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Daily COVID-19 News
Sept. 27, 2022
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China’s Flood of New Electric Cars Cost 20% More to Insure than Fuel-Powered Cars | |
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While Chinese companies churn out new electric cars, local insurance firms think they are more expensive to cover.
In general, the insurance premium for new energy cars — which includes electric — is about 20% higher than it would be for comparable traditional fuel-powered cars, said Wenwen Chen, director at S&P Global Ratings, who leads the firm’s research for China insurance.
Many factors go into determining pricing. However, Chen said insurance companies find that the loss ratio — a measure of cost for insurers — tends to be higher for new energy vehicles than for internal combustion engine cars.
One of the main reasons she cited for a higher loss ratio is more accidents, especially more costly ones — since new energy vehicles often use parts that aren’t mass-produced yet.
In the U.S., insurance for electric cars also tends to be about 15% more expensive than that for combustion engine cars — primarily because electric cars in the U.S. tend to be luxury vehicles, according to Chase Gardner at Insurify, which compares car insurance rates in the U.S.
But repair costs are another reason for higher insurance prices, since “fewer places have the capability to service electric cars in the U.S.,” Gardner said. “Generally people who drive EVs end up paying lower maintenance costs over time. Again, the big question is, do you get into an accident?”
In the U.S., Insurify’s analysis of the U.S. market found there was no difference in accident rates among electric cars, hybrids and combustion engine cars.
By official Chinese statistics, new energy vehicles in the country are more prone to fires than traditional fuel-powered ones. In the first quarter, 640 new energy vehicles reported fires, 32% higher than a year ago, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management’s Fire and Rescue Department.
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Australia: NSW Government Announces $645 Million Assistance Package for Taxi Industry | |
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Taxi license holders across New South Wales will receive an additional $500 million in assistance payments as part of a comprehensive $645 million package to fully deregulate the industry and benefit customers long term.
NSW Treasurer Matt Kean said $145 million had already been paid out and additional payments would be made early next year, once legislation to remove taxi license supply restrictions is passed in Parliament.
“This will create a level playing field across the sector, freeing the taxi industry to better compete, while driving improved and more innovative services for customers,” Mr. Kean said.
“To help existing taxi license holders adapt to these changes, the package will provide $100,000 for each eligible Sydney metro taxi license up to six licenses per owner. It will provide up to $130,000 for each taxi license outside of Sydney with no cap on the number of licenses per owner.”
Minister for Transport, Veterans and Western Sydney David Elliott said he was proud to deliver a win for the taxi industry.
“I told the taxi industry that the NSW Government has their back and today is proof of that,” Mr. Elliott said.
Under the package, the $1 Passenger Service Levy (PSL) will be extended from 2026-27 to 2028-29. The amount of the PSL will not be changed.
This package will form part of the NSW Government’s total deregulation of the point-to-point industry. A Bill is expected to be introduced to Parliament by the end of the year and funds will be distributed next year.
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Biden to Propose New Rule Requiring Airlines to Disclose Extra Fees Upfront
President Biden afternoon will propose a new rule requiring airlines and travel search websites to disclose extra fees upfront when passengers purchase their tickets.
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Study: Downtown Congestion is Still Down — And It Could Help Explain Roadway Dangers
Downtown rush hour has still not roared back to pre-pandemic levels even as car travel surges in the suburbs, a new study finds — and it may help explain why traffic deaths have stayed so stubbornly high in U.S. communities.
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The Mass Transit Fiscal Cliff: Estimating the Size and Scope of the Problem
The CARES Act, CARES II, and the American Rescue Plan Act pumped $70 billion into U.S. transit agencies struggling because farebox revenue declined by half during the pandemic. However, the money was not distributed evenly, with smaller agencies getting a bigger share, and now it is starting to run out.
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Canada to Drop COVID Border Measures on October 1
The federal government announced that, starting Saturday, incoming travelers to Canada will not have to test, quarantine, declare their vaccination status or use ArriveCAN, a digital tool at the center of political debate.
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Are Electric Air Taxis Ready for Takeoff? Maybe Sooner Than You Think
Manufacturers ramp up test flights ahead of commercial transport of goods and passengers.
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More than 300 New Mines Needed to Meet Electric Vehicle Demand, Says Analyst
Canada can play a big role in meeting demand for electric vehicles, analyst says.
