U.S. Reps. Tom Tiffany said both the U.S. and Canada need to change forest management practices to harvest more trees and adopt modern technologies that “can detect fire very early on” and help suppress them.
The post As Canadian wildfires harm Wisconsin air quality, GOP leaders blame Canada’s forestry efforts appeared first on WPR.
The Lucid Gravity is the brand’s white knight, but the Air is rolling into 2026 with a handful of updates. The biggest is access to the Tesla Supercharger network, although you’d have to be dumb or desperate to use it.
While that sounds odd, let us explain. Starting on July 31, Air owners can use a $220 NACS adapter to gain access to more than 23,500 Tesla Superchargers. That seems fantastic, but the Air is only capable of charging at speeds up to 50 kW. This means it could take up to an hour to gain 200 miles (322 km) of range.
More: Lucid Air Drivers Will Soon Be Passengers In Their Own Cars
That’s ridiculous for a ‘fast charger’ and you’d be far better off using a traditional CCS charging station. Depending on the trim, the Air supports a DC CCS fast charging capability of up to 300 kW and that’s six times higher than at a Tesla Supercharger.
Despite being terrible, Lucid’s Emad Dlala claimed “Access to the Tesla Supercharging network … is yet another major milestone.” However, if there are other alternatives, you should avoid Superchargers like the plague.
Besides Supercharger access, the 2026 Air Pure comes with an improved air conditioning compressor from the Gravity. It promises improved cooling as well as quieter operation.
Buyers will also find a newly standard Lucid Mobile Charging Cable Kit and optional 19-inch Aeronaut wheels, which are available in Platinum or Stealth. The Comfort and Convenience Package has also been updated to include a rear center console display and storage bin.
The $79,900 Air Touring builds on that and features higher density battery cells. They help to increase the EPA-estimated range over 6% to 431 miles (694 km).
Last but not least, the Air Grand Touring now comes standard with 20-way power front seats with heating, ventilation, and massage functions. Lucid said they “make road trips in the industry’s longest range electric vehicle, at up to 512 miles (824 km) of EPA-estimated range, even more comfortable and relaxing.”
| Trim | US MSRP | CAN MSRP |
| Lucid Air Pure | $70,900 | $99,900 |
| Lucid Air Touring | $79,900 | $112,800 |
| Lucid Air Grand Touring | $114,900 | $161,200 |
Even vehicles built in the United States aren’t immune to global pressures. Although every Lucid vehicle sold domestically is assembled on American soil, interim CEO Marc Winterhoff says that prices are still likely to rise, due in large part to tariffs introduced under President Trump.
While he stopped short of confirming that Lucid’s own lineup will definitely see sticker hikes, the implication was clear: American consumers should brace for costlier new cars.
Read: Lucid SUV Costs 30% More To Lease Than Sedan Despite Being Cheaper
During a recent interview, Winterhoff noted that the American car manufacturer is eager to localize more of its supply chain. One step it has taken is signing a deal with Graphite One to increase its supply of graphite that’s processed in the United States. Despite these efforts, the global nature of its supply chain will make the Air and Gravity more expensive to produce.
Tariffs Push Costs Upward
“For the American consumers, vehicles are going to be more expensive under the tariff regime,” he told Bloomberg Television. “There’s no other way around it. Yes, you can say you just need to localize. But, that still increases the cost as there’s a reason why the supply chain is so global because certain things are either not available here in the US, or are just very expensive, so you import them.”
He went on to point out that even when companies work to reduce dependence on imports, shifting operations to the U.S. often drives costs higher anyway. That leaves automakers with limited choices.
“[Even] if you change that, you still have higher costs here in the United States, which means manufacturers like us, or any manufacturer, have to increase prices. There’s no other way, unless you want everybody to be non-profit organizations, which then would lead to no innovation and no technology leadership. In the current global climate, that’s the last thing we want.”
Shifting the Supply Chain
In a bid to reduce the impact of the tariffs, Lucid is deepening its relationship with Panasonic so it can source more of the raw materials for its battery cells from the US. Currently, much of the raw materials Lucid uses for its battery cells come from Japan and South Korea, but two and a half years ago, decided it needed to localize, thanks in part to advanced manufacturing production credits which helped to defray costs.
“We are working with Panasonic to further localize the supply chain for the cell,” Winterhoff added. “It doesn’t do you a lot of good if you manufacture here [in the US] but you still import the raw material which then subject to tariffs.”
The Lucid Air is already one of the best EVs on the market, combining luxury with performance in a way that legacy automakers have struggled to compete with. Now, Lucid’s suite of advanced driver assistance systems is getting a major update, bringing with it hands-free driving assist and lane change assist systems.
