Bus News

Dallas' DART joins national transit group to test driverless buses

This bus comes with a driver.

Photo courtesy of DART

Dallas Area Rapid Transit has joined a national organization of transit and transportation agencies that will collaborate on a program to deploy new driverless buses.

The group is called the Automated Bus Consortium, and it will investigate the feasibility of pilot automated bus projects across the United States. Founding members include transit and transportation agencies from cities and states such as Long Beach; Los Angeles; Atlanta; Michigan; Minnesota; Virginia; Florida; and Rochester, New York.

The formation of the Consortium is a response to the rapid advancement of driverless technologies, combined with the need to improve mobility options and reduce congestion.

The transit agencies will launch pilot projects in live-service environments using full-sized, full-speed buses.

They'll make an initial purchase of 75 to 100 full-sized, automated buses, and define potential routes and locations. AECOM, an infrastructure firm, will manage the rollout.

Joining the Consortium lowers the cost for each agency, and allows an opportunity to share lessons and best practices.

Consortium members will meet at a forum in Detroit, Michigan, on September 12, to meet companies who can design and build automated buses.

Estimated to begin between 2021-2022, the plan calls for a one-year feasibility phase, followed by implementation within two years. Each agency can then decide whether to purchase more buses.

transportation traffic

E-Cigarette News

Dallas City Council places restrictions on vaping in public

Unsplash

Man vaping

Vaping will now be banned exactly like smoking, thanks to a new ordinance from the Dallas City Council.

At their December 11 meeting, the council passed an ordinance to ban vaping in all the same areas where smoking is not allowed. It'll go into effect on December 11, 2025 — giving everyone a year to get into compliance.

Proposed by City of Dallas Environmental Commission (EVC) and the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability (OEQS), the ordinance amends the definition of “smoking” in the Dallas City Code to include the use of vaping devices.

The ordinance does not ban vaping — it only bans where you can vape: no vaping in all indoor and enclosed spaces; within 15 feet of building entrances; and on park property. The ordinance also bans marijuana smoking in those same places.

In addition, the amendment requires restaurants, hotels, fitness centers and other businesses to update their signage to clearly state that both smoking and electronic smoking devices are prohibited.

The ordinance already earned widespread support from health organizations such as the Dallas County Health and Human Services, the American Lung Association, and the American Heart Association. These organizations, along with the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Surgeon General, have all raised concerns about the health risks of direct and second-hand exposure to vaping aerosols, particularly for vulnerable populations such as children and older adults.

Dallas is not the first city to impose such a ban: San Antonio enacted a similar ban in October. Theirs goes into effect on January 1, 2025.

politics