First city I know that has regulated Uber - Canberra

From the Australian Broadcasting Corporation

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-30/uber-launches-in-canberra/6898514

Updated 30 Oct 2015, 2:38pm

Uber X was launched in the ACT on Friday, with Canberra becoming the first city in Australia to regulate ride sharing. On Thursday, the ACT Government passed legislation to allow ride share services, like Uber, to operate in the Territory. As of 12:00pm Friday, Canberrans were be able to catch a lift with the service. 

Uber's Australian general manager David Rohrsheim told 666 ABC's Canberra's Philip Clark that there were about 100 approved Uber drivers in Canberra who were ready to work. He said Canberra's new regulations enshrined in law what his company has already been doing in most other states and territories. "They (the ACT Government) put in place regulations around background checks, vehicle inspections and insurance, all of which we've had from day one," he said. "And now that's the law in Canberra." He congratulated the ACT Government on its approach to ride sharing. "What the Chief Minister has done here is actually taken a look at opportunities, not just to open up to new things like ride sharing... but also how can they improve options for the taxi industry," he said. "They've actually lowered a lot of the fees and the red tape ... and actually made it easier for people to launch taxi apps. "So I think you'll see a whole bunch of innovation inside the taxi sector. And it will always be another choice to help you get around."

How Many American Cities Are Preparing For The Arrival of Self-Driving Cars? Not Many.

From.

http://techcrunch.com/2015/11/09/cities-self-driving-cars/?utm_content=bufferdccf4&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer#.5dyqogp:dWem

Only about 6 percent of the country’s biggest cities are planning for or thinking about autonomous vehicles or self-driving cars in their long-range transportation plans, according to the National League of Cities.

What’s even more surprising is that only 3 percent of these cities’ transit plans are even taking into account the impact of ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft even though they already operate in 60 of the 68 largest markets in the U.S. That’s according to a content analysis of transportation planning documents from the country’s 50 most populous cities.

Change is coming fast. Seven auto manufacturers and technology companies including Cadillac, Tesla, Google, Volvo, Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan have said they expect to bring driverless cars to market by 2020.

 This mismatch is kind of a big deal because the key driver in whether autonomous vehicles will lead to a neo-dystopian repeat of the mid-20th century policies that fueled sprawl and isolated living in neighborhoods with little walkability or not is — land-use policy.

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Australia's electricity system will need up to $1 trillion of investment by 2050

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-03/electricity-networks-need-up-to-$1-trillion-of-investment-ena/6996200

Australia's electricity system will need up to $1 trillion of investment by 2050, regardless of whether consumers are providing their own energy or buying it from the grid, according to a new industry report.

The Energy Networks Association (ENA) is working with the CSIRO to develop a 10-year roadmap for the industry, to help it cope with a rapidly changing market.
"We're expecting to see a lot more of the decision-making being done by customers, and customers deciding what technology they'll install," the association's chief executive John Bradley told AM.

The CSIRO has modelled four different scenarios for Australia's energy market: one where consumers "set and forget" their energy use, the rise of the "prosumer" who is actively involved in sourcing their energy, another where people leave the grid altogether, and finally a market of 100 per cent renewables.

More here

http://www.ena.asn.au/electricity-network-transformation-roadmap