News

ReachNow has scrapped its car-rental services in Seattle and Portland following a corporate “realignment”, says The Seattle Times. ReachNow offered rentals for BMWs and Mini Coopers and launched a ride-hailing service last year. In May, the company announced to some of its customers that it was shutting down its ride-hailing service, saying that its third-party vendor could no longer support their business. Last November, ReachNow - a BMW subsidiary - integrated car-sharing and ride-hailing int

The government of New Zealand is developing a plan aimed at reducing 750 deaths and 5,600 serious injuries expected on its roads over the next ten years. Anne Genter, associate transport minister, says: “Most roads deaths and serious injuries are preventable and too many New Zealanders have lost their lives or been seriously injured in crashes that could have been prevented by road safety upgrades.” Genter believes the new target can be achieved mainly by increasing investment in road safety infrastr

Siemens Mobility is to install 68 traffic detectors from ADEC Technologies on highway E661 from the municipality of Gradiška to the city of Banja Luka in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Siemens says the TDC3-8 (TLS 8+1) traffic detectors are part of an ITS system which monitors and controls traffic on the highway. The detectors collect statistical traffic data such as the number and classification of vehicles and level of service. Milan Radivojevic, project manager at Siemens Mobility, says the project invo

Lytx, a video telematics provider, is to participate in the Qualcomm Smart Cities Accelerator Programme to help drive fleet safety, tracking and management of smart cities. The programme seeks to connect cities, municipalities, government agencies and enterprises with a range of providers offering Qualcomm Technologies’ solutions for smart city applications. Eliot Feldstein, Lytx senior vice president of corporate and business development, says: “By streamlining access to Lytx’s data and technology

The UK government intends to change its building regulations to ensure that all new-build homes with a dedicated parking space are fitted with an electric vehicle (EV) chargepoint. The proposals were outlined in a public consultation and are aimed at encouraging the uptake of EVs. Chris Grayling, transport secretary, says: “Home charging provides the most convenient and low-cost option for consumers – you can simply plug your car in to charge overnight as you would a mobile phone.” Additionally,

A self-driving bus trial in the Austrian capital Vienna has been halted after a collision between a vehicle and pedestrian, says Bloomberg. Authorities are now investing the cause of the incident which led to minor injuries. According to Bloomberg, state broadcaster ORF says the Navya vehicle was driving at 7.5 miles per hour when it hit the 30-year-old woman in the knee. In a statement given to The Verge, Navya said witnesses had seen the pedestrian wearing headphones and looking at a mobile phon

Fusus has launched a unified video solution for smart cities which it says combines private and public video sources into a single platform called FususOne. Fusus detects, analyses and connects to every camera on a building’s network and sends a unified video feed to a single web interface, the company adds. Fusus CEO Chris Lindenau says it pulls in “video from multiple sources into a single platform to speed emergency response and provide situational awareness”. According to Fusus, police, fire a

Cohda Wireless has launched a hardware solution MK6C Evaluation Kit with the aim of accelerating the commercial introduction of cellular Vehicle to Everything (C-V2X) technology. Cohda says MK6C features the Qualcomm 9150 C-V2X Platform and offers compatible software to support Vehicle to Vehicle, Vehicle to Infrastructure and Vehicle to Pedestrian applications. It also comes with a 5G expansion-ready extension connector and can accommodate Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Ethernet. The company is seeking to

Lyft has joined forces with Aptiv and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) to bring self-driving technology to its blind and low-vision riders in Las Vegas. The deal extends an agreement last year, in which Aptiv launched 30 autonomous vehicles (AVs) to pick up riders using Lyft’s app. NFB president Mark Riccobono says: “This demonstration will allow future blind drivers to experience and begin providing feedback about this technology, paving the way for the development of a non-visual user in

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $235 million loan to help develop a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Karachi, Pakistan. The project will deliver the 26km Bus Rapid Transit Line Red Line Corridor and associated facilities. More than 300,000 passengers per day are expected on the Red Line BRT routes. It will include the construction of 29 stations and dedicated lanes, a roadway with up to six lanes in each direction, on-street parking and green areas well as the installation of bicycl

Inrix has updated its Road Rules solution aimed at helping cities and road authorities digitise, manage and communicate local rules on the roadway, kerb and the pavement. Inrix says the platform now supports guidelines that enable other mobility options such as loading zones and parking restrictions for transportation network companies, dockless bike/scooter zones as well as electric vehicle charging stations. Road Rules is expected to help cities digitally manage their data in one place, share informatio

The Transportation Research Center (TRC), an automotive proving ground in North America, has opened a connected and autonomous vehicle (C/AV) testing facility in Ohio. The $45 million site, called SmartCenter, is to test advanced automotive and mobility technologies in a repeatable real-world environment before vehicles are deployed on public highways. Governor John R. Kasich says the centre will allow researchers, developers and manufacturers “to test, build, and deploy advanced mobility solutions

Autotalks and Datang have tested chipset-level interoperability of their solutions for Cooperative Vehicle to Everything (C-V2X) direct communications in Beijing, China. Autotalks says the test enabled both companies to validate their solutions and determine that they work together properly. The testing is expected to demonstrate the readiness PC5 interfaces which allow vehicles to communicate with each other as well as assist C-V2X deployments in China. Ram Shallom, vice president business dev

The Department for Transport (DfT) in the UK is to carry out a review into road policing and traffic enforcement in a bid to improve highway safety. The two-year review - jointly funded by the DfT and Highways England - will look at how road policing currently works, its effectiveness and areas for improvement. The DfT will work with the Home Office and the National Police Chiefs’ Council. A pilot programme is expected to follow in 2020, looking at new initiatives to see what works best for reducing roa

StarTraq is to provide its browser-based traffic enforcement solution - called Dome - to the London Metropolitan Police Service (Met). StarTraq says the solution will enable the Met traffic prosecutions team to increase the number of offences being processed without any increase in the current team size. Dome allows police forces and local authorities to process any offence type regardless of whether it has been generated by a camera, smartphone or paper ticket, the company adds. The project is part of t