Lege TREND. Bills to allow Ride Share Drive Medicaid Patients to Appointments.

HB 411 (2019 |FL) would allow ride sahre to enter medical transportation services for non-emergency transportation.

How would it work? ride share would contract with managed care providers

What benefits of ride sahre medical transportation contracting? 

  • save the state Medicaid money
  • easier for patients to make doctors appointments
  • will improve patient outcomes

A USC study examined a LYFT pilot program for non-emergency medical transportation and found that it improved quality of life for seniors by 90%

Florida Watchdog | Bills would allow Uber, Lyft to provide non-emergency transport for Medicaid patients

Florida Politics | Take an Uber and call me in the morning: Ride-hailing service wants in on Medicaid transport

New Study. Congestion Pricing & Ride Share Safety

The researchers: University of Chicago School of Business and Rice University researchers

The study conclusions: 

  • 3 % rise in serious and deadly accidents in major American cities once ride-hail platforms are introduced
  • $10 Billion cost to the economy

Opponents say:

  • deeply flawed study
  • problematic methodology
  • unjustified conclusions

Efficient Government | Lyft & Uber Reject Transportation Safety Study, Researchers Support Congestion Pricing

Market Watch  | Study: Cities with ride-shares like Uber and Lyft also see rise in fatal accidents

Lege TREND. What Legislative reactions have hit ride share after a ride share driver murdered a student?

In South Carolina, legisltors are considering the Samantha L. Josephson Ridesharing Safety Act which would requrie ride share drivers have lighted signs indicating their ride share company.

CBS News | Student’s death sparks bill requiring Uber and Lyft drivers to display illuminated signs

REgulatory TREND. How one State his tackling EVs with an Innovation Start Up Competition. Who. Where. How.

Where: New York

How:

  • New York Created The NYPA Innovation Challenge to spur commericalization for energy storage
  • Supported by  NYPA’s $250 million EVolveNY electric vehicle adoption initiative
  • To meet New York’s goal to add 3 GW of battery storage by 2030.

Who: partnership between the New York Power Authority and New York University Tandon’s Urban Future Lab

Utility Dive | NYPA initiative targets quicker commercialization path for storage, EV startups

Ways States Are Overcoming the EV Gap. Regulation. Legislation.

  • Utility Commissions  implement EV infrastructure programs
  • Partnerships with utilities to roll out EV charging infrastructure programs
    • Utilities can also recoup their investment in EV charging infrastructure
    • Utilities could have rules to allow selling electricity and using the chargers as responsive demand to balance the power grid
  • Which state utility commissions are actively implmenting plans?
    • CA
    • MN
    • OR
    • NY

Forbes | How States Can Overcome The Looming Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Gap

Reg. TREND. $76 M Proposal in North Carolina to Doubt EV. What your need to know:

Company: Duke Energy

The proposals nuts and bolts:

  • $76 million initiative
  • 2,500 more in-state EV charging stations
  • electric school buses
  • electric public transportation
  •  $1,000 rebate for qualifying Level II charging stations for up to 800 residential customers
  • 800 public charging stations across North Carolina, including DC Fast Charging
  •  $2,500 rebate for 900 qualifying charging stations for commercial and industrial customers who operate fleets
  • financial support to eligible customers to procure up to 85 electric school buses
  • install and operate more than 100 electric transit bus charging stations for eligible transit agencies

Electrek | $76 million proposal would double public EV charging stations in North Carolina

New Kid on the Block. Opposition to Texas High Speed Rail

The new kid on the block: ‘ReRoute the Route’

ReRoute the Route message:safer, smarter rail options in Texas

Who is in the coalition? land owners, elected officials and business leaders

What do they say the high speed rail route should look like?

  • endpoint closer to downtown Houston
  • follow established right-of-way such as the I-45 corridor
  • minimize eminent domain and private property concerns
  • minimize environmental impact concerns
  • alleviate safety concerns of the curved track design
  • foundation for more advantageous economic development opportunities 

Freestone County Times | NEW TEXAS TRANSPORTATION COALITION ANNOUNCED ‘REROUTE THE ROUTE’ CALLS FOR SAFE, SMART HIGH-SPEED RAIL – OR NONE AT ALL

Local TREND, 2 Reasons A City Said no to GeoFencing Limitations for Scooters.

Los Angeles considered geofencing enforcement for scooters, but applied the brakes when there were no answers for:

  • what happens when a scooter is stopped by geofencing and it is moving with traffic?
  • what happens when a scooter is stropped by geofencing on a hill?

Texas Monthly | The University of Texas’s Scooter Speed Limit Is a Glimpse of the Future