Over 50 billion US dollars had been invested into autonomous vehicles (AV) technology in 2013-2017. Driverless cars of the level 4 and 5 are forecasted to be in mass production after 2028 and the annual direct and indirect social and economic input of the AV technology is estimated to be over US $1.8-2.8 trillion in 2030. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the geographic structure of AV startup ecosystem, which is considered as one of the most significant disruptive and game-changing innovations of the nearest decades. The geographic analysis was carried out for 265 AV tech companies and startups, working on solutions to the following problem areas: services, infrastructure, in-car assistance and intelligence, safety, security, autonomy, sensors, materials and manufacturing. The key findings outline that the USA is the leader on the innovative AV market ecosystem (accounting for 57% of all startups) with the highest concentration near San Francisco Bay Area Core (more than 27% of all startups), followed up with a significant gap by Israel, India, UK and Canada. The main factors that define the level of readiness for autonomous vehicles, and, thus, the geography of diffusion of AVs innovation are regulatory and legislative environment, level of transportation and communication infrastructure development and public perception.

The article is devoted to the description of the current level of development of passenger transport system of the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation. First of all, the possibilities of providing passenger traffic in international and intra-national (between regions of Russia) directions are assessed. Each of the types of transport in the region, which is involved in the provision of passenger services, is characterized. The information base of the study consists of statistical and analytical materials on the work of passenger transportation for 2016 and 2017. The main research method is the method of statistical comparison and expert analysis. The main conclusion of the study is that at present there is asymmetry in the role of various types of transport involved in providing passenger traffic between the Kaliningrad region of the main territories of Russia and foreign countries. In addition, a list of promising projects that can be implemented to intensify the Russian-Polish passenger traffic. It is necessary to implement new projects in the formation of passenger corridors, which will be aimed at expanding the possibilities of transport communication. The availability of alternative routes in a competitive environment leads to both an increase in the quality of transportation services provided and a reduction in their cost to the public.

The article deals with the geographic and transport position that Leningrad – St. Petersburg takes in the passenger transportation system, which differs to a great extent from its position in the system of freight transportation and undergoes considerable changes with time. The time period under analysis is from the 1950s to the 1960s and to the present moment. The transformation of Leningrad – St. Petersburg position in the system of airline passenger transportation is studied by means of 1) the coefficient of transportation connectivity method (the CTC method) developed by the author of the article and 2) passenger transportation zoning covering those territories which are connected with the city by airline and railway transportation facilities. The greatest attention is paid to the transportation zoning of the former Soviet Union, and this let us to rely on the obtained data in studying other cities’ airline connections through the coefficient of transportation connectivity method. The undertaken comparing of passenger airline destinations through decades shows which transportation destinations ensured the maximum growth in passenger transportation in Leningrad – St. Petersburg in the late 1980s and which ones provided for the sharp decline or decrease in the 1990s. It can also be noted that Pulkovo airport passenger transportation is currently increasing mostly due to the western destinations than the eastern ones.

The paper presents changes in the operation of the railway junction in Chojnice and neighbouring areas, and the impact thereof in the years 1989-2017. The analysis covers infrastructural changes, passenger traffic and organisational changes resulting from the transformation of the Polish State Railways (PKP) after 1989. The Chojnice railway junction, operating since the seventies of the nineteenth century is one of the biggest junctions in northern Poland.
Regress of railway transport in the studied period noted throughout Poland resulted in closing down a number of railway lines in the vicinity and a reduction of operating connections and technical facilities. This led to limiting access to rail transport and to the peripheral role of the area in the region. Plans for upgrading the rail network provide an opportunity for improving the situation, particularly the electrification of the junction and the establishing of a terminal for collective transport at the neglected railway station described in the final part of the paper.:

Road networks within cities are a vital component of the socio-economic development processes. Many countries have sought to examine and evaluate the efficiency of road networks within urban areas because of the increasing demand for transportation. Thus, networks should be evaluated to guide the development of transport systems and infrastructure within cities.
This study evaluates the connectivity level of the road network parts in Fayoum city, Egypt, through the application of some indicators of connectivity measurement, such as Beta, Alpha, Gamma, Connectivity degree, and the density of edges and nodes. The study follows a new method for evaluation; it does not apply the indicators on the network as a whole; however,
it divides the city into zones and calculates the indicators of each zone using the Arc GIS 10.2.1 program.
The authors applied the map Algebra method to map the results of the six indicators in one index called the Total Connectivity Index (TCI). The TCI gives more consistent results than other indices, and it is more related to different spatial patterns of roads. According to this indicator, most of the city road network seem to have a good connectivity level, whereas the city marginal areas prove to have a poor connectivity level. Therefore, any efforts to develop or construct new roads should be in the marginal areas of the city.

Growth of car number (in million) in the world is continuing non-stop: 1950 – 67, 1982 – 441, 2006 – 927, 2014 – 1.236, 2035 – 2.000 (forecast), 2050 – 2.500 (forecast). 7 developed countries have 51% of world’s its number (in million): USA – 250 (2010), China – 172 (2015; 205 in 2017), Russia – 51 (2014), Germany – 47 (2013), Japan – 40 (2013), France – 38 (2013), UK – 30 (2013).
Motorization is continuing even after overcoming a seeming limit at 500-650 cars per 1,000 inhabitants (average for the world is 250): Italy – 673, France – 598, Germany – 554. The big geographical distinctions exist inside each country: region Seine et Marne – 530 and Paris – 330 in France; Wyoming – 1,400, California – 774, New York state – 536 in the U.S.A.
But the motorization level in some countries is higher, and overcomes 800 cars per 1,000 inhabitants: Monaco – 863, the U.S.A. – 809, Iceland – 767, Luxembourg – 747, New Zealand – 733, Qatar – 724. And some less populated mountainous states of the U.S.A. have this level much higher: 1,100-1,400 cars per 1,000 inhabitants (Wyoming – 1405).
The motorization level in Russia is still too low: 138 (2000); 233 (2009); 303 (2015). But some Russian regions have the European level: Primorskiy kray – 572 (2014), Kamchatskiy kray – 438, Moscow – only 311 (400 in 2017).