Octavia Johnson

Houston, United States

Reporter, The Surge Team at Houston Chronicle

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Articles

Bot Auto Stresses Safety at Houston Presentation

6 days ago | ttnews.com | Octavia Johnson

Business Technology Safety Autonomous TCA May 9, 2025 11:30 AM, EDT Company Says Trucks Will Be Fully Autonomous by End of Summer (Bot Auto) [Stay on top of transportation news: Get TTNews in your inbox.] HOUSTON — Bot Auto, which plans to bring autonomous trucks to Texas highways, presented the company’s technology and trucks to local transportation and law enforcement agencies on May 8 at the Houston TranStar building.
A Houston autonomous vehicle company plans to have no drivers on Texas Highways

6 days ago | houstonchronicle.com | Octavia Johnson

A Houston autonomous vehicle company plans to have no drivers in their self-driving trucks, making it one of the many businesses bringing the large, driverless vehicles to Texas highways. Bot Auto completed fully autonomous testing between Houston and San Antonio since last fall. The company plans to launch fully driverless operations for an initial four months.
Interactive art project aims to brighten Houston’s downtown underpasses

1 week ago | houstonchronicle.com | Octavia Johnson

An upcoming art installation under Houston's overpasses aims to connect communities and brighten dark spaces downtown. Pedestrians may soon see new lights and sounds incorporated into the underpasses along Texas Avenue and Rusk Street. Moon Papas, a collective group of artists who have worked with several Houston bars, will design the underpasses. “We want it to be a fun, discoverable, interactive artwork,” said Cam Rowe, who specializes in fabrication at Moon Papas.
Travelers weigh in on Real ID required to fly out of Houston airports

1 week ago | houstonchronicle.com | Octavia Johnson

Travelers waiting in line at George Bush Intercontinental Airport’s Terminal A didn’t face long delays Wednesday morning as the government’s new Real ID requirement went into effect. The Real ID Act, passed in 2005, set new requirements for driver’s licenses and other IDs. Twenty years after its passage, the law took effect this week, meaning travelers must be Real ID-compliant to board domestic flights.
Aurora launches self-driving trucks without driver on Texas highways

2 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Octavia Johnson

Autonomous vehicle technology company Aurora launched its commercial self-driving trucking service without a safety driver Sunday for the route between Dallas and Houston. “We founded Aurora to deliver the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly. Now, we are the first company to successfully and safely operate a commercial driverless trucking service on public roads,” said Chris Urmson, co-founder and CEO of Aurora, in a statement.
A fake parking ticket has been seen in Houston. How to know if yours is real.

2 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Octavia Johnson

What’s on an official city of Houston parking ticket? City of Houston parking tickets feature the city seal, where the person was parked, the license plate information, the date, the time and the violation, Irshad said. An officer’s name will also be on the ticket and there may also be notes regarding the situation. Article continues below this ad“If the officer added notes regarding the situation on the parking ticket … you will have all that information, so it's pretty detailed,” she said.
Rockets fans urged to plan ahead for Game 5 against the Warriors evening tip off

2 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Octavia Johnson

Houstonians may need to head out early if they plan to catch the Rockets' game against the Golden State Warriors in the Game 5 matchup Wednesday. The sold-out game is scheduled to tip off at 6:30 p.m., which is around the time when heavy traffic is anticipated in Houston.
Houston, Texas trucking orgs weigh in on Trump’s English proficiency order

2 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Octavia Johnson

The Houston trucking industry reacted with cautious support for President Donald Trump’s executive order mandating that all truck drivers speak English proficiently. Trump’s order says that drivers should be able to read and understand traffic signs, communicate with traffic safety, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints and cargo weight-limit station officers. This comes after Trump signed an executive order March 1, designating English as the official language in the United States.
Houston oil company may face layoffs after sweeping firings at Marathon Oil

2 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Amanda Drane |Octavia Johnson

Employees of ConocoPhillips face more layoffs after the oil company's merger with Marathon Oil, which triggered sweeping job cuts in Houston last year. A spokesman for the Houston oil giant confirmed Friday that the company had informed employees about additional layoffs, but declined to specify how many or when the layoffs would take place. “We are working through the process carefully and won’t speculate on timing or numbers while our evaluation is ongoing,” he said in a statement.
All lanes of Katy Freeway to close this weekend for CenterPoint project

2 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Octavia Johnson

The Katy Freeway will be closed at Dairy Ashford this weekend as CenterPoint Energy works on electric transmission lines, following a previous delay. CenterPoint crews will start the work at Saturday at 5 a.m. and the all-lane closure will continue through Monday at 5 a.m. along Interstate 10 near the West Sam Houston Tollway, westbound exit 755, and Dairy Ashford, eastbound exit 755. Article continues below this adThe frontage lanes will remain open to divert traffic off the main lanes.