The US state of Virginia has radically changed which cars are eligible to use high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes.
October 28, 2019
Read time: 1 min
Most of the 16,000 vehicles which carry clean special fuel number plates can no longer use HOV lanes without three or more occupants (HOV 3+).
The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles says:
https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/vehicles/#cleanspecialfuel.asp plug-in and electric vehicles such as the Audi A3 e-tron and BMW i3 Sedan still qualify for the privilege.
Additionally, the 1747 Virginia Department of Transportation is to convert HOV lanes on Interstate 395 in northern Virginia to 8217 Express lanes in a move which will require all vehicles except motorcycles and buses to have a properly mounted E-ZPass or E-ZPass Flex. Vehicles bearing a clean special number plate can access the 8217 Express Lanes with a standard E-ZPass or can travel toll-free with an E-ZPass Flex if they meet the HOV 3+ requirement.
E-ZPass and E-ZPass Flex transponders are available at:
https://www.ezpassva.com and at https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/general/#mobileoperations.htmlDMV customer service centres. In addition, E-Z Pass On the Go may be obtained at DMV 2 Go mobile customer service centres.
US-based Verra Mobility has partnered with motorway operator APRR to provide toll management services in France.
David Roberts, CEO of Verra, says: "Initially, we will be focusing on providing toll services to our rental car company partners throughout France.”
The partnership will allow Verra to expand to other countries to make travel in Europe more connected, Roberts adds.
Vera intends to develop products for fleets that allow drivers to use electronic toll lanes without having to slow down or stop
Spanish firm Ficosa is to put €500m into R&D over the next four years to provide new technology for connected and autonomous vehicles (C/AVs).
The firm believes that revenue from its technology systems will rise from €100 million to €800 million over the next five years.
Assisted driving and e-mobility are other areas of interest, and the company has already put its money where its mouth is, showing off a new e-mobility development centre last year.
The company had overall revenues of €1.28 billion
Quantum XYZ is seeking to use SureFly’s eight-rotor hybrid ‘octocopters’ to launch an air taxi service in Los Angeles.
SureFly, a subsidiary of US technology company Workhorse, is currently pursuing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) type certification for its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
Quantum intends to submit an application to become a FAA-certified urban VTOL air carrier.
The company’s president, Tony Thompson, says: “Once SureFly receives FAA Type certification, we
Zenuity, a joint venture between vehicle solution manufacturer Veoneer and Volvo Cars, is to trial self-driving cars on Swedish highways at a maximum speed of 80km/h.
Dennis Nobelius, CEO at Zenuity, says the vehicles will collect important data and improve the company’s safety functions to make unsupervised cars a reality.
Transportstyrelsen, the Swedish transport agency, has approved the trials which will take place on the E4 between Stockholm and Malmö; Road 40 between Jönköping and Gothenburg; a