Read: This $110K EV Refuses To Let Its Owner In And That’s Not Even The Worst Part
For owners of the flagship Air Sapphire, that means they’ll soon be able to hand over the reins to computers to control one of the world’s quickest cars. Now that’s a scary thought.
These updates will be introduced through an over-the-air software update scheduled to roll out on July 30 for all Lucid Air models equipped with the DreamDrive Pro suite. This system makes use of a LiDAR, radar, visible-light cameras, surround-view cameras, and ultrasonic sensors to make driving that little bit easier.
Lucid says drivers will be able to use the hands-free driving feature and hands-free lane changes on compatible divided highways. However, it hasn’t specified what exactly makes a divided highway “compatible” for use with the system. The new features will be rolled out to the Lucid Gravity later in the year.
Several other car manufacturers have introduced hands-free driving modes for their ADAS systems, including Ford, GM, and Mercedes-Benz. Hands-free lane change features are also becoming more commonplace, and in the Lucid Air, drivers simply need to flick on the turn signal before the car itself will determine if it’s safe to change lanes. If it is, the car will smoothly glide into the next lane.
“The addition of these features to Lucid’s DreamDrive Pro offers a glimpse into the future that Lucid is building with the impressive capabilities of our software-defined vehicles,” Lucid’s ADAS and AD vice president, Kai Stepper, said. “With our in-house software stack, a comprehensive suite of 32 sensors, and regular OTA updates, we have a roadmap to continue to deliver significantly more functionality to our owners in the future.”
Lucid Air owners who didn’t opt for the DreamDrive Pro system may now regret their decision. Unlike Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system, which has recently cost upwards of $8,000, Lucid’s system is relatively good value at just $2,500.
RENO, Nev. — Jon Petz, a former sales executive turned professional magician, led dozens of transportation supervisors and vendor partners in discussions about creating genuine team connections.
Another group was bused Saturday to nearby Washoe County School District for the hands-on portion of the National School Bus Inspection Training, which included hands-on identification of defects on real school buses and an overview of electric school bus high-voltage components.
Back at the Peppermill Resort Casino, Darren Reaume of sponsor Q’Straint/Sure-Lok led an advanced course designed for experienced transportation directors, supervisors and trainers on wheelchair securement, troubleshooting techniques and best practice recommendations.
Additionally, the “So, You Wanna Be Transportation Supervisor?” seminar returned with an all-star panel of student transportation experts that provided best practices for attendees who wish to transition into a supervisory role, or who are looking to brush up on their managerial skillsets.
The day closed out with a “Fire & Ice” themed welcome party sponsored by Transfinder and School Bus Logistics.
The post Gallery: Intensive, Interactive Training on Day 2 of STN EXPO West appeared first on School Transportation News.
Range anxiety and electric vehicles go together like peanut butter and jelly. However, the situation has been improving thanks to new battery technology and growing charging infrastructure
Those are welcome developments, but how far can an EV really take you? A whopping 748.8 miles (1,205 km) in the case of the Lucid Air Grand Touring.
More: Lucid Promised Luxury But All This Owner Got Was Regret And Nightmares
That’s a remarkable distance, and it recently set a new Guinness World Records title for the “longest journey by an electric car on a single charge.” The record-breaking feat was achieved last weekend when an Air traveled between St. Moritz, Switzerland, and Munich, Germany without stopping to recharge. That makes the record even more impressive as the trip included a mix of alpine passes, highways, and secondary roads.
Lucid beat the previous record by 99.4 miles (160 km), and the company’s chief engineer noted it’s a “significant milestone” and “another clear demonstration of the technological edge that defines Lucid.” Eric Bach went on to say, “Lucid products combine world class vehicle efficiency with the most advanced drive units, ultra-high voltage architecture, and battery management technology available today.”
Speaking of the powertrain, the Euro-spec Air Grand Touring has a dual-motor all-wheel drive system that produces 820 hp (611 kW / 831 PS) and 885 lb-ft (1,200 Nm) of torque. It enables the model to accelerate from 0-62 mph (100 km/h) in 3.2 seconds, before hitting a top speed of 168 mph (270 km/h).
Powering all that is a 117 kWh battery pack, which provides a WLTP range of 596.5 miles (960 km). This means the record-breaking car exceeded that figure by an impressive 152.2 miles (245 km).
The Lucid Air has earned its reputation as one of the best electric vehicles on the market, blending luxury, performance, and efficiency in a way that few EVs can match, especially outside of China. However, as is the case with most modern cars, the Air is basically a high-tech gadget on wheels, and like any laptop or smartphone these days, it comes with its fair share of tech troubles.
