charter-Party  (TCP) Carrier permit-holders to add test autonomous vehiclesto their passenger carrier equipment statement, where the TCP permit-holder also holds an Autonomous Vehicle Tester Program Manufacturer’s Testing Permit (AV Testing Permit) issued by the DMV, including where the service is provided free…

Lege TREND. Include Cities & Electric Distribution in EV Legislation. Anatomy of an EV Charging Station Bill.

State: Pennsylvania

The EV Bill: Pennsylvania’s HB 1446 (2018)

The EV Charging Station framework proposed by HB1446:

  • Governor must set EV charging station rollout based at 50% above 2030 estimates
  • the framework must set statewide goals
  • the framework must also establish separate regional goals
    • developed by stakeholders including agencies, municipalities & electric distribution companies

The response by an EV charging station company:

  • before HB 1446, “the Pennsylvania Public Utility…

Local TREND. Anatomy of a Driverless Taxi Rollout. Where. What. How.

City: Phoenix Area

Self Driving Taxi Proposal: 

  • Waymo is proposing an autonomous taxi service in 100 square miles in metro Phoenix
  • In preparation, Waymo testing has:
    • driven on public roads for more than 5 million miles
    • traveled five billion miles in computer simulation

Response to the autonomous driving fatality in Phoenix: Waymo CEO John Krafcik said his company’s technology could have avoided the incident

KTAR News | Waymo plans for 100-square-mile driverless taxi service in Phoenix…

Lege Trend. Self Driving Car Framework Adopted in the Goldenrod State

Nebraska Legislature sent to final reading LB989 (2018) that will:

  • permit self driving cars anywhere in Nebraska
  • allows for no human driver as long as certain conditions are met
  • allows for consultation with railroads concerning self driving vehicles and railroad crossings

 

How did the bill begin? As a pilot project in Lincoln on a fixed route and was expanded to anywhere in the state.

NPR | Legislature Steps Toward Allowing Self-Driving Vehicles; Senators Give Up On Property Tax Measures