Business Trend. Self Driving Cars. American Car Maker Moves Forward. 3 Keys to Informed Intel.

Which company announced its promise to deliver driverless cars within 5 years? Ford

The target audience for Ford’s driverless cars? Commercial  ride share

How will Ford’s cars differ from current self driving cars?

  • No steering whell
  • No gas pedal
  • No breaks

New York Times | Ford Promises Fleets of Driverless Cars Within Five Years

 

 

INTERIM. 2016 Comprehensive Ride Share Texas Report.

What entity produced a ride share report? Texas A&M Transportatin Institute

What are the report highlights?

  • Defines ride share or transportation network companies
  • Defines the 5 Servies ride share provides:
    • ride sourcing
    • ride splitting
    • car pooling
    • taxi/car service
    • other: food delivery, courier, helicopter…
  • Lays out the 6 state policy areas that cover transportation network companies:
    •   Permits and fees.
    •   Insurance and financial responsibility.
    •   Driver and vehicle requirements.
    •   Operational requirements.
    •   Passenger protections.
    •   Data reporting.
    •   Regulatory and rule-making authority. 
  • Explains the 26 municipal ride share policies in Texas
  • Findings: The 5 Policy Issues
    •   Ensuring safety and security for drivers, travelers, and pedestrians.
    •   Understanding the evolving role of technology and technology platforms in transportation provision.
    •   Integrating on-demand transportation options into mobility plans and programs.
    •   Managing transportation goals such as congestion reduction, air quality control, and expansion of mobility and accessibility.
    •   Addressing equity concerns about access to transportation services by those who do not have smartphones or credit cards. 

INTERIM. Self Driving Ride Share Launches.

Where: Pittsburgh

When: August 2016

Who: Uber and Volvo, the wonder twins, have joined forces to form of self driving ride-share

Why Pittsburgh?

  • Carnegie Mellon Robotics Program has produced the biggest names in the field. 
  • A leader in their pack joined Uber in early 2015

Bloomberg | The autonomous cars, launching this summer, are custom Volvo XC90s, supervised by humans in the driver’s seat.

Parking. City Revenue. Stadiums. A trend from the West.

Sacramento has built a new stadium for the Kings. part of the funding mechanism is parking meter revenue.

Sound familiar? Similar revenue sources are bandied about related to Arlington’s new stadium.

Let’s look at Sacramento’s parking meter rate plan:

  • 4 Event parking zones will be established in a 12 block radius
  • The closer to the Area, the pricier.
    • Parking prices ranging from $11.25, if you pre-arrange parking in a city garage to $18.75
    • Higher event night only prices will be within a 3 block radius of the stadium
    • What is the increase for Kings fans? Previously meters were free on weekends
  • Parking meter normal shut down time of 6pm will be extended to 10pm
  • Parking meters in midtown will be extended to 8pm
  • City parking, and reservation system, will be linked through a smart phone app

Sacramento Bee | Sacramento to ring downtown arena with higher-priced parking zones

Local Trend. Robot Delivery. Traffic Trends. Sharing Economy

Which city is testing robot delivery systems on sidewalks? D.C.

The company: Starship Technologies

Did it require a city ordinance? Yes to rolling permit the delivery devices to operate on the sidewalks

Will it lessen traffic? Yes, it can reduce the number of delivery trucks

Should we be paying attention? Yes, D.C. was one of the first cities to embrace the sharing economy

Governing | Coming Soon to D.C. Sidewalks: Delivery Robots

Western High Speed Rail. Where Are They Now?

California is building a state funded high speed rail system.

Is the project behind schedule? Yes. The 1st segment moved its completion date from March 31, 2018, to August 2019. 

What is causing the delay? Acquiring land which means Eminent Domain Delays.

How many land parcels are required for the Valley portion of the high speed rail first leg?1,590 parcels of property. 841 parcels were secured as of last week.

For 1 segment, the Fresno-Madera segment, what are the current cost overrages? $50 million

Fresno Bee | Time is money – $50 million – for high-speed rail delays in Fresno area

2017 Promises. What the Right Says about Grimes County. High Speed Rail.

Empower Texas makes these points about Grimes County enacting county construction permits that will affect high speed rail:

  • Big Business is looking to profit from eminent domain
  • Rural counties oppose the project because of eminent domain
  • Rural counties will not benefit from the project
  • Texas Central Rail has assumed eminent domain authority

Empower Texas | Eminent Domain for High-speed Rail Faces Hurdle in Grimes County

TREND. 3 Points. Ride Share Favored Bill Failed in the West

The death knell issue: No commercial license plates for ride share drivers

The issue got squashed in substantive committee chaired by sibling to taxi industry: AB 828, which flew through the Assembly had a somber death in Senate Transportation, the chair’s brother is in the taxi industry

Will there be immediate impact to ride share? No. California’s DMV, which has adopted ride share rules, does not require commercial license plates for ride share drivers

The Recorder | Uber-Backed License Bill Fails in Calif. Legislature

LOCAL TREND. County Permits to Build Rail. 5 Legislators Comment.

Which County wants to require county permits before construction on high speed rail may begin? Grimes County, Texas

Is the proposal supported by state lawmakers? Yes. Support has been indicated by Sen. Schwertner, Rep. Schubert, Sen. Birdwell, Rep. Ashby & Sen. Kolkhorst

What would trigger a permit? Any construction crossing a county right of way

What would the application include? A requirement that the entity has state or federal authority to use eminent domain

Are other counties going to follow suit? Yes 

WTAW News Talk 1620 | State Lawmakers Support New Grimes County Requirements For Bullet Trains