Image: Sustainable Bus

Public transit is the backbone of cities. In New York, buses carry around 1.3 million trips a day, more than ride-hailing and taxis combined at roughly one million. In London, the gap is even wider: about five million bus journeys versus approximately 0.6 million taxi and ride-hailing trips.

Yet most of the autonomous conversation still centers on cars. Partly because the commercial upside is obvious and near-term, and partly because cars are sexier. But it is buses that carry far more people, and that’s where autonomy will have the real impact.

Turning buses autonomous holds real advantages. The first is solving the driver shortage. In 2023, the Geneva-based International Road Transport Union (IRU) estimated that Europe was missing around 100,000 bus and coach drivers, equivalent to 10% of the total workforce. By 2028, that number could more than double.

Then comes the business case. Removing the driver changes the economics: lower operating costs; longer service hours, including extended nights and weekends, which raise vehicle utilisation; and smoother, more consistent driving, which can cut fuel and maintenance costs by at least 7%.

Source: The Driverless Digest

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Nexar, the real-world intelligence platform for the Physical AI era, and Nauto, the leader in AI-powered safety and vehicle intelligence, today announced they have entered into a definitive agreement to merge. The transaction brings together two leaders in real-world driving intelligence, combining complementary AI models, datasets, technologies, and customer relationships. The result is the leading independent intelligence platform of record for how the physical world actually behaves while ensuring full privacy protection by anonymizing and de-identifying data. Zach Greenberger, Nexar's CEO, will be CEO of the combined company. Stefan Heck, Nauto's founder and CEO, will chair the combined board. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"By bringing together Nexar and Nauto, we are building the world's largest and most diverse independent foundation for real-world intelligence," said Greenberger. "For the first time, the organizations that build, deploy, and operate intelligent systems have a trusted, independent record of how the world actually behaves, not just how it has been simulated. That is what lets organizations ask the physical world questions and act on the answers."

Upon closing, the combined company will establish the industry's most reliable foundation for Physical AI. Its intelligence engine will be fueled by more than 300 million real-world miles captured every month across 50+ countries, representing over 10 billion miles of driving history. That scale, independent of any single manufacturer, powers intelligence that no simulation and no single company's dataset can match.

Every organization asks different questions of the physical world. Until now, they've had to answer many of them with incomplete information. For the developers building autonomous and intelligent systems, it now provides the independent real-world record their models depend on: the edge cases no lab has replicated and the ground truth no single manufacturer can supply. For the safety and operations leaders running fleets, cities, and infrastructure, it predicts and prevents what matters most before it becomes an incident and turns what happened into intelligence that improves every decision that follows. For insurers, it prices risk on what roads and drivers actually do, not on averages.

Existing customers will continue working with the teams, products, and support organizations they rely on today. What changes is the foundation underneath them. By bringing Nexar and Nauto together, customers gain access to deeper intelligence, more predictive AI, and a broader understanding of how the physical world behaves.

Source: TMCNet

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WattEV Opens EV Charging Depot in Fresno, California

Electric trucking business WattEV has opened its most northern charging depot, located in Fresno, as part of an expansion that includes future sites in Northern California. An opening ceremony on June 30 marked the addition to WattEV’s network, activating the site while awaiting future upgrades in grid capacity, according to a news release last week.

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NHTSA Proposes Extending Heavy-Duty Truck Seat Belt Compliance Deadline by Three Years

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is proposing to give heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers three additional years to comply with updated seat belt assembly anchorage standards, according to a June 26 filing. Under the proposal, trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating above 10,000 pounds would have until Sept. 1, 2030, to meet the requirements, extending the current Sept. 1, 2027, compliance deadline.

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U.S. Airlines Chase Profits in Premium Cabins, Deepening a Fare Class Divide on Flights

They may arrive at the same destination, but two passengers on the same flight can have strikingly different travel experiences. The contrasting journeys are no accident. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the largest U.S. airlines have pulled out all the stops to court premium passengers who are willing to pay for comfort, convenience and exclusivity. Budget-conscious travelers may notice a widening gap between the back of the plane and up front as the carriers increasingly build their businesses around selling first-class, business-class and premium-economy seats.

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Volatus Aerospace Advances Canada’s Next Chapter in Autonomous Aviation

Volatus Aerospace Inc., a Canadian-headquartered global aerospace and defense company, today announced it is among the first companies in Canada to receive Transport Canada's Letter of Acceptance under the new Pre-Validated Declaration (PVD) process for its Canary Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS).

