Contra Costa Herald

News Of By and For The People of Contra Costa County, California

Shared autonomous vehicles make U.S. debut at Bishop Ranch as part of pilot program

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EasyMile @ Bishop Ranch. Photo by Noah Berger

San Ramon, CA – Bishop Ranch, EasyMile, GoMentum Station and the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) announced Monday that two EZ10 Shared Autonomous Vehicles (SAV) will begin operation at Bishop Ranch, northern California’s premier business park in San Ramon. This marks the beginning of the second phase of testing for a pilot demonstration project authorized as part of California Assembly Bill 1592, which enables testing of electric, low-speed, multi-passenger, autonomous vehicles that are not equipped with a steering wheel, brake pedal, accelerator or operator. This is the first such pilot program in California.

“We are excited to be at the cutting edge of innovation in driverless technology with the United States’ first pilot demonstration for EasyMile shuttles here at Bishop Ranch,” said Alexander Mehran Sr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sunset Development Company. “We’re continuously striving to find ways to elevate the customer experience at Bishop Ranch and deliver innovative and valuable amenities. Autonomous shuttles have the ability to improve safety, benefit the environment, reduce congestion and make existing roads more efficient.”

“The Contra Costa Transportation Authority and GoMentum Station look forward to partnering with Bishop Ranch and EasyMile to test the next generation of transportation in Contra Costa County. This technology offers an innovative new approach to helping travelers get to transit stations, business districts, and other local amenities without the hassle of driving and parking. We expect that EasyMile SAVs will solve the so-called “first-and-last-mile” challenge — a solution that could be replicated by many urban and suburban communities across the United States,” said Randell Iwasaki, CCTA’s Executive Director.

“At EasyMile, we are proud of our work to transform the way people move through cities around the world. Our shuttles allow commuters to quickly, easily, and safely get where they need to go, without having to depend on a car. We are excited to partner with Bishop Ranch, GoMentum Station and First Transit as our operating partner in bringing this technology to the United States,” said Gilbert Gagnaire, EasyMile President.

Founded in 2014, EasyMile is a high-tech company specialized in developing software for the automatization of all kind of transportation systems, powering autonomous vehicles for both goods transportation and smart mobility solutions. They have already successfully deployed SAVs in Finland, France, Spain, Norway, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Japan, Dubai, Singapore, and Switzerland. The Bishop Ranch pilot program marks the U.S. debut of the EasyMile SAVs, which if successful, is poised to become the first publicly accessible SAV technology for Mobility-on-Demand (MOD) in the country.

About EasyMile

EasyMile is a high-tech company specialized in developing software for the automatization of all kind of transportation systems. The company provides shared driverless transportation for the last mile that complement mass transportation solutions, the EZ10. This ‘green’ service addresses short distances that are too long to walk to, from a transport hub to a final destination where cars are either ‘off limits’ or where parking space is limited or non-existent. It also provides a service for short distances within confined sites. EasyMile autonomous vehicles operate either on demand or follow a set route calling at all stations.

About GoMentum Station

GoMentum Station in Concord, California is where the Contra Costa Transportation Authority leads and facilitates a collaborative partnership among multiple automobile manufacturers; original equipment manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers; communications suppliers; technology companies; researchers and academia; public agencies and other partners. At GoMentum Station, technology, innovation and commercialization will converge to define the next generation of transportation network infrastructure. More information about GoMentum Station is available at gomentumstation.net

About Bishop Ranch

Bishop Ranch, owned and operated by Sunset Development Company, is built on a legacy of sound planning and smart growth. Located on 585 acres in the San Ramon Valley, it is the largest mixed-use business community in Northern California. For nearly four decades, Bishop Ranch has continually, carefully grown to become a dynamic center for the modern business. Today, the prosperous surrounding communities — 192,000 residents within a six-mile radius — enjoy an average household income of $162,000.

We are home to 30,000 employees at 600 companies in more than 30 industries. Among the tenants are many Fortune 500 companies including AT&T, Chevron, General Electric, IBM, PG&E, Robert Half, Bank of the West, Toyota and Berkshire Hathaway. Numerous small businesses in high tech, bio/clean tech, and social software, such as Affiliated Computer Services, Aon eSolutions, Cognizant Technology Solutions and AGIS Network have chosen to locate in this diverse and thriving business environment. Bishop Ranch offers a unique flexibility for the space requirements of companies large and small, and its tenants occupy spaces from 150 square feet to more than 1 million square feet.

Employees at Bishop Ranch enjoy a wide range of amenities and on-site services, including award-winning transportation programs, high-end food options, professional seminars and networking opportunities, special offers and discounts, gourmet food trucks and a farmers market.

