The Potential Future Of Four Cities With Autonomous Cars

By some estimates, autonomous cars will become a part of daily life as soon as 2030, especially around major urban areas where this technology holds the most promise. But not every city may benefit in the same way, with one study suggesting several scenarios where autonomous cars either alleviate traffic congestion, or make it many times worse.

Fast Company reports that the study, entitled Reprogramming Mobility, takes a look at four major urban areas and what impact autonomous cars might have on the citizenry. Atlanta, Los Angeles, Boston, and New Jersey were the focus of the study, though the scenarios presented are more a “What if” than a “This is what’s gonna happen” sort of situation. With that said, let’s start with the utopian scenario set in the gem of the South.

Atlanta: A Driverless Utopia

With a major Google outpost and few natural barriers to expansion, Atlanta presents the perfect autonomous scenario. Google aims to be a major player in self-driving vehicles, and Atlanta could end up being a test bed of self-driving technology wherein all autonomous vehicles are speaking the same language. This will lead to the development of public-private “G-roads” for self-driving vehicles only, and residents will be able to hail an autonomous car to their destination and ride it home without ever putting their hands on the wheel.

Georgia is also a major hotbed of solar power adoption, and Google’s integration with many smarthome features mean automated vehicles could easily be worked into the search giant’s technology ecosystem. Google will also attempt to develop autonomous public transit and freight solutions around it’s Atlanta base, and could even make the case for a complete rework of the national infrastructure around autonomous cars. This is the ideal scenario, and could change the way we approach transportation completely.

Boston: Walking Beats Driving Anyday

But while Atlanta has basically unlimited room to grow and a major private driver of technology, Boston is an old city crammed on the coast with a well-defined downtown. Bringing autonomous driving technology to these streets isn’t like, though the city could become a hotbed for the young and the restless who want to live in a thriving downtown setting.

This will lead to a rise in walking and bike-sharing, with public transit picking up the slack. Meanwhile deliveries are made in the dead of night when most of the city is asleep to keep congestion levels to a minimum during rush hour. Some people may commit to buying small urban EVs for personal transportation, though car-sharing and light rail becomes the default means of taking longer trips outside the metro area.

New Jersey: Bad Weather and Smart Buses

Here is where things start to get messy, as the Garden State is predicted to take several blows to the chin from major hurricanes and other storms over the next decade and a half. This will cripple Jersey’s infrastructure initially, but could convince the government it’s time to invest more heavily in public transportation. Smart, possibly fully-automated transit buses and dedicated busways will join existing rail services to give commuters a wider variety of options for getting into and out of the New York metro area.

The system is paid for by an algorithm that predicts demand and sets seat pricing accordingly and leads many young people to skip over car ownership in favor of the shiny new transit system. That said, it will come at the cost of billions in property damage and destroyed lives as the Jersey coast is pounded by one devastating superstorm after another. Things will get worse before they get better in this scenario.

Los Angeles: Driving Hell Just Gets Hotter

Finally we get to the doomsday scenario which takes place in America’s most-congested city, Los Angeles. Despite the rise of autonomous cars, many older drivers refuse to be driven by robots, and automakers develop different vehicle languages that lead to an incomplete and imperfect system of self-driving vehicles. Instead of cooperating, automakers compete to become the autonomous driving standard, leaving the transition to autonomous cars hanging in limbo.

Furthermore, increased reliance on self-driving cars could lead to increased pollution and urban sprawl as people think less of living an hour or more from their place of employment. It’s basically a worst-case scenario, though one that is easily avoidable with a little cooperation and smart public policy. Keep in mind these are merely proposed scenarios, and the future of self-driving vehicles is still wide open.

But it does give one something to think about.

Dutch Toyota Dealer Uses Prius Batteries Used As Solar Backup

A Dutch Toyota dealer has set up an  impressive solar array to power his store, and plans to use Toyota Prius hybrid batteries to house the surplus energy.

While the plans use the Prius batteries are still tentative, the Louwman Hague Toyota store does have approximately 1,000 solar panels on the roof of the dealership, generating clean energy to keep the lights on. Similar efforts have happened here in the U.S., most recently a Honda dealer in New Jersey that uses zero net energy thanks to its solar array.

What is most interesting about this story is potential use of refurbished Prius batteries. As green as hybrid and electric cars are, one of the biggest issues is what to do with the spent battery packs. There are recycle programs in action, but a better second use is a project like this, where the depleted-but-still functional batteries can provide a cheap means of storing excess power from the solar array. That way, when the sun is obscured, the store still has plenty of power.

As hybrid and electric cars begin to take a larger bite out of the automotive market, the demand for re-purposing their battery packs in a green and sustainable way will increase.  This Dutch Toyota dealership is without a doubt an indication of things to come.

Source: Autoblog Green

New Jersey Legislature to Tesla’s Rescue?

A few weeks ago, Governor Chris Christie’s administration was widely criticized for forbidding Tesla to sell its cars directly to consumers within New Jersey. Christie defended the unpopular decision, noting that the state’s franchise laws prohibit auto manufacturers from selling directly to consumers. “My job is not to make the laws, it’s to enforce the laws. And Tesla was operating outside the law,” Christie said, encouraging the New Jersey Legislature to fix the problem.

Last week Assemblyman Tim Eustace (D-Bergen/Passaic), who drives an electric car himself, answered the call. He introduced a bill, which allows any motor vehicle franchisor who manufactures electric vehicles to sell directly to consumers. In an interview with NJTV, Eustace said that he is looking forward to a solution for New Jersey jobs, businesses, and citizens.