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Cars Are Vanishing from Paris
The share of journeys made by car in the city has fallen by nearly half, and the trend is only accelerating.
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Papaya Wants to Help Electrify Last-Mile Logistics in Europe
Soft-launched back in February, Papaya’s software is designed to help fleet operators source and manage electric or light-electric vehicles (LEVs), solving something that cofounder and CEO Santi Ureta says is usually “highly fragmented and opaque.”
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Experts Urged $2.4 Billion Boost for Everyday Cycling in France, Government Commits $250 Million
In renewing its four-year-old “Plan Vélo” at a press conference, the French government announced it is to increase the spending on everyday cycling to $249 million per year.
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For China’s Auto Market, Electric Isn’t the Future. It is the Present.
More electric cars will be sold in the country this year than in the rest of the world combined, as its domestic market accelerates ahead of the global competition.
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Shh! A New Electric Transport Revolution Is Emerging in Brisbane
Registrations of electric motorbikes in Queensland have jumped six-fold in two years, while those for electric mopeds have doubled as COVID-19, rising petrol costs and congested commutes affect the way we get to work.
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Now, Dubai Taxis Will Get Automatically Directed to Demand Hotspots
A new package of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven projects and services have been approved for Dubai Taxi Corporation (DTC).
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The New Normal: Trends in Telecommuting Influence Transportation, Employment and More | |
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Mineta Transportation Institute's (MTI) new research, “TELE-commuting” during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond: Unveiling State-wide Patterns and Trends of Telecommuting in Relation to Transportation, Employment, Land Use, and Emissions in California, uses surveys and interviews to investigate changes in telecommuting, how it affects people’s behavior related to transportation and employment, and how it will affect changes in land use and emissions--especially from commuting.
The findings from this research reveal that:
- Telecommuting has been widely adopted and is likely to continue for at least three years (note: the three-year time frame is a reflection of the way questions were framed), and there is an inverse relationship between staying at home and transport usage (i.e., the more people stay at home, the less they need and thus use public transit).
- Work-from-home is more widely available now after COVID-19, but there are positive and negative impacts to employees (e.g., more flexibility but feelings of isolation) and employers (e.g., reduced costs of hiring but more difficult collaboration), and it also often affects local communities that rely on business profits related to office activities.
- In terms of land use, telecommuting may motivate companies/organizations to rethink their strategies of reducing, consolidating or rearranging office spaces.
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THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS! | |
Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP | |
University Transportation Research Center | |
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Independent Drivers Guild (IDG) | |
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Memphis Area Transit Authority | |
Message from IATR President Matthew W. Daus
These past two years have been so difficult for so many people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic around the world, including the International Association of Transportation Regulators (IATR's) regulator members and licensed industries. Yet, despite the challenges and the ongoing variants that continue to emerge, the economic future of both public and private transportation shows promise and hope. Many things have changed in the transportation sector, with many new issues to tackle - including increased congestion, reduced ride pooling, and a too slow return of business travel. Our regulators have worked closely with the industry to help ease the pain, and have pivoted to remote transactions, reduced fees and other measures that include new business opportunities, like food and package delivery. The resilience of our regulators makes the IATR proud, and is illustrative of the fulfillment of our mission to promote Multi-Modal Mobility Innovation for All through information sharing, collaboration, identifying and promoting best practices, and educating our membership.
From the beginning of the pandemic, IATR continues to provide important daily global news updates on the pandemic, created resources on its website for its members on guidance and reports of relevance to their work, conducted surveys, and has held numerous meetings and webinars to share information and best practices. IATR has also worked with many other organizations in the field, participating in joint surveys, webinars and reports, and developed its own model pandemic regulations for safe and healthy mobility through its IATR COVID-19 Task Force. Our daily news updates during the pandemic have proved so popular that they are here to stay –and it is our hope that as time goes on – our “snips” will be more about other important topics such as innovation, multi-modal integration, automation and equity.
The IATR and its membership and reach have expanded throughout the pandemic, and the future looks bright in terms of our organization’s resilience. Let’s stay aware of what is going on, help to change things to make mobility better, and get and stay involved in the IATR!
To view more information about the IATR, view our website at www.iatr.global. Current members can renew their memberships when they login to their IATR portal on the top right hand side of our website or click here. If you forgot your membership password, please email IATR Volunteer, Kim, at [email protected].
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