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AV City: Autonomous Mobility

Las Vegas, Nevada | September 14–17, 2026

Vdara Hotel at ARIA | 2600 W Harmon Ave, Las Vegas, NV

Brett Barenholtz, President of the NLA

The National Limousine Association (NLA) and the University Transportation Research Center at The City College of New York (UTRC) have unveiled preliminary findings from a national study of illegal and unlicensed ground transportation operators across the United States.

Presented at the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Convention in Chicago, the findings point to a hidden duty-of-care risk for business travelers. Illegal operators use professional websites, social media and private messaging groups to mimic licensed professional private car service providers. Airports, hotels, convention centers and major events are recurring hotspots, while off-app and unlicensed trips can create gaps in commercial insurance, traveler tracking, driver verification and emergency response.

"Duty of care does not end when an employee leaves the airport terminal," said Brett Barenholtz, President of the National Limousine Association. "Companies need confidence that the provider, vehicle and driver transporting their people are safe, properly licensed and fully insured. As illegal operators become more sophisticated, verification must keep pace."

From Left: Suzanne Neufang, CEO of GBTA; Matt Daus, IATR President; and Matt Assolin, co-chair of the NLA Legislative Committee on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Led by Matthew W. Daus, IATR President, the study examines 17 major aviation and business travel markets: Atlanta; Boston; Charlotte; Chicago; Dallas/Fort Worth; Detroit/Fort Wayne; Denver; Houston; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Miami; Minneapolis/St. Paul; New York; Orlando; Phoenix; San Francisco; and Seattle.

Preliminary Findings

The study's early findings include:

• Illegal for-hire activity is evolving from street solicitation into organized, technology-enabled networks.
• Airports, hotels, conventions and major events are recurring hotspots, and off-app trips may fall outside standard insurance and platform protections.
• Passengers may be transported without verified driver screening, vehicle inspections or reliable trip records.
• Illegal operators avoid licensing, insurance, tax and airport-access costs required of legitimate providers.
• Fragmented enforcement can produce unclear jurisdiction and inconsistent penalties.

The preliminary legal review also identified at least seven states with laws expressly criminalizing rideshare or transportation network company driver impersonation: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

"Illegal transportation is no longer only a curbside problem," said Daus. "It is a technology, jurisdiction and public-safety issue requiring coordinated enforcement, verification tools and updated laws."

Source: StreetInsider

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Image: Skeptic

A robotaxi stops awkwardly in traffic. A Waymo gets confused near a construction zone. A child runs into the street and is struck. A fleet of empty autonomous cars circles a residential neighborhood. A self-driving vehicle passes a stopped school bus. The incident becomes a headline, then a symbol, then a warning: See? The robots are dangerous. But this is exactly where skepticism is needed. What if, despite the headlines, driverless cars actually make fewer mistakes, and less deadly mistakes, than human drivers?

Human driving is not a gold standard but more of a mass-casualty system we have normalized. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported 39,254 traffic deaths in the United States in 2024, with a fatality rate of 1.19 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. Its early estimate for 2025 was 36,640 deaths, still a staggering number. Distracted driving alone killed 3,208 people and injured an estimated 315,167 in 2024.

Those numbers are so large that they are hard to fathom. A human driver drifts across the centerline, runs a red light, texts through an intersection, falls asleep, or drives home drunk—tragic but familiar. A robotaxi makes a mistake, and it becomes a referendum on the future of the technology. 

So, the question isn’t really whether driverless cars are perfect, but whether they are safer than us. The human driver is the control group. 

Source: Skeptic

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Mamdani Administration Moves to Cut Extra Fines for Taxi Drivers

New York City’s Taxi & Limousine Commission is looking to give its 180,000 drivers a break on costly fines that are stacked on top of license suspensions for missing required drug tests or vehicle inspections. The new proposal floats the possibility of eliminating $200 fines against already-suspended drivers who are more than 30 days delinquent on yearly TLC-mandated drug tests, as well as penalties ranging from $100 to $500 for missed vehicle checkups.

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Uber CEO Says Waymo Rollout ‘Not Impacting’ Business – Calls Autonomous Ride Hailing a $1 Trillion Opportunity

Uber Technologies Inc. (UBER) CEO Dara Khosrowshahi on Wednesday dismissed concerns about the impact of Alphabet Inc.’s (GOOG, GOOGL) Waymo on the company’s rollout of autonomous ride-hailing services. During a post-earnings call with analysts, Khosrowshahi said that the autonomous vehicles (AV) market is large enough for multiple players. “At this point we don't see any effect of the Waymo launches on our overall business. And we continue to see the performance of our businesses to be strong with Waymo in Austin, Atlanta,” he said.

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New Jersey Appellate Court Strengthens PIP Protection for Pedestrians Hit by Rideshare Vehicles

A recent published New Jersey Appellate Division decision offers important protection for pedestrians injured by Uber, Lyft, and other rideshare vehicles. In Boone v. Unsatisfied Claim and Judgment Fund/New Jersey Property-Liability Insurance Guaranty Association, the court held that a rideshare company’s liability policy must provide PIP medical benefits to an uninsured pedestrian struck while the driver was actively providing a prearranged ride.

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New Transit Hub Aims to Simplify Trips to and from Montreal Airport

Travelling to and from Montreal's airport will soon be easier under a newly announced infrastructure initiative aimed at streamlining public transit connections in Montreal's West Island.  The Dorval Multimodal Hub will bring together Via Rail and Exo passenger rail services, as well as the shuttle service to the airport, at the site of the current Exo station.

The planned station is about a three-minute shuttle ride from Montreal's Trudeau airport.