About The Contra Costa Transportation Authority

The Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) is a public agency formed by Contra Costa voters in 1988 to manage the county’s transportation sales tax program and oversee countywide transportation planning efforts. CCTA is responsible for planning, funding and delivering critical transportation infrastructure projects and programs that connect our communities, foster a strong economy, increase sustainability, and safely and efficiently get people where they need to go. CCTA also serves as the county’s designated Congestion Management Agency, responsible for putting programs in place to keep traffic levels manageable. More information about CCTA is available at ccta.net.

GoMentum Station named National Proving Ground by U.S. Department of Transportation

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Contra Costa testing facility selected to be part of first-ever “Community of Practice” for automated vehicle technology

GoMentum Station was named one of ten federally designated automated vehicle proving grounds by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The announcement was made by U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx on Thursday, January 19, who noted that the pilot sites were selected to encourage testing and information sharing around automated vehicle technologies, foster innovations that can safely transform personal and commercial mobility, expand capacity, and open new doors to disadvantaged people and communities. GoMentum Station was selected from more than 60 applicants to help advance the safe deployment of automated technology.

“We are honored to have been selected as part of this elite group of test facilities,” said Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) Executive Director Randell Iwasaki. “When we established GoMentum Station a little over two years ago with our partners, our goal was to make it the country’s premier secure test facility of autonomous and connected vehicle technology. To be selected as a federally designated proving grounds is a confirmation of the significant value our facility adds to the field and its role in redefining the next generation of transportation.”

“The designated proving grounds will collectively form a Community of Practice around safe testing and deployment,” said Secretary Foxx. “This group will openly share best practices for the safe conduct of testing and operations as they are developed, enabling the participants and the general public to learn at a faster rate and accelerating the pace of safe deployment.”

Each of the ten sites have a unique testing environment. Among the qualities that set GoMentum Station apart is being one of the largest, secure proving grounds in the United States, which enables partners to safely push their technology to its limits while testing at GoMentum Station.  Founded in 2014, GoMentum Station is located at the former Concord Naval Weapons Station, making Contra Costa County a center of cutting-edge transportation research. The innovative technology being explored at GoMentum Station will reinvent the ways we will move through our communities over the next 25 years and beyond.

Contra Costa’s autonomous and connected vehicle testing facility is built on a public/private partnership model, allowing the private sector space to innovate and test while providing the public sector with access to new technologies as they are being developed. The work being carried out at GoMentum Station facilitates informed policy, regulation and planning decisions around the technology.

“We are excited that there may be opportunities to potentially collaborate with other test facilities around the nation.  If we can coordinate on testing, we can eliminate redundant and duplicative testing, learn from one another and accelerate our ability to bring this transformative technology to market,” noted Iwasaki. “We hope this designation will be valuable to our partners and the public in helping to further this life-saving technology. We’re looking forward to working with USDOT on advancing this technology for a public good.”

About GoMentum Station

GoMentum Station in Concord, California is where the Contra Costa Transportation Authority leads and facilitates a collaborative partnership among multiple automobile manufacturers; original equipment manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers; communications suppliers; technology companies; researchers and academia; public agencies and other partners. At GoMentum Station, technology, innovation and commercialization will converge to define the next generation of transportation network infrastructure. More information about GoMentum Station is available at gomentumstation.net.

About The Contra Costa Transportation Authority

The Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) is a public agency formed by Contra Costa voters in 1988 to manage the county’s transportation sales tax program and oversee countywide transportation planning efforts. CCTA is responsible for planning, funding and delivering critical transportation infrastructure projects and programs that connect our communities, foster a strong economy, increase sustainability, and safely and efficiently get people where they need to go. CCTA also serves as the county’s designated Congestion Management Agency, responsible for putting programs in place to keep traffic levels manageable. More information about CCTA is available at ccta.net.

GoMentum Station in Concord announces new partnership with BestMile to advance driverless car project

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BestMile’s cloud-based computing platform will support and enhance efforts to solve the first-and-last mile challenge

GoMentum Station and BestMile announced a new partnership today to further the shared autonomous vehicle (SAV) pilot project aimed at addressing the first-and-last mile challenge in Contra Costa. BestMile will offer its cloud-based computing platform to support the operation and optimization of SAV fleets, including the full testing of EasyMile shuttles. The EasyMile shuttles arrived at GoMentum Station in September of 2016, and the pilot demonstration project with the Contra Costa Transportation Authority marks the first time EasyMile shuttles will be utilized in the United States. BestMile’s computing platform will not only allow the EasyMile shuttles to work more effectively together, it will facilitate the ability of riders to interface with the shuttles.

