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What is happening? Chicago, NY, NJ and Washington State all have adopted regulations to provide protections from being blocked by a ride share company. Humm, does this sound a lot like the social media is censoring us issue? The regulations establish standards before a driver can be deactivated based on customer complaints.
Market Watch | Rules Seek to Address Apps from Banning Gig Workers
What is happening? traffic congestion has returned, not to pre-COVID levels, but it has returned. The average person spends 51 hours per year in traffic congestion. That’s up by 15+ hours from 2021. Traffic congestions costs $869 in lost time. Chicago drivers lost 155 hours; Houston 74, Austin 53 and Dallas 56; and Los Angeles 95 hours.
NPR | Traffic congestion got much worse in 2022 but is still below pre-pandemic levels
What is happening? Miami is the 1st city in the U.S. to adopt a Extreme Heat Action Plan. This will include reducing waste heat from vehicles & utilizing concrete that offers cooling through permeability or reflectivity. Miami defines extreme heat as 2+ days over 90 degrees.
Why is this important? It’s past time to try new ways of tackling old problems, Miami-Dade County Mayor Levine Cava, says: “Now is the time to put ambition into action.”
Route Fifty | Miami-Dade Debuts Plan to Tackle Extreme Heat Problem
What is happening? To improve bus reliability, local governments are relying on data from autonomous vehicles. This seems oddly disparate, right? Not so…Computer aided bus dispatch coupled with data from autonomous vehicles has been shown improve bus reliability.
Why is this important? “North Carolina’s Concord Kannapolis Area Transit (Rider), such technology has decreased call volumes by 50%, compared to 10 years ago”
Route Fifty | City Bus Reliability Picks Up With Automatic Vehicle Location Tech
What is happening? Legislators are considering lowering the blood alcohol level from 0.08 to 0.05. This is the same thing that Utah did in 2019. Utah saw a drop in fatal crashes after lowering the limit.
Seattle Times | On transportation, WA Legislature looks to tackle safety, equity, inflation
What is happening? Road construction can involve asphalt mixed with recycled plastics. Transportation officials want to see this recycled plastic road option pavement last longer, save money and reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills. The lingering question is whether the plastic laced roadways will leach chemicals into water.
Why is this important? “The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates that 44 million metric tons of plastic waste were discarded in landfills in 2019. Only about 5 percent of the plastic waste in the nation was recycled, and 86 percent was deposited in landfills; the rest was burned to generate electricity.”
What is happening? Lyft is offering cash incentives for its EV drivers. The incentives stem from California regulations that require ride share companies to reduce emissions. Lyft has also partnered with EV Charging & home charging installation companies to reduce the cost of charging for its drivers.
Why is this important? EV incentives take many forms and hit from many angles. This is an example of a private EV incentive. We usually hear about the tax breaks and credits.
Route Fifty | Lyft Offers Incentives to Drivers Who Switch to Electric Vehicles
What is happening? France is prohibiting flights of less than 2.5 hours within its borders, if there is an available train route. The goal is to control emissions.
What is happening? A group of international organizations are working together to create a new corridor for helicopter sized drones to carry cargo and people from Syracuse, NY to Montreal, Canada. They’re calling it a “advanced air mobility” corridor. The helicopter sized drones will be battery powered. It will be an opportunity for small regional airports.
Why is this important? The drones are being built in the US, have not been certified, but are expect to by 2024. It is said that “5,000 underutilized regional airports throughout the country could eventually be utilized as bases for the aircraft, assisting with cargo deliveries.”
Governing | New Corridor for Helicopter-Sized Drones Coming to Syracuse
What is happening? This Wednesday applications began to access $2.3 billion in funding for passenger service. Applications are open for Amtrak, states, Washington, D.C., federally recognized Indian tribes and local governments. Grants can also be used for projects that improve the safety, reliability, and performance of intercity passenger rail services and for planning activities, such as environmental review and final design.
Why is this important? This is the most significant rail funding in the last 50 years.
Route Fifty | Passenger Rail Set to Expand with $2.3B Up for Grabs