Limousine Finder: 2016 at 05:13PM

What Happens To Drivers When TNCs Go Driverless?

The focus on autonomous vehicles begs the question, “What about the drivers?” as reported by Silicon Beat.

Lyft and its investor partner General Motors are testing self-driving technology with specially equipped 2017 Chevy Bolts in San Francisco and Scottsdale, Arizona.

Uber was in the news in connection with vehicle autonomy twice last week when it bought Otto, the self-driving truck technology company. Uber wanted its technology, not the trucks. Otto’s founders came from Google’s Self-Driving Car Project and other big-name tech firms.

Uber also sent a wake-up call to both the ridesharing and autonomous vehicle industries with its announcement last week that it will soon start offering free trips to Uber riders in autonomous technology-laden Volvos — with two engineers in the front to supervise the car’s self-driving and to monitor the data.

Digital Trends article here

Keywords

autonomous vehicles driverless cars independent contractor issues Lyft self-driving vehicles TNCs Uber

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Escala Concept Shows Cadillac’s New Design Theme

Cadillac is ushering in a new era of design with the Escala Concept Car, unveiled during this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance weekend.

The Escala moves the OEM beyond its “Art and Science” design language, which has endured for more than a decade. Those signature design cues, including bold vertical lines, sharp angles—and later, the revision of the Cadillac emblem itself—prompted both praise and controversy throughout its lifespan.

With the Escala, Spanish for scale, the vertical lines still remain, but in the form of much slimmer daytime running lights and tail lamps. Narrow slit headlamps flank a wide grille that looks aggressive but not overdone, with an integrated emblem that is tastefully inconspicuous. Rear-wheel-drive proportions are accented with athletic hood lines and deeply sculpted rocker panels.

Robb Report article here

Keywords

Cadillac concept car new sedans new vehicles premium luxury sedans vehicle design

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GCLA Packs In Operators, Agenda At Summer Meeting

Keywords

California operators California Public Utilities Commission GCLA Greater California Livery Association industry education industry events networking

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Most Party Bus Accidents Result In A Death, Stats Show

NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass. — When two passengers fell out a window of a party bus operated by a North Attleboro company Sunday onto an East Boston highway, only one of them managed to escape grave odds.

In 22 incidents between January 2009 and August 2013 involving party buses in the United States and British Columbia, 18 of the accidents resulted in at least one death, according to a 2014 report by the Washington state Utilities and Transportation Commission.

Twenty-one people died across all the accidents, and another 48 were injured.

Some believe owners of buses should be doing more to prevent tragedy on their vehicles. After some party bus accidents drew media attention in 2013, an article in Limousine, Charter & Tour Magazine offered suggestions to make party bus excursions safer.

In the piece, called “Time For A Party Bus Smackdown,” publisher Sara Eastwood-Richardson argued for more training for drivers, higher-quality vehicles and stricter rules for passengers.

“Operators should seriously consider a ‘pull-over policy’ that requires them to stop the bus and find a safe place to park if passengers would like to dance aboard the bus,” she wrote. “For party bus operators, your revenue and your reputation are on the line.”

The Sun-Chronicle article here