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Toronto City Council has amended its vehicles-for-hire rules to improve safety and accessibility of taxis and private transportation companies including Uber and Lyft. Toronto mayor John Tory, says:” These new and updated requirements are a necessary step in protecting the residents and visitors of this city. Regardless of where they are going or how far the distance, we want to make sure passengers are able to access the service and get to their destination safely." The new rules will make it mandatory

Volvo has chosen Samsung SDI to provide battery cells and modules for its electric trucks. Martin Lundstedt, CEO of Volvo, says: “The alliance with Samsung SDI is an important next step on our journey to offering the world's most truly sustainable transport systems and fossil-free alternatives in our vehicles.” Volvo has also taken steps to support its electric fleet operations in the US. Last November, the company entered into an agreement with Greenlots to install electric vehicle charging infrastr

Chinese bus manufacturer Yin Long intends to produce electric buses at Ikarbus’ factory in Serbia by the end of the year, according to a report by SeeNews. Yin Long acquired Ikarbus through its subsidiary Lanzhou Guangdong New Energy Automobile, and intends to hire 200 employees at the factory and use it as a hub to expand its business. The factory is in the city of Belgrade. Ikarbus produces low-floor and articulated city buses as well as intercity buses.

Bosch and Daimler have obtained approval to operate an automated parking system that requires no safety driver in Stuttgart, Germany.

Financial services company State Farm’s research revealed that 62% drivers using adaptive cruise control and lane keeping assist “frequently” or “sometimes” read or send text messages State Farm, a financial services company, says these drivers are taking more risks than those without adaptive cruise control (49%) or lane keeping assist (51%). The findings also revealed that 60% of drivers with adaptive cruise control and 63% of those with lane keeping assist admitted to holding a phone while talking ve

Moovit is to integrate Wondo’s urban mobility services into its app in seven cities in Spain and Portugal. Moovit says the deal will allow its users to access multiple public and private transit services, such as bike rentals, car-sharing, ride-sharing, electric scooters and shared taxis. Also, people will be able to get information guidance and book and reserve rides. Wondo’s services will be available to Moovit users from September in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla, Bilbao, Lisbon and Porto.

Denso has opened an innovation lab in Seattle to develop connected technologies and advance its Mobility as a Service (MaaS) model. In the area of MaaS, Denso is developing cloud computing technology that collects and analyses data from car-sharing fleets and shares it with mobility service providers via the cloud to help improve fleet management. The company will use the lab to collaborate with the city’s technology companies and universities to further develop its cloud computing technology, includ

Google is rolling out its real-time bike-share information on Google Maps to 24 cities in 16 countries. Originally launched in New York City, the service allows people to use Google Maps to locate bike-sharing stations and pinpoint how many bikes are available at a station in real-time. Google has worked with Ito World to incorporate global bike-share data into Google Maps, allowing riders to find an empty space at a station to leave bikes. This ‘bird’s eye view into bike-sharing’ is available in

The government of Japan is to introduce a low-speed electric vehicle (EV) service for elderly people travelling to shopping destinations and hospitals. A report by The Japan News says trial will comprise 10 small EVs called ‘Green Slow Mobility’. Each vehicle will be able to carry up to 10 passengers at a speed of less than 20kph. The Environment Ministry and Land Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry is hoping the trial will provide an understanding on how to set prices for rides. Munic

A team from the University of Michigan has won the Transportation Technology Tournament for designing a solution to reduce congestion on two interstate highways in the Detroit area. The team presented their solution, Corridor Management in the I-75/I-696 Influence Area, to a panel of judges during a tournament which took place during the Institute of Transportation Engineers annual meeting in Austin, Texas. It focused on mitigating heavy, peak hour traffic volume on I-75 between Detroit and Troy, as

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,