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The city of Surabaya, Indonesia, is giving free bus rides to commuters who provide used plastic bottles as part of a strategy encourage recycling. This initiative is expected to serve the city’s ambition to eliminate plastic waste by 2020. Citizens can travel on red city buses by dropping off plastic bottles at terminals or can use the bottles to pay for their fares. Reuters says a two-hour bus ticket costs ten plastic cups or up to five plastic bottles, depending on their size. Labels and bo

Nearly all UK drivers with keyless technology are unaware of the major digital threats posed by hackers, according to research conducted by MoneySuperMarket. The study reveals that 99% of drivers are unaware of security flaws such as phone phishing, where hackers send emails to drivers which contain malicious links that connect to a car’s Wi-Fi features and take control. MoneySuperMarket says 16% of drivers - or someone they know - have experienced car hacking. Also, eight out of 10 drivers do not k

Draft rules have been adopted by European policy makers which would bring the idea of widescale ‘user pays’ road pricing one step closer. European Union member states which currently use time-based road user charges will need to switch to distance-based ones for trucks and buses (over 2.4 tonnes) from 2023, and vans and minibuses from 2027, if the rules are made into law. The idea is that vehicles would then be charged according to their actual road use and the pollution they generate. The ‘user

Aurrigo has made 15 of its self-driving pods available to residents in the UK town of Milton Keynes as part of the Autodrive project. The three-year initiative, funded by Innovate UK, is part of an agreement with Milton Keynes Council to trial the pods as a first/last mile solution for citizens and visitors. The company says the Autodrive pods can travel up to 15mph for 60 miles on one charge – operating in the city centre from the central railway station. Brian Matthews, head of transport innov

Ride-hailing company Grab has launched a programme to make its service safer for drivers and passengers in south-east Asia. As part of the Safer Everyday Tech Roadmap initiative, Grab’s analytics tool works with the company’s app to help employees understand how to improve driving behaviour. Drivers also receive telematics reports on speeding, acceleration and breaking as well as reminders from a fatigue monitoring system on how long they have been travelling without taking a rest. Tan Hooi Ling, Gr

Urbanova, telecommunications company Verizon and the city of Spokane, Washington, are collaborating on smart city solutions to tackle congestion and improve parking within the university district. Urbanova is a consortium of researchers and professionals whose stated aim is to make cities more sustainable through technological development. David Condon, mayor of Spokane, says Urbanova and Verizon will share resources around technology applications and data delivery to help achieve smarter infrastructure

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies has appointed engineering firm Dar Al-Handasah to begin construction of a Hyperloop system in Abu Dhabi in the third quarter of 2019. The project also includes a Hyperloop commercial track and an centre for logistics which it calls XO Square. In April, HyperloopTT unveiled an XO square centre in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The facility houses the company’s logistic research division, a fabrication lab and what the company refers to as ‘an ecosystem’ of global companies, s

Verra Mobility says its pay-as-you-go tolling service can be used on 95% of cashless toll roads and bridges throughout the US without additional hardware, transponders or multiple accounts. Called Peasy, the digital platform is expected to remove the need for drivers to pre-fund tolling accounts or to submit payments by post. Peasy is available for drivers who have an existing transponder or toll tag account as well as motorists who do not have an account with a toll authority. Users can add multiple