Houston will test Nuro’s Second Generation Autonomous Delivery Vehicles

The first self-driving vehicle designed without basic human controls such as steering wheels, pedals or side view mirrors has been granted permission to test on US roads.

Nuro, the company behind the design, makes autonomous delivery vans.

The vehicle is Nuro’s second generation of its vehicles, which it is calling R2 and will be tested in Houston, Texas.

This is the first exemption to a rule requiring vehicles to have controls for human operators.

Most of the rules for testing vehicles require features that allow a driver to safely take control of them.

But in a statement, the US transport secretary Elaine Chao said given that the vehicle’s top speed is capped at 25mph, these requirements “no longer make sense”.

The Department of Transportation (DoT) will also be enforcing greater oversight of the testing.

It will require Nuro to report information about the operation of the R2 and reach out to the communities where the vehicle will be tested.

In a blog post, Nuro’s co-founder Dave Ferguson said the decision was a “milestone for the industry”.

Up to $30,000 per Station Tax Credit Available for Natural Gas and Propane Stations

Public Law 116-94 retroactively extended the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Credit to stations placed in service between January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2020. It includes a tax credit for purchasers of natural gas or propane refueling stations, up to 30 percent or $30,000 of the cost of the new station.

Definition

Qualified alternative fuel vehicle property is any property (other than a building or its structural components) used to store or dispense a clean-burning fuel into the fuel tank of a motor vehicle propelled by the fuel, but only if the storage or dispensing is at the point where the fuel is delivered into the tank.

The credit may be claimed for each separate qualifying property.

Amount of the credit

For personal use property, the credit is generally the smaller of 30% of the property’s cost or $1,000. For business use property, the credit is generally the smaller of 30% of the property’s cost or $30,000. Each property’s cost must first be reduced by any section 179 deduction before figuring the credit.

Tax-exempt entities

Sellers of new refueling property to a tax-exempt organization or governmental unit can claim the credit, as long as they clearly disclose in writing to the purchaser the amount of the tentative credit allowable.

For more information on the credit, see the instructions for Form 8911 at http://www.irs.gov.

TCEQ Opens $6.4M in VW Funds for Freight and Drayage Trucks in the Houston Region

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is inviting applications from person who operate trucks, including

commercial trucks, used to deliver cargo and freight in areas designed as Priority Areas. Incentive funding is available to replace or repower eligible vehicles to reduce the emission of nitrogen oxides in designated eligible counties.

Eligible Applicants:

Eligible applicants under the TxVEMP must operate a freight or port drayage truck at least 51% of the vehicle’s annual mileage in one of the Priority Areas.

Vehicles being replaced or repowered must:

be a Class 4-7 local freight truck or commercial truck used to deliver cargo and freight with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) between 14,001 – 33,000 lbs. or;
be a Class 8 local freight truck used for port drayage and/or freight/cargo delivery with a GVWR greater than 33,000 lbs;
have a diesel engine with a model year of 1992 – 2009;
be considered capable of performing its primary function for the next five years;
have been continuously inspected and registered in Texas for the two years immediately preceding the application signature date;
have been used routinely by the applicant in its primary function in Texas for the two years immediately preceding the application signature date; and
been owned by the applicant for the two years immediately preceding the application signature date.

New vehicles must:

be powered by electricity, diesel, or an alternative fuel;
have an engine model year not more than one year older than the year the application is submitted;
be certified by the EPA or CARB to a NOx emissions standard or family emissions limit (FEL) of 0.2 g/bhp-hr or lower;
be used in the same priority priority area as the vehicle being replaced or repowered; and
be of the same type, weight category, and body and axle configuration as the vehicle being replaced.

Activity Life and Usage Commitment:

The applicant must commit to use the grant-funded vehicle at least 51% of the vehicle’s annual miles of operation in one of the Priority Areas for the duration of the five-year activity life.