Transportation

Toll road systems are modernizing with seamless payment portals and other forms of tech, enabling new options to make controlling congestion easy — and generate revenue other ways, as gas taxes decline.

The devices, which are finding their way onto local roads, could come to state highways too, with passage of a new law. The first step would be a plan for that expansion, from the state Department of Transportation.

The technology, which uses biometric facial recognition, is being used to screen U.S. citizens returning home on international flights to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, to make it easier to clear customs.

By putting surveillance cameras on more school buses, East Baton Rouge Parish public schools hope that video evidence will diffuse arguments around student behavior or poor driving and result in fewer insurance claims.

Ford Motor Co. says it’s on track to open a massive electric vehicle battery plant in southwest Michigan despite facing political pressure, local pushback and a federal bill that could cut its tax incentives.

A new GIS-powered state planning tool brings together more than 100 data sets to offer officials and members of the public a detailed look at where electric vehicle charging exists, is already planned, and may be needed.

The board of directors at The Woodlands, north of Houston, will reexamine usage of electric scooters and bicycles. It could define more specifically vehicles allowed on its pathways — or ban them.

Torc, an autonomous long-haul truck company, received the money from the Michigan Strategic Fund. It will be part of what’s estimated at a nearly $5.6 million investment, to create the center in Ann Arbor Township.

Democratic members of the state Senate and House of Representatives have asked the automaker to delay the launch of its self-driving, ride-hailing service until new autonomous vehicle regulations arrive Sept. 1.

The unofficial competition to put driverless taxis on the road is picking up speed. Zoox opened a production facility this week in California’s Bay Area. Waymo already offers paid rides in a few cities.

A Lexington-area school district is proposing to replace paper packets used by bus drivers with tablets and hardware that can map routes, give audio directions and make sure students are on the right bus.

Their proportions and weight mean heavy-duty trucks cause an outsized amount of damage to the nation's roads, experts said. Road usage charges could help introduce fairness and equity into how vehicles are charged.

Federal proposals to end purchase incentives for electric vehicles, and a presidential halt to California phasing out gas-powered cars, are rattling that transition, but may not halt it, experts said.

Personal data from more than a quarter-million Texas Department of Transportation reports was accessed improperly through a compromised account. It originated in Crash Records Information System documents.

Competition for curb space from cars, delivery trucks, bikes and scooters is high. Adjusted pricing models, high-tech monitoring and better compliance will create more useful, dynamic space on urban streets.

Collectively, U.S. transportation services have cyber preparedness work to do, according to a recent study. Individually, they are hardening their postures; an Illinois state pilot offers locals consulting and training.

The Texas airport, poised for what could be its busiest summer travel season ever, has deployed Enhanced Passenger Processing. It uses biometric facial screening to automate identity verification for international passengers.

Officials this week approved contributing $1.75 million in state transit funding to the $3 million project. That means driverless Ford passenger vans are a go, in a 12-month trial with Florida-based company Beep.