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Province to Invest $4 Million in Bradford West Gwillimbury Transit Services

Over the next five years, Bradford West Gwillimbury will get a financial boost to its transit services from the provincial government. The officer of the Minister of Transportation, Prabmeet Sarkaria, announced the investment of $4 million on Wednesday. According to the minister’s office, the money will go toward expanding transit by creating more services the local transit system can offer and more job opportunities. “Reliable transit makes a real difference in the everyday lives of our residents, whether it’s getting to work, accessing essential services or simply staying connected to our community,” said Bradford West Gwillimbury Mayor James Leduc.

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OC Transpo Rolls Out Fall Schedules As Public Servants, Students Return to Buses, O-Train

OC Transpo has rolled out the fall schedules for buses and the O-Train, as the transit system prepares for an influx of public servants and students travelling into the downtown core. Council approved a 48-point, $29 million plan to keep commuters moving this fall, including increasing frequency on O-Train Line 1, new Express routes from Park and Rides to O-Train stations and Tunney’s Pasture and a new route between Tunney’s Pasture the Department of National Defence campus on Carling Avenue.

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Uber and Pony.Ai Plan to Bring 2,000 Robotaxis to Europe

Chinese autonomous vehicle maker Pony AI and Uber plan to bring 2,000 robotaxis to four cities in Europe as part of an expanded partnership. The announcement illustrates the growing ambitions of both companies to carve out market share in the nascent robotaxi industry. Uber has partnered with more than 30 autonomous vehicle companies, including Pony.ai, over the past several years. Pony.ai, meanwhile, has launched in four Chinese cities and has locked in partnerships with local transportation authorities in an effort to bring its robotaxis to European and Middle Eastern countries, including Qatar.

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Cabbies Say Freenow’s Increased Commission Piles Fresh Pressure on Drivers Already Battling Soaring Costs and Tax Limits

Freenow by Lyft’s move to increase commission to 20% could prompt more cabbies to prioritise street and rank work as operating costs continue to rise. According to drivers, the decision to increase its London black cab commission to 20% from 14 September 2026 will add to the financial pressure facing drivers already absorbing higher vehicle, fuel, licensing and maintenance costs.

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Mercedes Decided Taxis Were Beneath Its Brand, and BYD Is the One Now Filling Those Fleets Across Europe

For decades, a Mercedes at a German taxi stand looked almost as normal as the meter on the dashboard. That familiar picture is changing, and Chinese automaker BYD believes the space left behind can become an opening for a new generation of electrified fleet cars. On July 21, BYD Germany announced a nationwide taxi and rental-car push built around the SEAL 6 DM-i Touring, four conversion specialists, and roughly 100 already converted vehicles. The plug-in hybrid is rated for up to 839 miles of combined WLTP range, including as much as 62 miles on electricity, while two fully electric models are expected to follow

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Uber Expands into 100 More Indian Cities, Deepens Push Beyond Major Metros

Uber is extending its ride-hailing network into 100 more Indian cities, taking its total footprint to 225 cities in one of the company’s largest domestic expansions. The rollout, anchored by Uber Bike, pushes the company deeper into tier-two and tier-three markets, where it will compete more directly with Rapido and Ola. The expansion, timed to India’s Independence Day, spans 18 states and one Union Territory and includes a free first ride for new users. Uber said India is already its largest market globally by the number of earners and third-largest by trip volume, highlighting the country’s role in the company’s long-term growth strategy.

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Incheon Airport Passes Heathrow and Changi in International Traffic

Long-term expansion and shifts in global travel have combined to put Incheon International Airport at the top of the international passenger rankings for the first six months of 2026. Incheon handled 38.39 million international passengers, preliminary data covering 1,234 airports compiled by Airports Council International (ACI) showed on Thursday (August 13). London Heathrow was second with 37.79 million, followed by Singapore Changi Airport with 34.53 million. 

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Gov’t Greenlights Self-Driving Cars Trial along Rail Stations

The Transport Department has issued a pilot licence approving a trial of four autonomous vehicles (AVs) operating between the Express Rail Link at Hong Kong West Kowloon Station and the Airport Express at Kowloon Station. Issued under the Road Traffic (Autonomous Vehicles) Regulation, the licence covers four private cars running in autonomous mode along a route spanning Wui Man Road, Jordan Road, Nga Cheung Road and Station Perimeter Roads South, East and North. Each vehicle will carry a backup operator able to take control if needed, and must display the department's designated AV labels for public awareness.

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Image: Getty

Uber is phasing out UberX in South Africa, ending one of the ride-hailing company’s oldest and historically most popular services in one of Africa’s biggest digital transport markets.

The company confirmed that UberX, its standard ride category, will be discontinued as it restructures its South African product offering and seeks to create clearer distinctions between its increasingly crowded range of services.

UberX was among the company’s earliest offerings when Uber entered South Africa in 2013 and subsequently became a central part of its expansion in the country.

Uber told News24 that the proliferation of ride categories over the years had made it increasingly difficult for customers to distinguish between some products, while also reducing the advantage enjoyed by drivers operating higher-specification vehicles.

The company said UberX drivers will not automatically lose access to the platform. Instead, they will be able to take trips through other Uber categories for which their vehicles meet the eligibility requirements.

The move effectively redraws Uber’s South African pricing ladder, with Uber Go occupying the lower-cost end of the market while products including Uber Comfort and Uber Black cater to customers seeking higher-specification vehicles and services.

Uber Go, which generally uses smaller and more fuel-efficient vehicles, first appeared in South Africa in 2017 before being rolled out more broadly in 2021. Uber described it at the time as a lower-cost option alongside UberX and Uber Black.

The significance of UberX’s withdrawal goes beyond the disappearance of another option from the app. As recently as 2023, Uber described UberX as its most popular ride option in South Africa.

Source: Business Insider Africa

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