John Capp

Waymo Vehicles Have Arrived On NYC Streets! https://lnkd.in/giXXNHnm I wrote a column for amNY Law examining the policy and regulatory landscape for robotaxis and autonomous vehicles in New York City! Read an excerpt below: Waymo’s recent expansion into New York City is making headlines, stirring a mix of curiosity and speculation in the taxicab, for-hire vehicle, and ride-hail industries.   While some are wondering what this means, how it will work and how it will affect them, the answer is quite simple: Autonomous vehicles (AVs) will save lives, create jobs, reduce congestion, and provide significant support for Vision Zero efforts to eliminate traffic injuries and fatalities. It is a game changer, and New York State and City must catch up with the more than 25 U.S. states enabling this technology to operate on public roads.   For now, Waymo’s NYC operations will involve human drivers behind the wheel with no paying passengers. This is not the same, full-blown autonomy that Waymo provides elsewhere, including San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Austin, and Atlanta. It is a data-gathering and simulation exercise that is an essential first step before the company can consider launching robotaxi service. It will take time before passengers can ride in driverless cars, as a recent bill to fully deploy Waymo in New York did not pass.   New York’s AV regulatory framework is defined by tight local control and state-level inertia. The state allows companies to obtain a permit from the DMV to test AVs on public roads with human safety drivers. At the same time, to test in NYC, companies must obtain approval from the NYC Department of Transportation. Even with state and local approval, Waymo cannot launch commercial robotaxi services in the five boroughs without approval from the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission to operate as taxis or rideshare vehicles. However, there is no legal pathway to such approval nor a plan to create one. The launch of AVs in NYC remains uncertain, whether as taxicabs, a high-volume service like Uber and Lyft, or leasing the vehicles to existing companies and taxi medallion owners. While other states like California and Florida have authorized commercial AV operations, New York lacks a clear legal framework for this. Companies like Waymo have successfully deployed fleets in other markets, allowing passengers to book rides via their app. For full-scale AV services to operate in New York, legislative action is essential. #AutonomousVehicles #Robotaxis #Waymo #NYCTransportation #SmartMobility #VisionZero #MobilityInnovation #UrbanMobility #TransportationPolicy #FutureOfTransportation #AVRegulation #TrafficSafety #RideHailing #PublicPolicy #TechInTransit #Micromobility #DMV #TLC #SelfDrivingCars #MobilityTech

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Eight self-driving Waymo vehicles will be trialled in Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn this September under New York City's first AV permit. State law requires a trained specialist in the driver’s seat at all times, meaning the cars will not operate without human oversight. Mayor Eric Adams framed the decision as part of his administration’s drive to brand New York as a centre for responsible innovation. “We’re a tech-friendly administration and we’re always looking for ways to move our city forward safely,” he said. #ZagConnected Read more: https://lnkd.in/e7CzSfnx

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The TR Part A editors asked me to share this with you... ;-) We use roughly the same size geofence as Waymo is using in central Austin, and they're going gangbusters here! (But they aren't using public charging stations or sharing their stations with the public... yet.) Abstract: To facilitate the provision of electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) in urban areas, this study investigates the benefits of co-locating fleet-owned chargers with public charging stations to enable construction incentives and cord-sharing cost savings. Shared EVCS can serve charging demand from both user types: private (household) EV owners and those managing fleet vehicles – like shared and fully automated EV (SAEV) fleets. Using POLARIS to simulate all person-travel across the 6-county Austin, Texas region, new EVCS were sited and sized with DC fast-charging (DCFC) plugs to lower operating and construction costs while providing public + private (PP) service across an 81-square-mile core geofence (where 200 SAEVs were active) over 24-hour days. When co-location is permitted, 115 DCFC cords were added to the 23 existing (publicly available) stations to enable SAEVs and household EVs (HHEVs) charging access, within the geofence. Each 250-mile-range SAEV was simulated to travel an average of 330 miles per day, serve over 92 person-trips, and recharge 2.7 times a day (for 2.4 h per session). The new DCFC plugs were primarily added to public EVCS at shopping centers and schools, and in residential settings along freeways. The average plug served 4.8 EVs per day. Most co-located PP EVCS permitted immediate (no-wait) charging, except for 2 stations along freeways that averaged 8 min of wait time to begin charging. The co-location strategy lowered fleet owners’ initial EVCS construction costs by 12 % (thanks to cord-sharing to avoid cord duplication), while reducing SAEV wait times to just 3.1 min (versus 10.7 min if SAEV managers had to build and operate their own EVCS).

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Attention speeders! Oakland will be deploying speed safety technology along 18 high-risk corridors throughout Oakland to help reduce speeding and prevent traffic-related injuries and fatalities. Learn more here. And slow down please! https://lnkd.in/gQnByBcW

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How important is the federal tax credit to the EV market today? It is still very important, but not nearly as critical as it was when the program began. At that time, battery prices were 4 to 8 times higher, and most automakers were not producing any EVs. Today, the key challenges are EV supply and affordability. The federal tax credit is just one of several tools in the policy toolbox. https://lnkd.in/gPxBur2q

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Introducing our Robotaxi Engineering Fleet. Last week, our Global Robotaxi Program hit an exciting milestone: Lucid Motors delivered the first of the Uber-exclusive robotaxi engineering fleet vehicles to Nuro. Delivered from Lucid’s Newark, CA, headquarters to Nuro’s Santa Clara facility, the engineering vehicle will be integrated with the Nuro Driver for testing and validation. This marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in autonomous mobility. The future is here—and we’re just getting started. #AutonomousVehicles #Technology #Innovation #Partnership #ElectricVehicles

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🏭 Rivian will receive $16 million in state incentives to help fund a new supplier park adjacent to its manufacturing plant in Normal, Illinois, where it produces all its EVs. State officials said today that the company plans to invest $120 million to build the 1.2 million-square-foot facility, which will support production growth, including the upcoming R2 model. 📰 Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/iZcdrw ✍️ Story by Cláudio Afonso https://lnkd.in/gNf84snF #Rivian #ElectricVehicles #Automotive

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