Bay State Legislation, International, and Chutzpah from Musk

A Massachusetts legislator seeks to tie driverless operation on its roads to zero-emission requirements and higher per-mile fees for empty roving vehicles. Oh and the legislation would replace the gas tax for these vehicles with a VMT (vehicle miles traveled) fee of 2.5 cents for every mile traveled, empty or full. 

In October 2016, an executive order in the Bay State was issued that encourages partnerships involving automated vehicles, giving usual utterance about safety, and pointing out that Boston - I assume meaning Cambridge as well - is the expected center of driverless activity.

A Pittsburgh-area company is trying to grow in a market niche of finding bugs in self-driving software code. It's a nice niche and a good place to be, right near Uber and Carnegie Melon.

International: Far and wide 

At the Christ Church airport in New Zealand, there is a driverless shuttle being tested and it's basically ready to transport airport travelers. The shuttle vehicle is a 15-person, French-made Navya. 

Here's a link to a boring, but brief, video of Paris Easy Mile bus in operation, with at least one passenger, in a very separated lane. Don't be shy, scroll down until you get to the rectangular box.

From the drink and ride desk

An Irish legislator believes that driverless vehicles will mean economic revitalization for rural areas, particularly for rural pubs. No one will worry about or avoid drinking at a pub due to concerns about driving.

Can't ignore Musk - nice on the chutzpah

While lots of testing and pilots are happening or being planned; while governors and legislators salivate and invite business and partner with universities; while federal money and interest drips into the driverless coffee pot - Elon Musk at Tesla and his partnership with Nvidia seems close to bearing big, maybe gigantic, fruit in three to six months with the rollout of "fully self-driving mode." It will go where your calendar says you should be, or default to taking you home if it does not receive a destination.

The Musk model seems to perpetuate the current system of the single-occupancy-vehicle, business as usual, just with no hands on the wheel. I would be happy to be proven wrong.