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Roadworks speed limits would be returned to normal outside of work hours, under proposed legislation from re-elected Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews. Mr. Andrews posted on Facebook announcing the Government's plans to make "a new rule" so motorists aren't stuck going 40km/h past an "empty work site"...
A new SEA Electric factory will be built in Morwell, Victoria, set to employ 500 workers manufacturing pure-electric vans and buses on a 20,000 square-metre site. Although initial production capacity will be 2400 vehicles each year, the Victorian Government – which is helping fund the new factory as part of its $266 million LaTrobe Valley Support Package, designed to aid the transition from coal-reliant employment in the region – says the facility will be fully scalable, with headroom to double that output when required...
The Victorian State Government has followed its $1 million investment in a high-speed electric vehicle charging network with a further $2 million, announcing ultra high-speed stations will be built in Melbourne, Ballarat, Horsham, Torquay and Traralgon. Those five high-speed follow stations in Euroa and Barnawartha North, the former of which was formally unveiled today...
Infrastructure Victoria has revealed its advice on what's needed to support the rollout of highly-automated and zero-emissions vehicles, arguing autonomy could improve the efficiency of our roads by 91 per cent...
The Victorian Labor Government revealed today it will partly fund the installation of two "ultra-rapid" electric vehicle charging stations at two regional locations: Euroa and Barnawartha North, near Wodonga. A $1 million grant was announced by Energy Minister, Lily D'Ambrosio, with the amount to be matched by Chargefox, the company that will install and administer the charging stations...
L-Plate drivers in Victoria will be able to log their 120 hours using a new 'digital log book app' from early next year. The myLearners app and website is being put through its paces by 110 drivers in a trial by the TAC and Victorian Labor Government, ahead of a launch early in 2019. Supervisors approve driving hours through the app or using a website, doing away with the paper logbook entirely...
Nissan Australia has announced it has been awarded a grant from the Victorian Government to fund its research project on electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions, in partnership with the CSIRO and Delta Energy Systems. A sum of $210,000 has been approved from the New Energy Jobs Fund, and will help Nissan and its research partners look into off-grid charging infrastructure for EVs, and will run for 18 months...
La Trobe University has called for more consideration of autonomous vehicles in future infrastructure planning decisions, having concluded a 12-month self-driving bus trial on campus. More than 500 students and staff rode the 'Autonobus' during its year on the La Trobe Bundoora campus, before providing feedback about the experience...
New laws will lock in how revenue raised by Victorian speed cameras is used to maintain the state's roads, thanks to new legislation from the Labor Government. All money raised from speeding fines handed out by mobile and fixed cameras, along with on-the-spot police monitoring, is currently put into a 'Better Roads Victoria Fund' reserved for road upgrades...
Collingwood and Fitzroy residents in Melbourne will be subjected to a 30km/h speed limit trial from 'late September', as Yarra Council seeks to make life easier for pedestrians and cyclists in residential areas. The new limits, which are a first in Australia, will be applied to the residential zone bordered by Alexandra Parade, Hoddle, Johnston and Nicholson streets...
Cost of living is still forefront of mind right now, but a new study has found Melbourne and Sydney residents are more concerned about congestion than ever before. A study of almost 1000 inner-city residents found traffic was fourth on the current list of concerns, but it was the biggest forward-looking concern among respondents...
The Greens are calling for road toll fines to be capped in Victoria, amid a growing backlog of cases in the Magistrate's Court. Under the proposed legislation introduced to Victorian Parliament last week, motorists won't be hit with more than one road toll fine per week, regardless of how many trips they make...
Ride-sharing giant Uber could be bringing its high-flying uberAIR service to Sydney and Melbourne, as the company looks for 'launch cities' to trial its latest program. Using electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOLs), uberAIR shuttles have space for up to four passengers along with "their personal bags and backpacks"...
Koenigsegg, Swedish maker of wild hypercars like the Regera (above), has announced it will open its first factory-backed dealership in Australia later this year. Scheduled to launch in June, the company confirmed its vehicles will be available through Prodigy Automotive in conjunction with Lorbek Luxury Cars in Melbourne, Victoria...
Proposed changes to the Victorian Road Safety Act and Crimes Act will open the door for more advanced autonomous tests on public roads. Should the new amendments pass, self-driving test permit holders would be subject to the same legal obligations as human drivers under the current Road Safety Act and Crimes Act...
A Holden pilot will allow Melbourne metro buyers to research, spec and buy cars online, removing the need to visit a showroom. The company's research indicates 30 per cent of consumers would consider buying a car online...
VicRoads is teaming up with BOSCH, the TAC, Geoscience Australia and the Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information to test a world-first satellite positioning system in Albert Park. The test is part of a wider Australasian trial of a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS), backed by $12 million in funding from the Australian Government and $2 million from the New Zealand Government...
Proposed changes to Victorian drink-driving laws would see first-time offenders lose their licence for three months. Anyone caught driving with a blood-alcohol content (BAC) between 0.05 and 0.069 face licence cancellation and disqualification for three months, while all drivers caught over the 0.05 limit will be forced to have an alcohol interlock fitted to their cars for six months...
Revised regulations could allow autonomous vehicles on California roads without a human minder in the driver seat next year, but it could be five or six years before we see similar tests on local roads. Proposed changes to the California DMV Driverless Testing and Deployment Regulations remove the need for “physical control by a natural person sitting in the vehicle’s driver’s seat” during tests...
Tesla has continued the expansion of its charging network in Australia, with five new Superchargers in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. A charge station in Horsham means the Supercharger link between Melbourne and Adelaide is now complete, while stations in Keith, Clare Valley and the Adelaide city centre are designed to allow Model S and Model X owners to travel between Adelaide and Brisbane without running flat...