“GoMentum Station is putting Contra Costa and the Bay Area squarely at the center of the transportation technology revolution with this innovative project to address first and last mile transit accessibility challenges, which we hope will allow people to use transit and commuter rail more effectively and efficiently,” said Randy Iwasaki, Executive Director of the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA). “We are excited to leverage BestMile’s unique technology capabilities to incubate transportation solutions that will help further shared mobility.”

“We believe the future of mobility isn’t in autonomous vehicles themselves, but in what they can offer when they’re operated and managed collectively in an integrated ecosystem. It is an incredible opportunity for BestMile to be able to showcase its fleet optimization platform within the framework of this exciting project at GoMentum Station, Bishop Ranch and then hopefully expand to the Bay Area. It will allow passengers of SAVs to experience a truly optimized, sustainable and efficient SAV service. Ordering your own SAV will be only one click away thanks to the traveler app we are also providing as part of our platform” said Raphael Gindrat, CEO of BestMile.

BestMile has created the world’s first cloud platform for the operation and optimization of autonomous vehicle fleets, designed to support shared electric connected and automated mobility. Using cutting-edge algorithms, it sends optimized missions to vehicles and seamlessly handles planning, real-time automated dispatching, intelligent routing, and electrical energy management. Their first commercial project launched in June 2016 with Switzerland’s main transport operator, PostBus. The collaboration with GoMentum Station marks the first time BestMile’s technology will be incorporated into a project within the United States and aligns with BestMile’s mission to accelerate innovative autonomous transportation solutions for cities everywhere.

About GoMentum Station

GoMentum Station in Concord, California is where the Contra Costa Transportation Authority leads and facilitates a collaborative partnership among multiple automobile manufacturers; original equipment manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers; communications suppliers; technology companies; researchers and academia; public agencies and other partners. At GoMentum Station, technology, innovation and commercialization will converge to define the next generation of transportation network infrastructure. More information about GoMentum Station is available at gomentumstation.net.

About BestMile

BestMile is a Swiss company with offices in Lausanne (Switzerland), San Francisco (USA) and London (UK), developing distributed and highly scalable cloud technology leveraging the full potential of autonomous vehicles to tackle urban mobility challenges. By providing the first platform allowing for the intelligent operation and optimization of autonomous vehicle fleets, BestMile is revolutionizing mobility. It manages both scheduled trips and on-­demand service and is independent of any vehicle manufacturer, thus allowing customers to remotely manage heterogeneous fleets composed of autonomous vehicles of different types and brands. By using cutting-edge algorithms to handle planning, real-time automated dispatching, intelligent routing, and electrical energy management, BestMile is shaping “individual robots” into an intelligent, innovative and flexible mobility system. After launching its first commercial project with Switzerland’s main transport operator in June 2016, BestMile now has a foot in the US thanks to GoMentum Station, located in Contra Costa County. More information is available at www.bestmile.com.

About The Contra Costa Transportation Authority

The Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) is a public agency formed by Contra Costa voters in 1988 to manage the county’s transportation sales tax program and oversee countywide transportation planning efforts. CCTA is responsible for planning, funding and delivering critical transportation infrastructure projects and programs that connect our communities, foster a strong economy, increase sustainability, and safely and efficiently get people where they need to go. CCTA also serves as the county’s designated Congestion Management Agency, responsible for putting programs in place to keep traffic levels manageable. More information about CCTA is available at ccta.net.

McNerney’s bipartisan bill to improve broadband access for veterans passes House

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Senators Blumenthal, Booker applaud passage, introduce companion bill

Earlier this week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Congressman Jerry McNerney’s (D, CA-09) bipartisan bill, H.R. 6394, the Improving Broadband Access for Veterans Act of 2016.  Congressman Adam Kinzinger (D, IL-16) was the lead Republican co-sponsor. A companion bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ).

“Having broadband internet service is important for the more than 20 million veterans across our nation, with the highest population residing in California,” said McNerney. “A broadband internet connection helps veterans apply for jobs more easily, communicate with family and friends, keep up with current events, and obtain health care services. Veterans face many challenges when they return home; being without broadband access should not be one of those challenges. I commend my colleague Rep. Kinzinger for his efforts on this bill and the House for passing it with overwhelming support.”

Low-income veterans and veterans residing in rural areas are at a higher likelihood of not having broadband internet service. The U.S. Census Bureau and the Pew Research Center both report that broadband adoption rates are significantly lower among Americans who live at or below the federal poverty level. Analysis by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce further finds that broadband adoption rates in rural areas of the country are lower than in urban areas

H.R. 6394 directs the Federal Communications Commission to produce a report examining the current state of broadband internet access for veterans and what can be done to increase access, with a focus on low-income veterans and veterans residing in rural areas. The report must include findings and recommendations for Congress and be completed within one year of the bill’s enactment.

