Hyperloop test track finished + proposed Texas Route business benefit.

The finished hyperloop test track:  DeveLop test track, the 1,640-foot long full-scale testing site

The proposed Texas route: Colorado and Texas will be brought together with a Cheyenne to Houston route 

The Texas business benefit: The route will be useful for the military, industrial and aerospace industries

Tech Crunch | Hyperloop One completes Vegas test track tube, reveals 11 proposed U.S. routes

Business Trend. Self Driving Big Trucks with Zero Emissions.

Company: Einride, a Swedish start up

The product:  ‘T-Pod’ , an electric vehicle with self-driving capabilities that can carry 15 pallets of goods 124 miles while producing zero emissions.

What would be th eimpact to roads?  T Pod total weight of 20 tons when loaded down fully with cargo, which is smaller than most transport trucks

Tech Crunch | Einride’s electric self-driving T-pod is a new kind of freight transport vehicle

Legal Trend. High Speed Rail. Open Records. Eminent Domain.

Opponent to Texas Central rail are seeking disclosure of Texas Central Railway’s feasibility study held by TXDOT.

What arguments do the opponents make for disclosure?

  • Disclosure should occur because the rail is using eminent domain
  • Disclosure should occur because the rail is going after taxpayer dollars

What are the arguments to protect the information from disclosure?

Texas Central Rail shouldbe granted the same privacy protections that a business would be granted.

KBTX | Texans Against High Speed Rail suing state agencies for release of documents

Trend Spotting. Ride Share. New Never Seen Before Requirements on Ride Share.

An alderman in Chicago wants to impose the following requirements on ride share in the Windy City:

  •  illuminated signs “visible from 50 feet away” for each driver/vehicle
  • pick-up only from side streets instead of major thoroughfares, just like taxis do

The policy reasons: to make it easier for police to identify ride sahre drivers

The cost of illuminated signs: $80

Chicago Sun Times | Alderman wants Uber, Lyft vehicles to have illuminated signs

Business Trend. Meet Policy Trend. Self Driving Car Crash. 2 Lessons.

  • The statement from police said the car’s view was blocked. 
    • Don’t self driving cars use sensors? Can you block the radar or sonor or whatever it might use?
    • How do rules and laws address blind spots in self driving cars?
  • The intersection was one of “the hardest decision making” for self driving cars
    • a witness said the self driving car sped up to beat the light
    • how can rules or laws handle these hard driving decisions?

Wallstreet Journal | Uber Self-Driving Car Crash Detailed in Police Report

How did Hawaii Keep Uber & Lyft Out of certain areas?

2 Ways Hawaii is keeping Uber and Lyft out of its airports:

  • By requiring that only commercial vehicles that have transportation-charter party permits can provide rides
  • Requiring all cars to have transponders to track how many vehicles are available at airports 

Pacific Business Journal | Commercial vehicle protocols keeping Uber and Lyft from operating at Hawaii’s airports

Business Trend. Ride Share for non-emergency ambulance rides.

The companies: American Medical Response & Lyft

How many states are included in the non-emergency ride share program: 42

Can medical providers initiate riders too? Yes, hospitals, clinics and health plans can request and pay for rides for patients

healthcare dive | AMR teams up with Lyft for nonemergency patient rides

Envision health care | American Medical Response and Lyft Announce Partnership

Lege Trend. All Self Driving Cars Must Be Zero Emissions. Also Known As–Can a Snail Move Faster than Zero Emission Cars?

Why does California need all self driving cars to be zero emissions?  California must cut greenhouse gases 40% by 2030

A handy side effect of a bill like this? to help the zero emmission car industry, whose sales have flatlined at 3% of market share in California 

Is this just  a California thing? No, Massachusettes is proposing the same

The Recorder | Calif. Lawmaker Pushes Zero-Emission Driverless Vehicles

Caliornia SB 802 (2017)

Local TREND. Solve Transportation via Tech.

Examples of cities solving transportation woes with tech:

  • France’s cities are using smart trains
  • Los Angeles is using smart meters
  • Toronto is also turning to Internet of Things (IoT) technology to ease its traffic congestion 
  • New Delhi is  partnering with Google India’s transit unit to “provide free train schedule and route information to commuters through mobile devices with Google Maps