Image: Bliq

Autonomous vehicle startup Bliq has received approval to operate its driverless cars on public roads in Finland and will begin testing in Helsinki in the coming weeks.

The approval makes Finland the second EU member state after Estonia to permit Bliq’s vehicles on public roads. The company told Zag Daily it will initially deploy “one or two vehicles” before expanding the fleet to “more than 10” by November, with plans to gradually extend operations beyond Helsinki.

Testing will begin with safety drivers behind the wheel while the company assesses how its system performs under local road conditions. After a few days of supervised driving, Bliq plans to invite early adopters who have joined its Helsinki waiting list to ride in the vehicles.

Chief Executive Officer Julian Glaab said Europe should begin introducing autonomous vehicles “step-by-step” so regulators, companies and the public can learn how the technology works in practice.

Source: Zag Daily

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Image: Tesla

Tesla has told lawmakers in Washington DC that it is developing a wheelchair-accessible autonomous vehicle in Texas.

Speaking to the DC City Council, Tesla Senior Policy Advisor India Herdman said the company was building “a purpose-built, wheelchair-accessible autonomous vehicle” though the name of the vehicle or a date of its arrival was not disclosed. 

Herdman said the vehicle was intended to address the difficulties many wheelchair users face accessing transport but offered no timeline, technical details or indication of when the vehicle could enter service.

“We know that paratransit can be very difficult and people who are confined to wheelchairs permanently should still be able to move around freely, so that is an active product being built by Tesla in Texas,” said Herdman.

The comments came as policymakers questioned robotaxi companies about accessibility, an issue that remains unresolved across the sector. No major US operator currently offers a fully driverless wheelchair-accessible service, with rival Waymo also telling the hearing it has yet to identify a suitable vehicle platform.

Source: Zag Daily

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Austin Transit Partnership Selects Stadler to Manufacture Light Rail Vehicles

Texas’s Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) selected Stadler to provide light rail vehicles for the city’s light rail system. Stadler was identified as the highest-ranked firm following a competitive procurement process that evaluated factors such as a firm’s experience, personnel qualifications, technical approach, and design innovation.

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Pedestrian Fatalities Drop Again, but More Needs to Be Done, Says Governors Group

The number of pedestrians killed by drivers last year was down 7 percent from the previous year, according to a new report released on Tuesday — but those 6,732 fatally struck friends, neighbors and relatives represent 22.5 percent more pedestrians than were killed by car and truck drivers in 2015 and roughly 70 percent more than the number killed in 2009.

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California’s New $3,500 EV Rebate Favors Rivian and Lucid over Tesla

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 168 today, creating a new “MyFirstEV” program that gives first-time electric vehicle buyers a $3,500 instant rebate at the dealership starting later this summer. The point-of-sale discount is backed by $135.5 million in state funding, matched dollar-for-dollar by participating automakers — and a California-headquarters rule makes Rivian and Lucid the biggest winners, while Tesla qualifies only on its cheapest models.

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Repentigny Track Had ‘Several Deficiencies,’ Says TSB in Derailment Investigation Update

The railway track crossing Repentigny, Que., had "several deficiencies" when a train carrying 172 wagons derailed in the middle of a residential neighbourhood on July 5, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) said in an update on its investigation Thursday morning.

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WestJet Flight Attendants Vote to Strike by August Long Weekend

WestJet flight attendants voted overwhelmingly in favour of a strike over wages and working conditions as early as the August long weekend if no deal is reached, potentially throwing Canadian holiday air travel into chaos.

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Recent EV Demand Jolt Driven More by Government Incentives Than Gas Prices, Says GM Canada

General Motors’ electric vehicle sales are surging in Western Canada, as the return of federal incentives pushes consumers away from the pump and towards the outlet. “Our EV sales in Alberta alone are up 50 per cent,” Jack Uppal, GM Canada’s president, said in an interview.

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Omio to Acquire Rail Europe

Omio Group has entered into an agreement to acquire Rail Europe, a global distributor of European rail tickets founded in the 1930s. Neither company would disclose the deal’s financial terms. Separately, Omio has received a $10 million investment from Granite-Integral to expand in Asia.

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Uber to Buy Germany’s Delivery Hero in $14.8bn Global Deal

Uber has reached an agreement to take over the German takeaway company Delivery Hero in a $14.8bn (£11bn, or €12.9bn) deal that would create a global food delivery giant. The US tech firm said it had offered to pay €41.50 a share to Delivery Hero’s shareholders, valuing the business at $14.8bn. Uber will pay $13.7bn after accounting for its previous purchases of a quarter of Delivery Hero’s shares, most recently in May.

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Irish Airline Aer Lingus Plans 500 Job Cuts As Fuel Prices Soar

Irish airline Aer Lingus could cut up to 500 jobs as part of a reorganisation, it said, citing high costs and a challenging economic environment as the sector grapples with surging oil prices due mainly to the U.S.-Iran war.

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Korean Air Unveils AI Pilot Technology at South Korea Expo

Korean Air unveiled an artificial intelligence system designed to pilot future combat aircraft Wednesday at South Korea's largest exhibition for drones and urban air mobility. The airline is displaying the technology, called AI Pilot, at the 2026 Korea Drone & UAM Expo, which runs through Friday at Songdo Convensia in Incheon.

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Air Routes to Central Asia, Latin America Surge over 70% Year-on-Year in H1

China's civil aviation industry has seen steady growth in terms of overseas transport in the first half of this year, with routes to Central Asia and Latin America surging over 70 percent year-on-year. China added seven new international passenger destinations and 19 new international cargo destinations. Both passenger and cargo traffic volumes by Chinese airlines to the Asian and European markets increased by more than 20 percent year-on-year, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday, citing data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

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Asia-Pacific Shippers to Prepare for More Demand, Rates and Disruption

Shippers are entering the second half of 2026 with a cautious growth mindset. In fact, 71% expect freight demand to increase over the next six months, but most are not expecting easier conditions. What’s more, 92% say freight rates increased over the past year, 84% experience shipment delays at least monthly and 84% have changed shipment strategy frequently or occasionally because of disruption, according to Dimerco Express Group’s Asia-Pacific Freight Outlook for H2 2026 report.

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Image: Zag Daily

Johannesburg has faced fresh calls to curb vehicle emissions after a new study has revealed the reality of the city’s road pollution landscape.

In 2024, the South African city was estimated to have one of the highest numbers of premature deaths attributed to road transport pollution amongst all African cities. Meanwhile, annual ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and particulate matter (PM2.5 ) pollution remains two to three times higher than limits set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Against this backdrop, a study from The Real Urban Emissions (TRUE) Initiative examined emissions data from more than 145,000 vehicles to determine which areas of the city are suffering the impact of road pollution the most and which vehicles are the greatest culprits.

Source: Zag Daily

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