All articles tagged with #transportation
Waymo is expanding its fully autonomous robotaxi service to four new cities—Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Orlando—starting with a limited rollout for select riders via the Waymo app as it scales toward wider availability later this year. The service already operates in ten metro areas and began in Miami earlier.
Tesla has filed a California lawsuit to overturn a DMV ruling that labeled its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving labels as false advertising. The company had already adjusted branding—removing Autopilot from some listings and converting FSD to a subscription—while contending the names aren’t unambiguously false and that consumers understand their meaning. The DMV said it did not suspend Tesla’s license after the changes, but Tesla argues it didn’t receive due process in the hearings, highlighting the broader debate over how ADAS features are marketed in California.
AP reports that Waymo is expanding its autonomous ride-hailing service to four additional major US cities, marking another step in its ongoing driverless-taxi rollout and broadening access beyond its current markets.
The first independent test of Donut Lab’s production-ready solid-state battery, conducted by Finland’s VTT, found it can charging from 0 to 80% in about 9.5 minutes (and roughly 4.5 minutes in another test) with minimal capacity loss, using passive cooling and high C-rates, suggesting charging speeds much faster than traditional lithium‑ion packs; however, the chemistry isn’t disclosed and dendrite-related issues aren’t addressed in this test, so more independent validation is needed.
Stellantis, the parent of Jeep and Dodge, booked a $26.5 billion hit on its EV bets and a $16.7 billion charge for warranties and recalls, highlighting deeper issues beyond a single misstep. The company remains heavily reliant on trucks and SUVs, suffers from a bloated brand lineup and leadership turnover, and faces regulatory and market headwinds as EV demand cools. Europe’s diesel revival and uneven EV execution complicate a turnaround, even as Stellantis pursues new EVs and battery tech to regain momentum amid stiff competition.
A Transportation Department inspector general report says the FAA lacks enough inspectors to effectively oversee United Airlines’ maintenance, with the United Certificate Management Office understaffed for a growing 737 fleet. The audit notes partial implementation of five prior recommendations, inadequate training to assess safety data, and a reliance on virtual inspections when on-site reviews are restricted. The FAA agreed with five of six recommendations, while partially concurring on guidance about postponing inspections; United emphasizes its own safety systems and ongoing collaboration with the FAA.
Tesla trims the Cybertruck price to $59,990 for an AWD model with a 325‑mile range and new features like a powered tonneau cover, bed outlets, and adaptive damping; Musk says the low price is temporary, while the Cyberbeast remains at $99,990 amid multiple price swings, and 2025 sales have slumped, underscoring that the stigma around the truck persists.
A JetBlue Airbus A320 bound for West Palm Beach suffered an engine failure on takeoff from Newark Liberty International Airport, with smoke reported in the cockpit. The plane returned for an emergency landing, passengers exited via slides on a taxiway, and there were no injuries. The FAA will investigate; arrivals were briefly paused, then resumed after about an hour.
The Department of Transportation is drafting language to bar federal transit funds from being used by state and local governments that provide free transportation to unauthorized migrants, as part of the highway bill reauthorization. The proposal would apply to all Federal Transit Administration programs (buses, subways, ferries, etc.) and could extend to any free transit for migrants, aiming to prevent transit use to evade immigration enforcement. Supporters see it as enforcing federal law, while critics note enforcement details are unclear and some DOT staff question the need for the measure. The plan accompanies other proposals and comes as Congress must reauthorize surface transportation funding by fall.
A monthlong Port Authority project to renovate the Portal Bridge disrupts NJ Transit service, diverting riders to Hoboken and creating crowded platforms as trains, buses, and ferries shuffle commuters into Manhattan.
AeroRoutes’ Week 12 update (as of 11JAN26) notes that Canadian carriers are gradually suspending Cuba service from mid-February through late April 2026 due to aviation fuel shortages. Air Canada, Air Transat, and WestJet (including Sunwing routes) have published numerous Cuba itineraries from Canadian hubs (e.g., Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, Ottawa, Quebec City) to Varadero, Cayo Coco, Holguin, Santa Clara, Havana, and other destinations, with frequencies based on OAG schedules as of 11JAN26.
Hundreds of millions of people will travel across China during the 40-day Lunar New Year period, with officials forecasting a record 9.5 billion domestic trips as rail and air travel swell and visa-free access for visitors from 45+ countries broadens international tourism.
Amtrak is rolling out the Airo fleet—a $8 billion upgrade of 83 Siemens trains—to modernize aging cars, beginning this summer on the Cascades route in the Pacific Northwest and later expanding to the Northeast; the redesigned interior includes larger windows, brighter lighting, more outlets, and accessibility upgrades, with seats that slide forward instead of reclining, a change that has drawn mixed reviews; the Cascades trains will seat up to 300 (vs about 168 today) and run up to 125 mph, aided by power-switching locomotives; funding includes federal Infrastructure Act money, and Amtrak plans more routes as ridership hit 34.5 million in 2025.
The Gateway rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey has received $30 million of the $205 million it is owed. Construction remains paused, but the Department of Transportation is releasing funds per a court order, with the rest expected to be disbursed by next Wednesday so work can resume and workers can return to site.
The Verge reports that digital car keys are evolving through CCC’s Plugfest, with version 4 adding fleet-owner support and a secure “friend sharing” feature that lets owners text a key to others and revoke access, while ongoing device fragmentation and security concerns across iOS/Android and various wireless technologies remain a challenge.