Read: Lucid Promised Luxury But All This Owner Got Was Regret And Nightmares
To make matters worse, getting a Lucid technician to fix a stranded Air seems to be more difficult than contacting tech support to help you troubleshoot your (much cheaper) phone.
A Familiar EV Saga
Recently, a member of the Lucid Owners Club on Facebook shared the saga of his Air GT, the flagship variant of the EV that starts at $110,000. According to the owner, “We have been locked out of our Lucid GT since Monday evening. Have tried phone, fob and Key Card”. And, of course, the issues don’t end there.
The owner pointed out that he’s been in contact with customer service from Lucid and they’ve tried, and failed, to get access to the car remotely. Apparently, they couldn’t connect to it or get it to wake up. That’s annoying, but it may not seem like the end of the world, right? Lucid should be able to get the car towed and fixed quickly, right? Wrong.
According to the owner, the local Minneapolis mobile service tech was on vacation until the following week, so they aren’t around to try and remedy the non-responsive Air. Not all hope is lost, however.
“Lucid has gotten in contact with me and we have tried everything but jumping 12v,” the owner added in the comments. “They are having towed to a partner collision center and it sounds like they will try to jump it. If that doesn’t work, we will see what happens.
If it doesn’t, the owner may be left without the golf clubs he so desperately needs by Saturday. What a predicament…
Are Modern Cars Too Complicated For Their Own Good?
Jokes aside, the issue does raise an interesting question: are cars too complicated nowadays? Do they feature too many fancy electronics that can go wrong, potentially leaving owners stranded like this? Without even a physical key slot for emergency cases, it appears this Air is useless if the 12-volt battery runs flat.
It’s not just Lucid, of course. Just earlier this week, Ford had to recall nearly 200,000 Mustang Mach-E EVs in the U.S. and another 100,000 overseas due to a problem where the doors could get stuck if the 12-volt battery fails.
More: Ford Pulls Mustang Mach-E From Sale Over Dangerous Door Lock Flaw
Call us old-fashioned, but this would never happen with a good ol’ internal combustion engine vehicle. In the past, you’d simply jump-start the car or swap out the battery, and off you’d go. Sure, every new technology has growing pains, and it’s only fair to give automakers time to work out the bugs. Electric vehicles are still relatively new, and there’s a learning curve. The truth is, the tech has made incredible strides in just a few short years.
Nevertheless, most end users expect everything to run smoothly and glitches to be fixed in heartbeat, especially if they’ve paid big money in the first place. Otherwise, they may lose their patience and steer clear of EVs until they’re damn good and ready.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -HopSkipDrive today announced a significant expansion in its ability to meet the transportation needs of all students, enabling schools and school districts to seamlessly and directly book rides for students needing wheelchair-accessible vehicles, Rider Assistants, and car seats. With this development, school districts around the country will be able to solve even more student transportation challenges through HopSkipDrive’s unmatched technology-driven safety approach and operational expertise, and can learn more with a sign-up here.
“All children, especially those with disabilities, deserve a safe, reliable ride in a vehicle that meets their specific needs with adults who are fully prepared to support them,” said Joanna McFarland, CEO and Co-Founder of HopSkipDrive. “Rising chronic absenteeism rates make clear that existing school transportation industry options leave behind students with unique needs.”
With more than 5 million rides across 95 million safe miles completed on its platform, HopSkipDrive continues to raise the bar for student transportation. The company supports over 600 school districts by supplementing yellow buses with a network of extensively vetted CareDrivers — local caregivers on wheels — through a care-centered transportation marketplace.
With the launch of these three new transportation offerings this fall, HopSkipDrive will provide schools and school districts with even more resources, all backed by rigorous safety standards and industry-leading Safe Ride TechnologyTM. Transportation teams can use HopSkipDrive’s ride management platform, RideIQ, to easily and simply book, track, and manage all rides in one place, and staff can get full visibility with Daily Queue, which provides a customized view for all HopSkipDrive rides for students at their school location.
Wheelchair-Accessible Vehicles and Rider Assistants
Following a successful pilot earlier this year, HopSkipDrive is expanding the availability of Wheelchair-Accessible Vehicle rides and Rider Assistants to all cities in which the company operates. These rides are fulfilled by CarePartners
, local professionals who undergo HopSkipDrive’s rigorous and comprehensive certification process, including name- and fingerprint-based background checks, clearing child abuse and neglect screenings where available, and enrolling in continuous criminal monitoring. Like all CareDrivers, they complete HopSkipDrive onboarding and a virtual orientation course. CarePartner drivers for Wheelchair-Accessible Vehicle rides also undergo driving record screens, vehicle inspections, and more.
