Together for Safer Roads (TSR), a global non-governmental organization dedicated to advancing road safety through cross-sector collaboration, today announced Waymo as its newest member. As a leader in autonomous driving technology, Waymo brings deep technical expertise and a commitment to data-driven learning and safe fleet operations to TSR’s expansive network of fleet operators, vehicle manufacturers, city partners, and technology companies.

As part of its membership, Waymo and TSR will launch a joint Conversation Series in 2026 focused on the intersection of autonomy, fleet operations, safety, and the future economy. The series will convene leaders from a cross-sector of key actors, including fleets, cities, technologists and drivers for a set of structured discussions designed to elevate informed, practical dialogue around issues shaping fleet safety, technology, and operations. 

“As an organization that sits at the intersection of many of the most pressing fleet safety issues today, it is essential that Together for Safer Roads helps facilitate informed conversations about autonomy and its implications across the commercial sector,” said Peter Goldwasser, Executive Director of Together for Safer Roads. “With Waymo as its newest member and partner, TSR has the opportunity to do exactly that, drawing on their extensive expertise, experience, and learnings to bring fleets, cities, and technology leaders together around practical, real-world questions and potential solutions to critical questions. We are thrilled to have Waymo join.”

“Together for Safer Roads brings a valuable, cross-sector perspective to complex safety challenges,” said Matthew Walsh, Regional Head of State & Local Public Policy – East at Waymo. “We look forward to collaborating with TSR and its members to explore questions around fleet safety, operations, and how emerging technologies are shaping the now and future of fleets.”

Through its membership and the Conversation Series, Waymo joins TSR’s broader efforts to support safer fleets, stronger partnerships between public and private stakeholders, and data-driven approaches to reducing crashes and fatalities. In particular, Waymo will help inform key discussions amongst a broad cross-section of constituencies concerning the how, when and degree by which autonomy will affect the future of fleets across a variety of industries. 

The IATR is proud to have Peter Goldwasser serving on its Advisory Board, bringing decades of experience in road safety, government operations, and building effective public–private partnerships. TSR has been a longtime partner of IATR, collaborating on New York City Vision Zero road safety events and contributing to IATR Health and Safety Committee meetings. Waymo has also been a longtime sponsor of the IATR Annual Conference and was a sponsor of Together for Safer Roads’ annual reception last year, underscoring its sustained commitment to cross-sector collaboration on road safety and mobility innovation.

The IATR, TSR, and Waymo participated in a joint safety roundtable in London in April 2025, organized by TSR and Fleet Vision International, bringing together government and private fleets, technology companies, and transportation experts to discuss autonomy, fleet safety, and emerging risk considerations. IATR looks forward to continuing its work with TSR as part of its 2026 London tour, including the IATR Regulators Meeting on Friday, April 24, where TSR will participate in a program focused on road safety and its impacts on insurance costs. More details will be posted on our website shortly.

Source: Together for Safer Roads

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From Left: Kim Ramkishun, Executive Director of the IATR; Keith Kerman, Deputy Commissioner for Fleet Management and Chief Fleet Officer at the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS); Matt Daus, President of the IATR; Matthew Walsh, Regional Head of State & Local Public Policy – East at Waymo; and Pat Russo, Treasurer of the IATR

Image: cdn.da.org.za

South African Transport Minister Barbara Creecy is advocating for stricter regulations for scholar transport, including advanced driving certification, vehicle marking, and tracking devices. While safety is the priority, some transport operators express concerns about the financial implications of these proposed measures.

During a recent scholar transport operation in Lenasia, south of Johannesburg, Creecy advocated for strengthening legislation to guarantee that scholar transport drivers were certified in advanced and defensive driving.

She said that the departments of education and transport should keep a separate database of scholar transport vehicles.

“Driver behaviour plays a significant role in road crashes. In terms of the National Land Transport Regulations, every private vehicle must have a contract between the operator and the school. They must carry a certified copy of the contract, which recognises that the transporter is transporting pupils to a particular school.

“That contract must be kept in the vehicle. The second requirement of the existing law is that the driver must have a special identity document that identifies him or her as a scholar transport service provider and that document must have the name of the driver, the identity number of the driver, the name of the operator and a code indicating the type of vehicle that is being used,” she said.

Creecy added that the Department of Transport was in discussions with the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) regarding the introduction of tracking devices in vehicles and in due course, the introduction of dashcams.

Source: The Post

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Vermont EV Buses Prove Unreliable for Transportation This Winter

Electric buses are proving unreliable this winter for Vermont's Green Mountain Transit, as it needs to be over 41 degrees for the buses to charge, but due to a battery recall the buses are a fire hazard and can't be charged in a garage. Spokesman for energy workers advocacy group Power the Future Larry Behrens told the Center Square: “Taxpayers were sold an $8 million ‘solution’ that can’t operate in cold weather when the home for these buses is in New England.”

