Self-Driving Shuttles Find New Uses During Pandemic
Local governments found themselves with pressing needs during the pandemic, and pilot programs testing automated shuttles stepped up to help for example, by delivering COVID-19 tests and meals. At the recent Smart Cities Connect Conference & Expo city transportation leaders discussed how autonomous vehicle shuttle programs were re-imagined during the pandemic to transport items like food deliveries and COVID-19 tests. Shutterstock/Chesk
The COVID-19 pandemic pumped the brakes on some autonomous shuttle projects last year, while others reimagined their projects to serve more immediate community needs.
The AV shuttle program in Columbus, Ohio, set up to serve a 2.7-mile route in an underserved community with four stops, was transitioned into a meal delivery service.
More than 450 transit agencies in 45 states provide free transit to vaccines to help their communities build immunity to COVID-19 as they rebuild ridership. Transit agencies in the New York City region, where transit use is six times higher than any other region of the country according to the Pew Research Center, should join their peers in this nationwide VaxTransit movement to ensure vaccine equity.
Why is VaxTransit necessary? Black and Latino people in New York and New Jersey aren’t getting enough vaccines. Black people, 12% of New Jersey’s population, received just 6% of vaccines, despite suffering 16% of COVID-19 deaths. Latino people, 21% of New Jersey’s population, received just 9% of vaccines, yet they have suffered 20% of COVID-19 deaths. The numbers in New York are only slightly better: 13% of Latino people have received vaccines. They represent 19% of the state’s population, and suffered 21% of COVID-19 deaths. Black people in New York have received 10% of va
A proposed $379 million overhaul and expansion of the Skyway system in downtown Jacksonville faces growing questions from City Council members as they prepare for a likely vote on doubling the local gas tax.
City Council Finance Committee Chairman Matt Carlucci sent the Jacksonville Transportation Authority a list of queries Monday and said that depending on how much public support and council buy-in there is, the amount of money for the Skyway might need to be reduced.
“What I’m telling people is to keep an open mind to it, Carlucci said. That’s what I’m doing, but it’s up to the JTA to sell it. If it turns into some kind of big drama, it may need to be downsized because I don’t want the Skyway taking down all the other gas tax projects.”
UNF professor: economic impact of Jacksonville s proposed Local Option Gas Tax $1 6 billion bizjournals.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bizjournals.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The analysis shows 3,904 of the jobs would be direct jobs from companies doing the work on 72 road, drainage and transit projects totaling $930 million.
Beyond those direct jobs, the analysis factored in indirect job creation at businesses providing supplies and services used by companies doing the transportation projects, plus the impact on other businesses that will benefit when workers spend their paychecks from Jobs for Jax projects.
The number of indirect jobs is 1,867 and the number of induced jobs is 1,869 in the study.
The total impact of 7,640 jobs covers the five-county metropolitan area of Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau and Baker counties, according to the study by UNF economics professor Chung-Ping A Loh.