InfoHive – Transportation

What is happening? A Napa Valley Vineyard has an autonomous tractor to maintain its grounds. The tractors can operate when it isn’t safe for humans like during wildfires or extreme heat.

Why is this important? The self driving tractors are from Monarch, a Livermore, CA company.

How will this be important? In California, it will take a rule change to permit driverless tractors. This change is supported by the California Farm Bureau and the California Association of Winegrape Growers 

San Francisco Chronicle via Governing | Autonomous Tractors Could Soon Be Commonplace in California

What is happening? Amazon is testing a backyard drone delivery in a town north of Sacramento.

Why is this important? Who hasn’t seen the package thefts recorded by security cameras and posted on Next Door or some other neighborhood watch app.

How will this be important? The drones can deliver up to 5 lbs safely, and they say the delivery system will be scalable everywhere.

The Hill | Amazon to begin ‘Prime Air’ drone delivery in first city

What is happening? Massachusetts Supreme Court has ruled that the gig economy labor question: Are drivers employees or contracts, will not be placed on the November ballot.

Why is this important? This is similar to what happened in California. Except now this removal comes before the election. In California after the vote favored the drivers, it was halted in the courts.

How will this be important? The Court said the ballot proposition had 2 subjects and can only have one. The Curt found that a provision prohibiting certain lawsuits about whether a transportation network company was an employer was a second subject.

Newbury Port News | SJC strikes down ride-hailing driver ballot question

GBH News | As opponents of rideshare ballot question celebrate, backers look to Beacon Hill for help

What is happening? Grubhub is partnering with tech start up Cartken for robot delivery.

Why is this important? The program is focused on college campuses which are challenging to navigate by automobile.

How will this be important? Universities want students back on campus and what student isn’t going to call for food delivery???

Loyalty 360 | Grubhub Partners with Cartken for Robot Delivery

What is happening? Washington State is studying whether too ban e-bikes from parks.

Why is this important? Supporters of a ban say e-bikes cause more damage and are faster making them more dangerous because they’re essentially motorcycles.

How will this be important? Research from the International Biking Association in 2015 shows e-bikes caused only a minimal amount more damage to trails than traditional mountain bikes.

Governing | Washington State Considers Limiting E-Bike Park Access

What is happening? In 2020, Alexandria, VA went fare free.

Why is this important? Two years into free fare bus service and ridership numbers are up.

How will this be important? Funding has been secured of the program for 3 years and is expected to continue thereafter.

Governing | For This City, Fare-Free Transit Is a Big Success

What is happening? Highway expansions in Los Angeles and Denver have been cancelled.

Why is this important? The decision to cancel an 28 miles expansion from the busiest port complex was canceled due to impact to climate change, the impact to BIPOC communities who live in its path. Colorado says it can no longer afford to widen widen Interstate 25 through central Denver.

How will this be important? Oregon is moving forward on a transportation project after the Governor negotiated caps that would allow buildings to be constructed over the highway and would help reconnect a BIPOC neighborhood.

Route Fifty | Two States Cancel Highway Expansions After Years of Planning

What is happening? We’ve talked about this before but its worth repeating since the electric F150 is back in the news. It’s still being billed as an electric truck that can power your house during emergencies.

Why is this important? Wildfires in California, Major winter storms in Texas, hacking of infrastructure….disasters and the unexpected occur.

How will this be important? “The extended-range Lightning’s 131 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion pack boasts almost 10 times the capacity of a Tesla Powerwall” PG&E is testing how to use the truck in the managment of the grid.

@bloombergbusiness

What is happening? According to @bloombergnef  sales of gas powered cars peaked in 2017.

Why is this important? By 2025, electric vehicle sales are expected to triple to more than 20 million globally.

How will this be important? Analysts say the switch is purely consumer driven and not policy driven. Consumers want electric cars.

@goodgoodgoodco

What is happening? Scooter companies are joining forces with their e-bike brethren as scooters become more ubiquitous.

Why is this important? As scooters are considered like e-bikes, they become part of the solution for micro mobility. This allows scooters to be at train stops and bus stops to helps people get to their destination, but also includes regulations and data sharing/data protection/data gathering.

How will this be important? “The places where we’ve seen the most successful programs are those where MaaS [mobility as a service] and multimodality doesn’t exist independently, but is part of a broader initiative to repurpose streets, repurpose parking, away from car utilization alone,” said  Ashwini Chhabra, chief public policy officer at TIER Mobility, the world’s largest shared micromobility operator.

Governing | Scooter Partnerships Take Root as Micromobility Expands