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How These Electrified Mini-Trucks Are Transforming Cities

Climbing onto the Honda Fastport eQuad is, quite literally, just like getting on a bicycle, except easier. With four wheels and broad diamond-plate running boards on either side, ingress and egress are as simple as swinging my leg over and stepping on and off the pedals, no kickstands involved.

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Lyft Debuts Teen Accounts More than Two Years after Uber

Lyft on Monday officially launched teen accounts nationwide in a bid to match competitor Uber. The new program will match passengers between 13 and 17 with drivers, and includes safety features such as pin verification, real-time tracking and recordings. Risher said the drivers who can transport teens require a high star rating and cannot be blocked by a “significant” number of riders.

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Victoria City Council Joins Calls for Transport Canada to Address Headlight Brightness

Driving home from a friend's home along an unlit road in Saanich, B.C., one evening in late December, Michelle Desreux crested a hill with her car and was met with a sudden flood of bright light from a truck driving towards her. The 70-year-old woman couldn't make out much in the glare of LED headlights: not the road in front of her, or where the side of the oncoming vehicle was as she neared it.

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Can Insurers Set Rates on Chinese EVs Without Risk Data?

Although P&C insurance brokers appear to be taking Canada’s decision to import 49,000 Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) in stride, consumers and insurers must now consider whether they’ll buy and insure these new market entrants.

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Quebec Backs Off 2030 Electric Bus Targets, Brings Back Hybrid Subsidies

Quebec Transport Minister Jonatan Julien announced the government is extending the deadline to electrify the public transit network and says it will be reintroducing subsidies for the purchase of hybrid buses by 2028.

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Cabbies See Red over Bike Hire Company's Calls to Turn Lights Green for Cyclists

On Britain’s busy roads, there’s already little love lost between motorists and cyclists. But drivers are likely to literally see red – after a bike hire company called for traffic lights to automatically turn green for those on two wheels. Hal Stevenson, policy director for Lime, said introducing the measure in London could reduce the number of riders ignoring red lights.

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Driverless Vehicle Takes Islanders for a Spin in Orkney

A driverless vehicle has been taking to the road in Orkney - and could eventually be used to take passengers between the historic monuments of its Unesco World Heritage Site. The project - led by consultants Urban Foresight and supported by autonomous shuttle firm Aurrigo and regional transport body Hitrans - is ultimately aiming to provide a shuttle service between Kirkwall Airport and Kirkwall Harbour.

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Can Uber Snowmobile Expand Post-Olympics?

Since its launch as UberCab at the tail end of the 2000s, the startup that eventually grew into the ride-hailing app giant known as Uber has experimented with different ways to expand beyond its main offering. Efforts to bring Uber Boat to different parts of the world that rely on ferry service date back to 2020, while cities in India and South Korea have experimented with Uber Rickshaw to arrange rides on the light two-wheeled carts pulled or pedaled by another person.

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China's Transport Ministry Summons Alibaba's Amap Riding Hailing Service over Management, Pricing

China's transport ministry summoned Alibaba-owned Amap's ride hailing service over management and pricing issues, and urged the firm to take actions to "safeguard the legitimate rights and interests" of its drivers.

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Electric Motorcycle Riders in Kenya Demand More Flexible Battery Networks

For weeks, popular Kenyan podcaster and radio presenter Francis Kibe Njeri has used his social media platforms to spotlight a problem he says many electric motorcycle riders face but few companies in the industry acknowledge: batteries unable to be swapped across networks and motorcycles that can be remotely disabled after periods of inactivity.

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Why Cities Choke Each Winter: AI Traces Smog to Transport Emissions

Across rapidly growing cities in South Asia and beyond, smog has overwhelmed air quality controls and straining public health systems. Despite years of regulatory efforts, pollution alerts, and emergency responses, many metropolitan regions continue to experience prolonged episodes of hazardous air, raising questions about whether existing mitigation strategies are targeting the real drivers of the problem. New research using artificial intelligence (AI) suggests that the answer lies not in isolated pollution sources or weather events, but in the interaction between emissions and atmospheric conditions that amplify one another in predictable ways.

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Image: Jeff McIntosh

Courtrooms and lawyers' offices in Alberta are set to become less busy next year, when changes to the province's auto insurance market take effect.

The province is moving to what it calls a "care-first," or no-fault, system from its current tort model starting Jan. 1, 2027.

That means insurers will be required to bolster medical and income support as well as other benefits for those injured in collisions, regardless of who is at fault, instead of parties having to battle it out in the justice system for compensation beyond the limited amount insurance now covers.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada has welcomed the change, saying it will drive down legal costs for its members and in turn lower premiums for drivers.

But a legal advocacy group has warned it takes away a crucial avenue for recourse and puts too much power in the hands of insurers.

Auto insurance premiums and delivery models vary province by province. Some, like British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, deliver mandatory coverage through Crown corporations, whereas in Alberta, Ontario and elsewhere, it's left up to private insurers.

Albertans pay among the highest premiums for auto insurance in Canada and the provincial government has said the changes would shave off up to $400 per year of those costs. IBC has said rising legal expenses make up one fifth of what drivers pay.

Source: The Canadian Press

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