To meet the needs of students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and those who thrive most when an additional adult is in the vehicle, HopSkipDrive offers a Rider Assistant for schools to book to join the CareDriver or CarePartner driver on the ride. The Rider Assistant will provide informed and compassionate support for the rider when needed.
HopSkipDrive continues to lead in forward-thinking safety measures by directly managing driver and Rider Assistant vetting, onboarding, and compliance. This unique approach sets HopSkipDrive apart in the student transportation industry, offering schools valuable features such as the Safe Ride Support system and enhanced Must Be Met process to support the development of new rider services all delivered with the company’s signature tracking and notification systems.
Car Seat Program
In select cities, schools and school districts can select HopSkipDrive’s car seat program for students whose height and weight, typically between the ages of four to six, require a car seat. CareDrivers can only opt in to fulfill these rides after completing comprehensive car seat safety education and using only the forward-facing car seat model approved by HopSkipDrive and Safe Kids Worldwide, the leading organization for childhood injury prevention.
HopSkipDrive collaborated with the industry’s leading child safety experts to design and develop the safest possible ride experience. Britney Lombard, who has spent more than a decade as a Safe Kids Worldwide certified Child Passenger Safety Instructor and performed thousands of car seat checks during her tenure, now leads HopSkipDrive’s car seat program. The HopSkipDrive Safety Advisory Council, composed of six leading experts in transportation safety, also played a key role in advising the development of the car seat program to confirm protocols meet the highest standards in the industry.
Compliance is a core principle of the car seat program. Ahead of the implementation of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s new safety standards, HopSkipDrive proactively selected a car seat model that goes above and beyond these requirements in consultation with the company’s expert advisors.
Safety Leadership, Including In-Ride Recording
HopSkipDrive continues to invest in leading the industry in safety with over 50 products, features, and initiatives woven throughout the ride experience. Over the past year, the company announced nearly a dozen new safety initiatives, including offering in-ride cameras through Safe Ride InSight.
Schools and school districts can request dashcam recording for rides with CareDrivers who have installed SafeRide InSight, which combines visual monitoring with audio recording. HopSkipDrive uses this technology along with advanced telematics to create a solution that’s unmatched in the student transportation industry. First piloted in Arizona and Colorado, the company is continuing to scale this technology to additional markets over the coming months.
Learn more about HopSkipDrive at hopskipdrive.com.
About HopSkipDrive
HopSkipDrive is a technology company that solves complex transportation challenges where there is a heightened need for safety, access, and care. HopSkipDrive is modernizing the $30 billion school transportation industry through two core solutions: a care-centered transportation marketplace and industry-leading transportation intelligence platform, RouteWise AI. HopSkipDrive’s marketplace supplements school buses and existing transportation options by connecting kids to highly vetted caregivers on wheels, such as grandparents, babysitters, and nurses in local communities. RouteWise AI helps schools and districts address critical challenges, including budget cuts, bus driver shortages, and reaching climate goals. HopSkipDrive has supported over 10,000 schools across 17 states, with over 600 school district partners. More than 5 million rides over 95 million miles have been completed through HopSkipDrive since the company was founded in 2014 by three working mothers.
The post HopSkipDrive Launches Specialty Transportation, Offering Wheelchair-Accessible Vehicle Rides, New Rider Assistants, and Car Seat Program to Support Entirety of Schools’ Transportation Needs appeared first on School Transportation News.
A George Read Middle School bus driver helped a student in New Castle, Delaware by teaming up with a nonprofit organization to provide the student with a wheelchair ramp from her home, reported ABC 6.
The veteran school bus driver, identified as Tim Kelleher, observed each morning that a student’s parents carried their daughter down the front steps of their home on Westbury Drive to reach the bus stop.
According to the news report, Kelleher began reaching out to organizations that could help. He connected with Good Neighbors Home Repair, a nonprofit organization, that built a wheelchair ramp at the student’s home.
Tom MacAuley of Good Neighbors Home Repair told local news reporters that Kelleher saw the need the student’s family had and wanted to facilitate that need.
The article states that this is not the first time Kelleher has gone the extra mile. He helped get a ramp installed for another student in 2019.
Related: Georgia School Bus Driver Named “Hidden Hero” After Saving Student’s Life
Related: North Carolina School Bus Driver Helps Locate Missing 14-Year-Old
Related: Transportation Professionals: A Critical Link in the Education of Students with Disabilities
Related: Fill-in School Bus Driver Builds Ramp for Disabled Girl
The post Delaware School Bus Driver Teams with Nonprofit to Help Student with Accessibility appeared first on School Transportation News.
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