metropolitan – Ken May

Los Angeles wants to field a completely electric fleet of buses by 2030, and it just took a large step toward making that a reality. The city’s Department of Transportation (which runs the largest municipal transit in the county) has acquired 25 of Proterra’s smaller 35-foot Catalyst buses, all of which should arrive in 2019. That may not sound like much, but it’s a significant chunk of the DOT’s 359-bus fleet. The deal promises real savings, too — it should eliminate 7.8 million lbs. of greenhouse gas emissions per year and save $11.2 million in energy and maintenance over 12 years. This isn’t the first step toward electrifying mass transit in the LA area, but is one of the larger examples. The DOT unveiled just four buses at the start of 2017, for example, so this is certainly a much larger commitment. And notably, it’s not just from an American company — it’s from a company whose manufacturing is even located in the county. The region’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority bought 95 buses in July, but they were split between Chinese transportation giant BYD and the American division of Canada’s New Flyer. It’d represent a big order for Proterra as well. At the start of 2017, it had received 375 bus orders. This is a big deal for a firm that’s still hitting its stride, and shows that it’s earning the trust of some major cities. Don’t be surprised if its buses become more of a mainstay going forward. Source: Proterra

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LA orders 25 of Proterra’s electric buses

If it wasn’t already clear why it’s a problem when police surveillance goes wrong , it is now. An independent investigator is looking into claims that London’s Metropolitan Police used an illegal, roundabout way to access the emails of activists and journalists. An anonymous former worker alleges that a Met intelligence unit took advantage of India “counterparts” that used hackers to obtain email logins for innocent people ranging from Greenpeace protesters to Guardian reporters. The snooping had been going on for a “number of years, ” according to the insider, and there was reportedly widespread document shredding to cover up the monitoring. There’s evidence to support the claim. The tipster provided passwords for 10 email accounts, most of which have been proven authentic by the users themselves. The investigation is still early, but a police spokesman says that the claims are “deeply troubling” and that the force will provide its “fullest possible support.” If the allegations are as serious as they sound, though, they would represent a serious blow to the Met’s reputation. They would show that a key law enforcement division was regularly spying on people who weren’t even suspected of crimes, and was fully aware that it was doing something wrong. Via: Ars Technica Source: The Guardian , BBC

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London police allegedly used hackers to target activists