Waymo Pushing Forward With Level 4 Self Driving Taxi Service - VIDEO

Waymo, the self driving arm of Alphabet which in turn is the parent company of Google, is feeling confident the autonomous cars it has created in cooperation with Chrysler are now ready for their first real world use without a human driver on board. After months of testing in and around Phoenix, Arizona, the company says it will soon be ready to begin allowing those cars to provide ride hailing services to paying customers in Chandler, a suburb of Phoenix. It then plans to extend the service to the entire Phoenix area, which is larger in area than London (although much less densely populated.

Waymo CEO John Krafcik gave demonstration rides to members of the press, including Darrell Etheridge of TechCrunch, on November 7. He writes, “Waymo’s stated goal is to ensure safer roads for everyone, and after having spent some time in the fully driverless Pacifica that will be operating in Chandler, I’m more convinced than ever they’re on a path to make this happen. Bringing that truly driverless Level 4 experience to public roads and public riders is a huge step, and a sign we could be hailing an autonomous ride sooner than you might think.”

By using the Waymo app, customers in the Phoenix area will be able to summon a self driving Chrysler Pacifica to their door to go shopping, get to school, or drive to any destination within the defined area of operation. They also will be able to use the app to communicate directly with a member of Waymo’s customer service staff at any time. Early in the experiment, each Pacifica will have a Waymo employee on board who has access to an emergency stop button, but the company plans to move quickly beyond that phase to true Level 4 autonomy where the only humans in the vehicles are customers.

Waymo has ordered up another 400 autonomous Pacificas from Chrysler, bringing the total in their fleet to 500. Waymo now appears to have the early lead in the self driving ride hailing sweepstakes. Expect this service to expand beyond the Phoenix area rapidly if the experiment there proves successful. Check out the video below for a glimpse of what the world looks like inside a self driving Pacifica taxi.

Daimler To Introduce Electric School Bus To US In 2019

The yellow school bus is a social icon. It projects an image of bright eyed children eagerly anticipating the acquisition of knowledge during the upcoming school day as they wend their way through the cities and towns all across America. We think of them as zones of safety for our most precious cargo, but in fact they are enclosed metal tubes that subject school children to all the same diesel pollutants that got Volkswagen into so much trouble recently.

Why we throw our arms up in horror when Volkswagen sells diesel powered cars that exceed legal limits for tailpipe emissions and put those responsible in jail for their actions but happily consign school children to riding in diesel powered vehicles to and from school every day is a great mystery. Do we think the diesel engines in those buses run cleaner than the passenger car engines in those Volkswagens? It is to laugh.

In addition to carbon dioxide, the diesels in school buses spew huge quantities of NOx and sulfur dioxide emissions out their tailpipes. As they sit idling outside at the end of the school day, they create a massive cloud of atmospheric crud our kids have to inhale as they clamber aboard. Not only that, each one consumes about 23,000 gallons of diesel fuel each year. Multiply that by the nearly half a million school buses on the road in the US and your are talking about a massive amount of money taxpayers have to spend for the fuel to keep them running.

In the fight to lower pollution from internal combustion engines, the biggest environmental rewards come from electrifying the vehicles that depend most heavily on diesel engines — garbage trucks, delivery trucks, freight trucks, and school buses. Electric school buses are just starting to become available. Massachusetts this year committed to $1.4 million to an electric school bus pilot program for four communities. Just like passenger cars, electric buses cost more to buy but can save communities money in the long run thanks to lower fuel and maintenance costs. Plus, there are the benefits that come from breathing cleaner air.

Motiv Power is introducing electric school buses in California, where 13 will be operating shortly. Now Daimler, which owns Thomas Built Buses, says it will begin selling an electric school bus with a range of 100 miles beginning in 2019. Thomas currently is the dominant manufacturer of school buses, with a market share just under 40%. So this announcement could have a major impact on the US school bus market going forward.

The Verge reports the electric school bus from Thomas will be built on the company’s standard Saf-T-Liner C2  chassis. Nicknamed “Jouley,” it seats 81 children and is powered by a 60 kWh battery. Fleet operators who need longer range can opt for additional battery packs. Since most school buses are used for short periods of time in the morning and the afternoon, keeping the batteries charged up shouldn’t be an issue.

This is another important step in the electrification of the US transportation fleet. Since children are so impressionable, riding in a clean, quiet electric school bus during their early years will make them less tolerant of smelly, noisy cars later in life. An appreciation for electric vehicles may be an important life lessons for America’s future leaders.

Vespa Electric Scooter Arrives Next Year With 62 Miles Of Range

Vespa told us last year at this time that it was working on an electric scooter. This year, the company brought its electric offering —  the Vespa  Elettrica — to the Milan Motorcycle Show, where it revealed lots of details about its latest zero emissions scooter except for the price. The Vespa Elettrica will be available sometime next year, although the company has not said exactly when.

Piaggio, the parent company of Vespa, tells The Verge its electric scooter will have a range of 100 kilometers or 62 miles. That’s about a third that of the Vespa Primavera, the 50 cc model that is the price leader in the company’s gasoline powered lineup. But the Vespa Elettica is not intended for long distance commuting. The company calls it “perfect for city environments” and it probably is exactly that. The torque of its electric motor should offset some of the machine’s lack of range with performance that is superior to a traditional 50 cc machine.

Charging the battery takes 4 hours from a “normal wall outlet,” which in Italy is 220 volts. In North America, charging time would be longer. Piaggio says the battery is good for  about 50,000 to 70,000 kilometers — equivalent to about 10 years of use. The battery is expected to have 80% capacity remaining after 1,000 charging cycles. There is no information available about whether the battery can be replaced or how much a replacement battery might cost.

For those who are concerned about range, Vespa will sell a hybrid model with a gas powered range extender generator that will boost range to about 200 kilometers or 124 miles.

As befits an electric vehicle, the Vespa Elettica will come complete with a 4.3 inch touchscreen that displays information such as speed, range remaining, and battery state of charge. A smartphone app will allow drivers to connect to the electric scooter via Bluetooth to access texts and incoming phone calls. The app will also have a map feature and make diagnostic information available to the driver. Vespa will offer a Bluetooth-enabled helmet with built-in microphone and speakers for hands free communication during any journey.

The Vespa Elettica comes standard in silver livery with electric blue trim but the buyer can choose from 7 different colors when ordering one. The company has released no information about availability in North America yet.