Autonomous

As automakers spend billions to rack up autonomous miles and map city streets, Toyota Motor Corp. and BMW AG are also betting on a startup with a more modest approach.

YOKOHAMA, Japan — In the future Nissan envisions, driverless cars will pick up children from school and recommend restaurants to tourists in various languages.

Executives from the commercial and passenger transportation industries will have an opportunity to recommend policy directives to federal officials during a forum the U.S. Department of Transportation will host March 1.

Washington, D.C., is preparing for a future with self-driving cars by inviting companies to test their autonomous vehicle technology in the District.

The world’s largest car maker and biggest ride-hailing company plan to team up on autonomous driving as technological changes sweep through the transportation industry.

Bexar County, Texas, Commissioner Kevin Wolff believes that a meeting he had last month in Washington with federal transportation officials could lead to construction of lanes for driverless automated vehicles on the Austin-San Antonio section of Interstate 35.

Fans of self-driving cars will have breathed a sigh of relief at the news that Uber and Google’s Waymo, two giants in the industry, have settled their intellectual-property lawsuit. This removes a huge distraction for companies, freeing them up to focus on their own research.

Waymo, a unit of Alphabet Inc., got a permit in late January from the Arizona Department of Transportation to operate as a Transportation Network Company, according to Ryan Harding, a spokesman at the state agency.

Rural roads are the most dangerous in the country. Making them safer is a matter of public health.

SAN FRANCISCO — Within two to three years, bicyclists in Emeryville and Los Gatos will be able to download an app to get more green lights at intersections. Patients at the Veterans Administration Palo Alto Medical Center will be hopping on an autonomous shuttle for appointments.