Diesel prices in Louisiana are at an all-time high. Andrew Greenstein reports.
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The public transit system in Shreveport-Bossier City is using an autonomous bus. Jeff Palermo has the story.
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Diesel prices in Louisiana have never been higher. The statewide average for diesel is almost $5.59 a gallon. Interestingly, this comes as the average for regular unleaded gasoline is not close to record territory – currently at $3.85, well short of the record of $4.56, set in June of 2022. Don Redman with Triple-A says the United States, being one of the leading exporters of diesel, is having to export a lot more, especially to Europe.
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Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain says whereas most of us don’t drive diesel vehicles, we’ll be paying these high diesel prices in the form of higher prices for goods, and those high prices will linger for quite some time.
Strain says these high diesel prices are also adding to the woes experienced by already-suffering Louisiana shrimpers.
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Redman says he does not expect these high diesel prices to remain this high for too much longer.
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The public transit system in Shreveport and Bossier City has a self-driving bus. It’s part of a pilot program funded by a one-million-dollar federal grant. SporTran CEO Dinero Washington says some passengers might be scared to get on an autonomous bus, so they will still have a driver behind the wheel.
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The self-driving bus seats 12 people and it will be used to pick up and drop off passengers in Shreveport’s Medical and Entertainment districts. Washington says they expect to acquire additional autonomous buses.
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Washington says SporTran will break ground on an autonomous facility next month. While this technology might result in fewer bus drivers, Washington says it will create other job opportunities to run a fleet of self-driving buses.
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Tomorrow will tie the record for the latest into a hurricane season without an Atlantic hurricane in the satellite era. The September 11th mark was also reached in 2002 and 2013, but State Climatologist Jay Grymes says we could be on track to not only break that record, but also to demolish it.
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The National Hurricane Center expects no tropical cyclone activity over the next week. Grymes says a strong El Niño is doing its job.
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With consistent wind shear stopping tropical bands from organizing in their typical hot spots, Grymes says storms do not have the time and space to develop into hurricanes.
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