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One in every four passenger vehicles sold by 2025 is poised to feature digital instrument clusters, dedicated passenger infotainment systems, and integrated biometrics with bought-in device functionality, says Frost & Sullivan. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are tackling the design of components that are in line with fast-changing technology trends and customer expectations. “The luxury segment car of the future will have augmented reality HUD, OLED displays, interactive cabin doors and windows,

Transport for London (TfL) has upgraded WebCAT, its online planning tool for showing how well-connected a location is in terms of transport. It includes a range of new data to help the city’s planners design the housing and business developments of the future. As well as previously released information such as the levels of public transport by location and journey time, the latest version of WebCAT now includes heat maps which show users how well-connected an area is, not only by public transport but no

Alstom is taking a minority stake in EasyMile, a start-up company developing the EZ10 electric driverless shuttle. The two plan to develop integrated solutions for urban transportation. The EZ10 is capable of transporting up to 12 passengers and operates from a transport hub to a final destination within a precinct or defined area. According to Alstom, the investment will enable it to expand its expertise into driverless technology and development of smart mobility technology. EasyMile will benefi

Thales has been awarded a contract by China Steel Corporation for the implementation of a signalling system for the extension of the light rail transit (LRT) in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. With almost 2.8 million inhabitants, Kaohsiung is the country’s second largest city and was the first city in Taiwan to launch a tramway project in 2012. It was also the first to deploy a modern electric tramway system. The current line has 14 stations and the extension will add a further 23. The completed 22-kilometer circula

A wheelchair user has won a partial victory at the UK Supreme Court over priority use of wheelchair spaces on buses. The case arose when wheelchair user Doug Paulley attempted to board a bus operated by FirstGroup, which carried a sign asking passengers occupying the wheelchair space to “please give up this space if needed for a wheelchair user”. The wheelchair space was occupied by a woman with a baby in a pushchair who refused to move when the driver asked her to. The driver took no further action and

TomTom announces that it has acquired Autonomos, a Berlin-based autonomous driving start-up, in a deal that is intended to strengthen TomTom’s position in autonomous driving. Established in 2012, Autonomos has provided research and development consultancy services for automated vehicle assistance systems and has built up expertise and technologies in the process, including a full demonstration-level autonomous driving software stack, 3D sensor technology and digital image processing. With the acqui

The city of San Pedro Cholula in Mexico has installed new Metric Elite LS parking across the city, the first time drivers have been charged for on-street parking, with the scheme part of the municipality’s urban mobility strategy. The paid parking zones will mainly be in commercial and tourist areas of the city. The solar powered parking machines are coin-only and include a 40-way key pad to capture vehicle registration plate details.

According to Frost & Sullivan, Apple’s alleged future mobility program Project Titan, coupled with patent publications related to connected car technology and US$10 billion spent on research and development, indicates its interest in creating an automotive solution that revolves around the iPhone. Frost & Sullivan’s Scenario Analysis of Apple’s Strategy to Enter the Car Industry discusses the possible products and/or services that Apple could offer through Project Titan. The analysis also explores the ra

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) have formed the Smart Belt Coalition, a collaboration with transportation agencies in Ohio and Michigan that will focus on automated and connected vehicle initiatives. With similar climates, commercial truck traffic and active work on these technologies in the participating states, the coalition, which includes transportation and academic partners, will be a resource for transportation stakeholders and the

The Kenyan Urban Roads Authority is to deploy an intelligent transportation system in Nairobi city to ease traffic as part of the Nairobi Urban Transport Improvement Program. The US$13.83 million project, which will be carried out by H P Grauff Consultants, is funded by the national government and World Bank are funding the project, which will involve sensor-controlled traffic lights, cameras, redesigned intersections and bus stops. The first phase of the project includes the installation of modern t

The city of Värnamo in southern Sweden is making the move to all-electric public transport and has ordered four electric buses from Volvo, with the aim of quadrupling the number of journeys by public transport over a three-year period. Officials plan to construct a new bus lane in the city to improve the appeal of public transport and improve accessibility. The four electric hybrid buses and their ABB charging station will be delivered as a turnkey solution, with Volvo assuming responsibility for main

French companies NAVYA and Keolis, in partnership with the city of Las Vegas, have launched an autonomous, fully electric shuttle trial the city’s new Innovation District. During the week-long pilot, the public will be invited to take free test rides of the driverless ARMA shuttle, which was developed by NAVYA in partnership with Keolis. It carries up to a dozen passengers and was designed for use by state and local governments and transit agencies and operators as an efficient, clean-energy alternative