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Ford Motor is to launch an autonomous vehicle (AV) transportation service in Austin, Texas, by 2021. Reuters says Ford is testing a self-driving system - developed with Argo AI, an AV technology company backed by Ford - in its Fusion Hybrid sedans. Sherif Marakby, chief executive of Ford autonomous vehicles, says the company is planning to launch the service using hybrids that can carry either people or goods. Argo AI says teams will manually drive the Fusion test vehicles to map the city’s streets an

IBTTA CEO Pat Jones has invoked the example of climate change protestor Greta Thunberg to insist that the tolling industry can help tackle global environmental concerns. Speaking at the IBTTA’s annual meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Jones said that members have the power to help arrest what the United Nations calls a “worsening climate crisis”. The event in Canada saw IBTTA members talking about decarbonising transport, the importance of eco-routes and sustainable mobility as ways of ensuring they re

Parisians are to be given a big financial incentive to get on two wheels next year, according to MSN News. The Île-de-France Mobilités transport authority – which covers the city of Paris and outer suburbs - plans to offer residents €500 to buy an electric bike from February. Valerie Pecresse, president of the authority, told Le Parisien she has submitted a proposal to provide a subsidiary for half the cost of an e-bike - capped at €500 - to all residents. On average, an e-bike can cost up to €2,000. "

Cleveland in Ohio is ramping up a programme to improve management of cameras and lighting. The US city is using the T-Light Galaxy Network from ST Engineering Wireless to manage 61,000 streetlights. Cleveland Public Power commissioner Ivan Henderson says the initiative is part of the Safe, Smart CLE Project, which combines the conversion of streetlights to LED with the ST Engineering lighting control system and 1,000 cameras operated by the Cleveland Police Department. ST Engineering says the T-Li

Early bird registrations are open for the 17th ITS Asia Pacific Forum 2020 with the opportunity of saving up to $AUS200 (£109). ITS Australia says the forum, whose theme is ‘ITS Innovation Creating Liveable Communities’, “will demonstrate Australia’s new initiatives and adapted learnings from the advances of our neighbouring megacities”. Key topics will include Mobility as a Service, autonomous vehicles, data analytics and network development. The event will take place at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibit

Taiwan-based Gogoro Network has unveiled a battery-swapping station which it says retains more than 200kWh of energy and supports 1,000 electric scooters per location. The company is utilising artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced algorithms to help ensure batteries are always available for riders in the cities of Taipei, New Taipei, Taichung, Taoyuan, Kaoshung and Tainan. Gogoro founder Horace Luke says: “Gogoro Network is utilising its real-time AI for cloud data analysis to roll out a variety of e

Iteris has won a $1 million contract to upgrade the Florida Department of Transportation (FDoT)’s state-wide ITS architecture (SITSA) and seven regional ITS architectures (RITSA). Iteris says SITSA and RITSAs support Florida’s ITS planning and encourage interoperability and connected and autonomous vehicle (C/AV) preparations. Under the five-year agreement, Iteris will review and evaluate each architecture and define plans for the different DoT regions to address transportation needs with technology such

Berlin has become the latest city seeking to convince travellers of the benefits of Mobility as a Service

Ultimate Visual Solutions (UVS) has developed an alarm system which it says can be used in a traffic control centre where on-screen colour changes represent major fluctuations. The system, which operates within UVS’ Lucidity video wall controller and control software, allows staff to set pre-set alarm points. UVS managing director Steve Murphy says the solution provides an audible and visual alarm on the video wall. “We are now adding this feature as an option to the standard Lucidity control software o

Car2go is to remove its free-floating car-share service from the North American cities of Austin, Calgary, Denver, Portland and Chicago by the end of the year. Car2go released a statement, in which it admitted mistakes: “We have had to face the hard reality that despite our efforts, we underestimated the investment and resources that are truly necessary to make our service successful in these complex transportation markets amid a quickly-changing mobility landscape.” The company is now refocusing on the c

Lyft is tweaking its app in a bid to make it easier for users to switch between different modes of travel - including scooters, bikes, public transit and car rentals. The ride-share firm has added shared bikes and scooters to its app over the past year and says more people are opting for its ‘greenest ride options’. The app displays mobility options in a city and Lyft says it helps users find the safest routes for bikes and scooters. The app will also allow users to compare the time and cost acro

The city of Chicago has unveiled a plan to help improve traffic safety in its poorer areas, focusing on the south and west sides. Mayor Lori Lightfoot says studies show that residents living in communities experiencing “economic hardship” are three times more likely to die as a result of a traffic crash. “We must change how we design and use streets, as any traffic-related death is unacceptable when we, as a city, have the tools and strategies to prevent the conditions that lead to these tragedies,” Ligh

E-con Systems has launched a 5MP monochrome USB 3.1 Gen 1 SuperSpeed Camera which it says captures images in visible and near-infrared regions. The See3CAM_CU55M camera includes a high level of signal to noise ratio – which, E-con says, guarantees a low noise in all conditions. E-con president Ashok Babu says: “With its low noise and excellent image quality, this will be an ideal camera for applications such as iris recognition, NIR imaging, driver monitoring and digital microscopy.” See3CAM_CU55

Bombardier Transportation has provided propulsion and signalling systems for trains running on China’s Changzhou Metro Line 1 in a bid to reduce travel time. Bombardier says its Cityflow 650 communications-based control solution enables automatic train operation at speeds of up to 80km/h on the line, which is expected to transport around 950,000 passengers per day. The company’s Chinese joint venture Bombardier NUG Signalling Solutions (BNS) and Bombardier NUG Propulsion System is to provide the technol

A collaboration led by DTE Energy called Project Kinetic has launched an initiative which allows drivers to charge electric vehicles (EVs) at Beacon Park in downtown Detroit, Michigan. DTE says the ChargeD initiative is offering access to four DC fast-charger stations. Project Kinetic – whose partners include the city of Detroit and General Motors – has a mission to identify solutions that address mobility challenges. Detroit’s director of sustainability Joel Howrani Heeres says: “ChargeD will allow r