Notably, the bill is limited to sales of electric cars, which could help eliminate some of the objections from the auto dealers. The powerful auto dealer lobby has fought direct auto manufacturer sales because they would infringe on auto dealers’ businesses. But as Tesla CEO Elon Musk has pointed out, dealers do not want to sell electric cars because they require less maintenance, which is a dealership’s bread and butter.

“They make most of their profit from service, but electric cars require much less service than gasoline cars. There are no oil, spark plug or fuel filter changes, no tune-ups and no smog checks needed for an electric car,” Musk wrote on his company’s website.

Jim Appleton, president of the auto dealer lobby, the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers, said he thinks the limitation in Eustace’s bill is reasonable, though he cautioned that he doesn’t know its details yet. ”To the extent that there is legislation that would allow an all-zero emission vehicle automaker to enter the market for a period of time without franchises, before they eventually convert to a franchise system, it makes sense,” Appleton said.

The Eustace bill may have shown up just in time to keep Tesla in New Jersey. Even with the short reprieve recently granted to Tesla, the car company will still be forced to close its New Jersey shops by April 15 if the bill doesn’t pass by then. But Eustace is hopeful that it will. “Maybe we’ll get something done in 15 days,” Eustace said. “The governor said in one of his town halls last week that he wanted a solution to this. I’ll take him at his word.”

News Source: USA Today

Last Minute New Jersey Backstab Bans Tesla Stores

In a last-minute switcheroo, the government of New Jersey has passed a measure banning the direct sale of Tesla vehicles. It’s a lowdown, sneaky trick the administration of Governor Chris Christie pulled on Tesla, and one that isn’t going to win him many friends outside of the dealership associations.

Tesla had been in negotiations for months with the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission for months, according to a post on the official Tesla blog. The automaker claims it was led to believe that legislation seeking to ban direct sales of the Tesla Model S would be delayed, and eventually sent to the state legislature to be voted on.

According to the Tesla blog;

Monday we received news that Governor Christie’s administration has gone back on its word to delay a proposed anti-Tesla regulation so that the matter could be handled through a fair process in the Legislature. The Administration has decided to go outside the legislative process by expediting a rule proposal that would completely change the law in New Jersey. This new rule, if adopted, would curtail Tesla’s sales operations and jeopardize our existing retail licenses in the state.

Basically, the administration turned on Tesla at the last minute, and the bill it promised to delay will never be voted on, at least by the state legislature. Instead, the Motor Vehicle Commission held a closed vote itself yesterday, enacting a measure to would force Tesla to sell its vehicles through a standard dealership model. It’s a dirty double-cross from an administration that has found itself mired in some serious accusations of corruption and abuse of power. It isn’t the first time Christie has pulled a bait-and-switch on environmental issues either.

For its part, Tesla has announced that sales of the Model S will crease in New Jersey beginning April 1st, even though New Jersey is one of America’s top markets for luxury vehicles. So even though it has already been issued two dealership licenses and has been operating in the Garden State for about a year, New Jersey officials decided they’d rather not have the extra tax revenue from buying and registering an expensive luxury car. Those New Jersey residents wanting to buy a Model S will have to jump through a lot of hoops to put the electric sedan in their driveway.

New Jersey joins Texas and Arizona as the only states to ban direct sales of the Tesla Model S, though several other states have tried. Meanwhile, the Chris Christie who once stood side-by-side with President Obama has now fallen into lockstep with Republican governors Jan Brewer and Rick Perry as hypocritical proponents of free market capitalism.

Just let Tesla sell their damn cars!

Source: Tesla Motors | Image: Wikipedia

Gasoline rationing takes effect in 12 New Jersey counties

Last night, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie declared a limited state of energy emergency with regard to the supply of motor fuel and implemented odd-even rationing for gasoline purchases in 12 New Jersey counties. Odd-even fuel sales took effect at noon today in the following counties: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Morris, Monmouth, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren.

As New Jerseyans continue the long process of recovering from Hurricane Sandy, it’s imperative that our families have secure, reliable access to essential supplies like fuel. Right now, the impact of the storm, particularly the continuance of widespread power outages, has created the disorderly sale of gas—including long lines, out of operation stations, and stations facing shortages. This system will ease the strain on those gas stations still operating, while we work to bring more online for the public to access fuel, in a manner that is fair, easy to understand, and less stressful.

—Governor Christie

NJ counties with gasoline rationing. Click to enlarge.

All retail dealers of motor fuel will be required only to sell motor fuel for use in a passenger automobile bearing license plates, the last number of which is an even number, on even numbered days of each month. Likewise sales will only be permitted to passenger automobiles bearing license plates ending in odd numbers on odd numbered days of the month. Specialized plates—or those not displaying a number—will be considered odd numbered plates.

Governor Christie and Attorney General Jeff Chiesa pledged to aggressively and vigorously enforce the order to ensure compliance and the effectiveness of the policy in the affected counties.

The orderly and reliable sale of gas to our residents is essential to maintaining a steady and reliable source of power for both transportation and the maintenance of essential services at home. With the challenges we face in the storm’s aftermath, we will be vigilant in enforcing this odd-even system, as we ease the stresses on the system. I encourage all New Jerseyans to abide by this system—motorists and retail dealers alike—to ease wait times and improve access for everyone. Those who choose to disregard this order will be prosecuted to the fullest extent permitted under the Governor’s state of emergency authority.

—Attorney General Jeffery S. Chiesa

These sales provision will remain in effect for as long as the Governor’s limited declared state of energy emergency is in effect in those 12 counties.

Source: Green Car Congress