Not Actually Too Long Blog Post #2

The second of two kitchen sink posts slammed between a major conference and a vacation.

Asia and down under

Transit in Japan - By 2020, Japan will be introducing regular AV transit service in rural and other areas where transit buses have been discontinued. Regulatory policies must first be put in place.

Showing the successful adoption of 20 Is Plenty in Portland, OR

Another transit bus for Australia - Australia has embraced AV transit service, with Perth having the oldest continuous AV transit route in the world. Australia also has a large city, Liverpool (no kidding), that is planning for an AV bus rapid transit route, with a dedicated lane, to an airport.

Now Australia can boast the fastest AV shuttle in the world. It goes a whopping 30 km per hour, which is just about 18 mph for you Americans and English. Actually, for the 20 Is Plenty crowd, this is perfect. (20 Is Plenty is a strategy for complete streets and vision zero to decrease road speed to a level that is safer for pedestrians in terms of drivers noticing them and in terms of reducing fatalities and lessening levels of injury when pedestrians are hit.) By the way, the vehicle is capable of reaching speeds up to 40 km per hour.

The speedy AV shuttle is operating on public roads and will be tested as a South Australian university commuter bus. "Flinders Express, or FLEX, was unveiled in Adelaide on Tuesday to launch a five-year trial, transporting university students in southern suburbs." Another, more detailed, article from CIO, reports:

Members of the public can book a ride on the electric shuttle bus this week, which will initially provide ‘first mile–last mile’ services between Adelaide’s Clovelly Park Train Station and Tonsley Innovation District Main Assembly Building (MAB). It will then continue to bus stops on the main South Road and businesses within the Tonsley precinct.

The AV shuttle bus is from Navya. Not to be outdone, New South Wales (NSW) is putting more money on the table to allow for AV pilots.

Russia Wants In

Putin, basically the decider in chief for all of Russia, has turned his attention to AV transit. Quite the scary guy, he seems to get what he wants. Now he wants AV buses. Though cautious and not willing to allow AV transit in mixed traffic, the buses were used near some of the World Soccer games. "The buses traveled just 2,132 feet (650 meters) from Kazan’s “fan zone” meeting point, along a dedicated road empty of other traffic and surrounded by a light fence to keep away pedestrians and animals. It stopped well before the Kazan Arena, leaving fans to walk the rest of the way." Notable is that the AV bus was loaded with 5G capability.