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Continental has secured a follow-on order for future metro projects in the Chinese city of Shanghai to help increase usage of rail and reduce gridlocks on roads. The project will expand the metro network from 16 to 22 lines by 2020 and cover an area of 970km. Jianhua Hao, head of marketing & sales at Continental China, says the company’s new air spring systems will allow metro trains to travel more quietly and with lower vibration levels.

Connected Kerb has launched its public kerbside charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs) in the London borough of Southwark. The project, which is set for a city-wide rollout, stems from an agreement with Southwark Council and electricity infrastructure provider National Grid. The fibre broadband and wireless kerbsides, powered by Virgin Media, offer internet connectivity to EV drivers. Also, the solution provides environmental and traffic monitoring data for public authorities.

Finland plans to launch next year a research cluster which the government hopes will put the country at the forefront of developments in autonomous technology. The RAAS (Research Alliance for Autonomous Systems) ‘innovation ecosystem’ is designed to bring together research organisations and other stakeholders to develop “new, cross-sector solutions”, with an emphasis on those containing a high level of automation. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has put up grant money, with research or

Flir has upgraded its thermal traffic sensor and detector with traffic data collection features. The company says ThermiCam2 uses thermal energy emitted from road users – rather than light - to detect vehicles and vulnerable road users at night, over long distances and in harsh weather conditions. According to Flir, the solution can be used to detect vehicles and bicycles approaching an intersection, detect wrong-way drivers, count and distinguish vehicles from bicycles and collect traffic data using the

The telematics business of data provider TomTom is to be snapped up by the European arm of Bridgestone in a €910m cash deal. Part of the Bridgestone Corporation tyre empire, Bridgestone Europe says the deal will speed up its “journey to becoming a mobility solutions leader in the region”. Bridgestone is making fleet solutions a “strategic priority”. In a statement, the company said: “New social, economic and technological megatrends are pushing the pace of change in the automotive industry and the fut

Stage Intelligence’s Bico artificial intelligence (AI) platform is being used by Tembici to help increase the usability of more than 16,000 bikes across Latin America. The Bico platform is expected to help bike-share companies increase ridership by ensuring that bikes and docks are available for riders. Tom Nutley, CEO at Stage, says: “A smarter approach to transport results in sustainable bike share schemes but also healthy and happier riders and communities.” Initially, the deployment will cover citi

Developing smarter cities in India is the goal of a tie-up between smart card company ID Tech and the Institute of Technology (ITT) Ropar, an academic institution in the northern India state of Punjab. ITT Ropar, which specialises in engineering, science and technology, will join ID Tech in looking at how Internet of Things (IoT) and radio frequency identification (RFID) can help. ID Tech director Saurav Khemani says: “We aim to address social challenges posed by rapid urbanisation and economic develo

The US state of Virginia and road operator Transurban are investing more than $1 billion in four projects to help tackle congestion on the I-495 and I-95. The partners want to establish a 90-mile network of connected Express Lanes throughout Northern Virginia and Fredericksburg by 2022. Virginia Department of Transportation (VDoT) and Transurban have signed an agreement for the first project, Capital Beltway Express Lanes Northern Extension. The new 2.5-mile area will offer four general purpose lanes and

Speeding causes many road crashes – and this is the motivation behind a new, free digital tool from the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). The Speed Management for Safety interactive website provides an overview of available resources for evaluating, designing, implementing and enforcing safe speeds, and covers such areas as creating a speed management initiative and road design. It also hosts a community portal where transport professionals can post questions and case studies or just talk to p

Thales has partnered with Centech, a Canadian start-up incubator, to help develop more than ten start-ups a year in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Through the partnership’s AI@Centech Programme, Thales will provide them with business advice and infrastructure services. Quebec-based Centech will lead a 12-week acceleration programme with case studies presented by entrepreneurs to help start-ups assess the market potential and viability of their projects. A select committee will add the most