“The findings and recommendations from this report will be key for paving the way to get more veterans connected and help close the digital divide,” McNerney added.

“I am proud to co-lead H.R. 6394, which aims to improve broadband access for our veterans – especially those in rural areas, or those unable to afford it. After serving tirelessly to protect our country, veterans face many challenges when they return home. This bill is the first step towards alleviating one piece of the transition back into civilian life through the benefits afforded by broadband access – from connecting with family and friends, applying for jobs, accessing information on benefits and health services, and much more. Thanks to Congressman Jerry McNerney for working with me to introduce this legislation.” said Rep. Kinzinger.

H.R. 6394 passed the House by 411-4.  A companion bill, S. 3501, has been introduced by Senators Blumenthal and Booker.

“This important legislation will bring to light the key hurdles hindering veterans’ access to broadband, and pave the way for meaningful action to ensure veterans have the information and tools they need to successfully navigate the transition from the armed services to civilian employment. Access to broadband is essential to conduct daily activities, pursue job and housing opportunities, obtain quality health care services, and stay in touch with family members,” said Blumenthal.

“In the digital age, broadband access is not a luxury — it’s a necessity. The Improving Broadband Access for Veterans Act will help close the digital divide and will ensure that the men and women who have sacrificed so much for our country have access to tools for communication and future success,” said Booker.

McNerney represents California’s 9th Congressional District that includes most of Antioch and other portions of Contra Costa and Sacramento Counties, and most of San Joaquin County. For more information on Rep. McNerney’s work, follow him on Facebook and on Twitter @RepMcNerney.

Forum on how technology is changing employer-employee relationships in Walnut Creek, Thursday

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WHAT: Forecasting the Future – Navigating the Internet of Things: New Opportunities and Risks

This Thursday, April 21, The Internet of Things will intersect with philanthropy, when prominent insurance professionals gather in Walnut Creek to discuss technological disruption while benefiting local Alameda/Contra Costa charities. During the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation’s CAPP Educational Forum, local insurance leaders will gather to discuss opportunities/risks during a panel entitled, “Global Technology Platforms and their Role in the Disruption of the Traditional Employer/Employee Relationship: Employee? Contractor? Who Decides?”

WHO: Featured speakers and panelists include:

  • Lex Baugh, President of Liability & Financial Lines, AIG
  • Mark Locke, Vice President Worldwide Manufacturing and Government Contractors, Chubb
  • Davidson Pattiz, COO, The Zenith Insurance Company
  • Jeff Phelps, CEO, iWorkGlobal
  • William Weissman, Attorney & Shareholder, Littler Mendelson

Proceeds from the IICF CAPP Educational Forum will benefit child abuse prevention programs serving Contra Costa and Alameda Counties.

WHEN: April 21, 2016 – 8:30 am to 12:00 pm (Continental Breakfast at 7:30 am)

WHERE: Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Dr. Walnut Creek, CA 94596

Free electric car test-drives at Contra Costa Spring Home & Garden Show this weekend

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“Experience Electric” at Concord Pavilion, April 2-3

Visitors to the Contra Costa Spring Home and Garden Show on Saturday and Sunday, April 2 and 3 will be able to test drive some of the newest models of electric cars at the Concord Pavilion, located at 2000 Kirker Pass Road in Concord. The “Experience Electric – The Better Ride” campaign will offer free electric vehicle (EV) test drives both days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Vehicles slated for testing at the ride-and-drive event include the BMW i3 REX, Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf. Licensed drivers can try out these EVs on a first-come, first-served basis and feel the differences between driving with electricity versus driving a gasoline-powered car. Those taking test drives will receive Experience Electric souvenir sunglasses.

“Test-driving at a dealer’s showroom can be a bit intimidating, but there’s no pressure or sales hype at our events,” said Vanessa Minei, Marketing Manager with the Center for Sustainable Energy, a partner in the Experience Electric campaign. “We’ve all seen EVs on the road, but this is a chance to try one out, have some fun and feel the electric experience.”

Experience Electric is a joint initiative of MTC, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and a consortium of EV organizations including the Center for Sustainable Energy. The campaign’s goal is to increase EV adoption throughout the nine-county Bay Area. Accelerating EV use is a key strategy for state and local governments to reduce emissions from gas-powered vehicles, improve air quality and achieve goals for curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

To learn more about Experience Electric and future ride-and-drive events, visit www.facebook.com/thebetterride or www.energycenter.org/ExperienceElectric.

MTC is the transportation planning, coordinating and financing agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is the agency chartered with protecting air quality in the Bay Area.