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USMCA Uncertainty Clouds Outlook for Trucking

Concerns are growing after the United States decided not to renew its trade pact with Mexico and Canada that a deal may take years to iron out. The July 1 deadline for a review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement was widely expected to be missed, but the lack of clarity is adding volatility to a freight market seeking a smooth ride to greater prosperity after the longest downturn in industry memory.

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Railway Operations Slowly Resume in Repentigny, Que., Following Major Derailment

Trains began slowly rolling through Repentigny, Que., overnight after a major derailment Sunday left the municipality and CN Rail with a colossal cleanup job. In a statement, CN says that for now, trains will pass through the municipality at slower speeds. The company says it will also perform inspections after each train passes.

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Uber and Wayve Join Forces to Launch Self-Driving Robotaxis in London This Summer

Paying passengers will soon experience self-driving taxis on UK roads for the first time this summer. Uber is preparing to launch the service in London using Wayve technology. Kaity Fischer, who leads Wayve’s robotaxi business, said the company is "ready to go". Initially, a human driver will be present, ready to take control during journeys while the technology proves its safety.

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Somerset Council Proposes 10 Per Cent Hike in Maximum Taxi Fares to Help Rural Drivers

Somerset Council has unveiled plans to raise the maximum fares hackney carriages can charge across the county to help drivers cope with rising inflation and fuel costs. Under the new proposals, maximum distance and waiting time charges will increase by 10 per cent, while taxi drivers will also be allowed to add a discretionary booking fee of up to £10 for pre-booked trips. This new fee is specifically designed to encourage drivers to accept bookings in rural areas, where they often have to travel long distances just to pick up a passenger.

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European Parliament Achieves Upgrade to Air Passenger Rights

On Tuesday, MEPs confirmed the changes to air passenger rights rules agreed with the Council of the EU in the Conciliation Committee by 646 votes to 12 and three abstentions. In force since 2004, these rules seek to ensure that passengers are sufficiently protected against travel disruption, such as denied boarding and delayed or cancelled flights.

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Used EVs Keep Getting More Expensive amid Iran War, High Gas Prices

The Iran war and high U.S. gas prices are causing a surge in demand for used all-electric vehicles, which is making the pre-owned vehicles more expensive, according to Cox Automotive. The company on Wednesday reported that its Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index for EVs — which tracks prices of used vehicles sold at its U.S. wholesale auctions — increased 12% last month compared with June 2025. That compares with a 1.7% increase for non-EVs over the same period.

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DTC Completes AED 1.45 Billion Acquisition of National Taxi

Dubai Taxi Company (DTC) has completed its acquisition of 100 per cent of the share capital of National Taxi after securing all required regulatory approvals, including from Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority and Abu Dhabi's Integrated Transport Centre. The transaction creates the UAE's largest taxi operator, with a combined fleet of more than 9,500 vehicles serving Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The acquisition strengthens DTC's position in Dubai, where it now holds around 59 per cent market share, while giving it a significant presence in Abu Dhabi with about 12 per cent of the market.

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Bihar Approves DPR for Regional Rapid Transit System on Four Corridors from Patna

The Bihar Cabinet has approved the preparation of the Alternative Analysis Report (AAR) and the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for a proposed Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) connecting Patna with four major cities in the state, marking a significant step towards developing a modern high-speed public transport network. Announcing the decision on Wednesday, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said the Cabinet had authorized the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) to prepare the project reports for the proposed RRTS corridors.

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NEMTAC Transform is the only annual national conference bringing together non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) providers, regulators, brokers, technology partners, and experts to focus on real-world operations, education, standards, and legislation.

The event features standards-informed education, discussions on safety, compliance, data, and system performance, updates on NEMTAC programs, and networking opportunities for brokers, regulators, and providers.

IATR President Matt Daus will speak on Monday, August 17, during the general session “Navigating Regulation, Fraud, and Compliance in Transportation.” The session will examine government oversight, emerging compliance requirements, and growing concerns around fraud, waste, and abuse. Drawing on decades of transportation regulation and policy experience, Daus will share practical guidance to help organizations identify risks, strengthen compliance programs, protect public funding, and prepare for future regulatory changes.

This year’s event will be held August 16–19 at the JW Marriott Grande Lakes, with registration, sponsorship, and exhibit opportunities still available.

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