Austria imposes the highest fines in Europe for violating diesel bans and low-emission zones, according to new research. Austrian authorities charge up to €2,180 for violators – the next highest is the UK, with fines up to £1,138. Auto parts company Kfzteile24 based its findings on data from UrbanAccessRegulations.eu and its map offers a comparison between 350 cities across Europe. The overview outlines examples of vehicles already affected by low-emission zones and driving diesel bans - and those likel

Zenuity, a joint venture between vehicle solution manufacturer Veoneer and Volvo Cars, is to trial self-driving cars on Swedish highways at a maximum speed of 80km/h. Dennis Nobelius, CEO at Zenuity, says the vehicles will collect important data and improve the company’s safety functions to make unsupervised cars a reality. Transportstyrelsen, the Swedish transport agency, has approved the trials which will take place on the E4 between Stockholm and Malmö; Road 40 between Jönköping and Gothenburg; a

Boeing has completed a test flight of its autonomous passenger air vehicle (PAV) prototype in the US. The electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft was developed through a collaboration between Boeing subsidiary companies Boeing NeXt and Aurora Flight Services. Boeing NeXt works with regulatory agencies and industry partners to help introduce new mobility modes and ensure autonomous and piloted air vehicles safely coexist. Steve Nordlund, vice president and general manager of Boeing NeXt, sa

While the clutter from mis-used dockless scooter schemes is frustrating for many, it is physically unsafe for some, according to a legal action in the US. Disability Rights California slams an ‘unregulated onslaught’ in its class action lawsuit against the City of San Diego and three dockless scooter firms: Lime, Bird and Razor. “This action challenges the failure of the City of San Diego and private companies to maintain the accessibility of the city’s public sidewalks, kerb ramps, crosswalks and transit

Zenuity, a joint venture between vehicle solution manufacturer Veoneer and Volvo Cars, is to trial self-driving cars on Swedish highways at a maximum speed of 80km/h. Dennis Nobelius, CEO at Zenuity, says the vehicles will collect important data and improve the company’s safety functions to make unsupervised cars a reality. Transportstyrelsen, the Swedish transport agency, has approved the trials which will take place on the E4 between Stockholm and Malmö; Road 40 between Jönköping and Gothenburg; a

In his keynote address to the second day of ITS International’s MaaS Market Conference (London, 20-21 March), connected vehicle expert Frederic Bruneteau will consider ‘The harsh reality of urban mobility: Winners and losers in the MaaS value chain’. The founder and managing director of Ptolemus Consulting, Bruneteau will argue that while Mobility as a Service (MaaS) may replace 2.3 billion car journeys by 2023, not all service providers will benefit – evidence of which is becoming increasingly apparent.

Mercedes-Benz has supplied three fully-electric buses to German municipal transport company Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr (RNV) to help improve air quality in the cities of Mannheim and Heidelberg. Dr. Peter Kurz, mayor of Mannheim, says: “The electrification of buses is now an important milestone on the way to a clean city and will make local public transport significantly more attractive.” The first eCitaro bus will operate in Heidelberg, travelling from the main train station to the Altstadt commuter rail stati

The project billed as the world’s first commercial hyperloop system is on course to open its first 10km section next year in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). In an interview Bibop Gresta, chairman of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, told Emirates News Agency that the average cost would be $20-40m per km. Despite the cost, he is confident that the scheme – which will eventually run for 150km between Abu Dhabi and Dubai – will pay for itself in “eight to 15 years”. “It will be paying for itself

A new alliance has formed to help governments and cities around the world integrate ride-hailing, dockless bikes and scooters and autonomous vehicles into communities. NUMO (New Urban Mobility Alliance) is to launch a range of pilot projects and will conduct public engagement research in cities which it hopes will serve as a guide to policy makers and the private sector. Zipcar co-founder Robin Chase, executive chair of NUMO’s steering committee, explained: “The pace of innovation and disruption on

Highways England has appointed a data specialist to advise the organisation, which manages England’s major roads. Janette Beinart, former interim chief information officer at investment business M&G Prudential, will join as a non-executive director. Colin Matthews, Highways England’s chairman, says: “Janette’s extensive knowledge and experience of applying big data and digitalisation to a changing business landscape will be tremendously valuable as we plan for the future and developments which can transfo