The U.S. Department of Transportation revoked the Federal Highway Administration's approval of New York City's congestion charge plan.
According to the information on the website of the US Department of Transportation, on February 19, the US Department of Transportation revoked the pilot of the Central Business District Toll Plan (CBDTP) in New York City's Central Business District of Manhattan Island, which was approved by the Federal Highway Administration last November on the grounds that it exceeded the statutory approval authority. In a letter to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy pointed out two reasons for terminating the pilot: (1) The scope of the CBDTP was unprecedented, and it did not provide any toll-free alternatives for many drivers who wanted or needed to drive in this urban area. (2) The charging standard was mainly designed to increase public transportation revenue, rather than to reduce congestion. This is contrary to the original intention of the "Value P Pilot Program" (VPPP), as the purpose of the VPPP is to reduce traffic congestion by levying tolls, not to create revenue for public transportation
link：
https://highways.dot.gov/newsroom/us-department-transportation-terminates-tolling-a pproval-new-york-citys-cordon-pricing
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Develops System to Assist Autonomous Trucks Merging onto Highways
According to a report on the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries website on March 3rd, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) and its subsidiary, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machinery Systems, Ltd. (MHI-MS), will participate in Japan's first autonomous truck pilot project. This project will be implemented by the Road Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), the National Institute of Land and Infrastructure Technology Policy (NILIM), and the Central Nippon Expressway Company, Ltd. (NEXCO Central), covering the section from the Suruga Bay Numazu Service Area/Smart Entrance (SA/SIC) to the Hamamatsu Service Area/Smart Entrance (SA/SIC) on the Shin-Tomei Expressway. The "Merging Support Information System" developed by MHI-MS is an important part of the "Cooperative Vehicle/Infrastructure System", which is one of the important functions of the autonomous driving support infrastructure, allowing vehicles to operate safely in complex sections where the main highway intersects. During the trial project, the Merging Support Information System will provide autonomous trucks with merging support data, allowing them to understand the traffic situation on the main highway in advance before approaching the acceleration lane, thus having sufficient time to adjust their speed and ensure a safe and smooth merge.
link：
https://www.mhi.com/news/250303.html#:~:text=This%20system%20allows%20autonomous%20trucks,ensure%20
safe%20and%20smooth%20merging
【1】The University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute and the autonomous vehicle program began to cooperate.UMTRI recognized early on that advanced connected and automated technologies needed to be tested in a safe environment, not on public roads, and thats what they had in mind when they designed the Mcity test facility. Starting March 1 of this year, the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) will to include Mcity collaboration and testing, a change that is something of a return to the Mcity test facility's roots.
【2】The Massachusetts Clean Energy (MassCEC) is launching a two-year V2X (vehicle-to-everything) demonstration project that will increase storage capacity by 1.5 megawatts converting electric vehicles into mobile energy storage devices through the deployment of 100 bidirectional chargers. V2X technology is key to using electric vehicles as assets on the grid according to MassCEC, and it allows for both the creation of financial value and an effective boost in the reliability of grid operations.
【3】An autonomous race has set a new speed record for self-driving vehicles. A Maserati MC20 Coupe, running in autonomous mode, achieved a new self-driving speed record of197.7 miles per hour (318 kilometers per hour) at the Kennedy Space Center, carrying on-board autonomous driving software developed at Politecnico diano, designed to test the reliability of AI driving systems at extreme speeds and to push the safe application of autonomous driving technology on highways.
