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Uber is to launch a helicopter service in New York City which is expected to offer flights from Lower Manhattan to Kennedy International Airport in eight minutes. A New York Times report says the average flight on the Uber Copter will cost $200-225 per person and include ground transportation on both ends of the trip. Eric Allison, head of Uber Elevate - the ride-hailing firm’s aerial division - says: “Our plan is to eventually roll out Uber Copter to more Uber customers and to other cities, but we want

Urban road safety is a key problem in Europe, an issue that needs to be addressed as a priority. That is the finding of a new report by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC). The ETSC’s report reveals that road deaths on urban roads decreased at around half the rate of those on rural roads over the period 2010-2017. The report also shows that vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, account for 70% of those killed and seriously injured on urban roads. Dovilė Adminait

Moscow summit urges transit change

Last week’s ITS America 28th Annual Meeting & Expo saw some of the ITS industry’s biggest players gathering in Washington, DC. ITS International produced three Daily News magazines at the show, covering launches, deals, products and highlights from a packed speaker programme. For all the stories and digital editions of the Daily News, go to: www.itsamericalive.com

Mott Macdonald and its joint venture partners have completed the Sydney Metro Northwest, an autonomous train service available for commuters in the Australian city. Delivering 36km of new metro rail, the AUS$8.3 billion (£4.5bn) project is expected to improve travel times and increase the reliability of trains. It also comprises eight new stations from the Epping suburb to Tallawong railway station, five upgraded stations and 4,000 commuter car parking spaces. Mott Macdonald worked with engineering compan

Technology company Vitronic is to deploy 500 traffic control systems to the Kingdom of Morocco in a bid to improve safety in the region. Vitronic will work with its local partner Alomra Group International to install its Poliscan laser systems in 12 regions and their metropolises such as Casablanca, Rabat and Marrakesh. The technology is expected to provide speed enforcement and to monitor traffic light intersections. The company says it will supply its Compact City Housing solution throughout the countr

The Department of Information Technology (DIT) in Russia is to implement an agreement between Moscow’s mayor Alexey Kornya and mobile network operator MTS to trial 5G technologies. Eduard Lysenko, head of DIT, says: “Moscow is setting itself the task of reducing operator expenditure on creating infrastructure for the commercial launch of 5G by removing administrative barriers." Kornya and MTS will also seek to pilot projects involving virtual and augmented reality, Internet of Things and smart city techn

Swarco Traffic is to provide traffic solutions and smart technologies to deliver parking guidance across the University of Warwick’s campus in the UK city of Coventry. Tony Gillings, project manager at Swarco Traffic, says the technologies will “help the University to effectively manage its car parks and provide university staff and visitors with the necessary guidance and information they need to park safely and efficiently”. Swarco Traffic will supply an initial 42 parking guidance signs to display par

Mobility company Skedgo has partnered with software firm Fluidtime to expand its Mobility as a Service (MaaS) offering. SkedGo says its mobility platform can combine all public, commercial and private transport modes into smart trip chains, with priority settings for time, carbon and money. Fluidtime’s mobility solution, Fluidhub, is aimed at helping cities and public transport companies install and operate integrated mobility services. Speaking to ITS International, John Nuutinen, SkedGo's chief busin

AECOM has brought together around a dozen local US transit agencies to form the Automated Bus Consortium to explore driverless bus pilot programmes. Among the authorities are Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority. ABC is looking into buying up to 100 full-sized autonomous buses that will run at normal speeds along designated urban routes. Meanwhile, AECOM will provide planning, assessment, implementation and

EasyMile has launched a version of its EZ10 driverless shuttle which does not require an on-board attendant at the Global Public Transport Summit 2019 in Stockholm, Sweden. EasyMile says the latest version of the shuttle is managed from a remote control centre where a supervisor monitors the autonomous vehicle via a real-time data stream and ensures communication with passengers. The shuttle’s sensor has been optimised for a more accurate vision even in challenging weather conditions, the company adds.

City authorities are going to benefit from higher-density products to carry fibre networks in future – particularly with developments such as the 5G roll-out. “We don’t know how much fibre we are going to need going forward but we know we are going to need more,” says Joseph Lange, Dura-Line business development manager – microtechnology, US. The company’s products are used by a number of utilities departments. For example, in one recent deployment, the City of Augusta used Dura-Line’s FuturePath Flex Locat

Arousing call from Capitol Hill to the ITS industry was among the highlights of Day 2 at the ITS America Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. In a keynote speech, congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said: “So, my friends, your sector has come to the forefront of what we need to be doing in transport and infrastructure today.” She urged delegates to visit members of the House of Representatives to talk about new mobility solutions. “When it comes to transport, Congress could use some intelligence!” sh

Volocopter has partnered with Skyports to build a landing pad for air taxis on the run-up public flight trials in Singapore during the second half of 2019. Volocopter says its Volo-Ports are designed to provide passengers with a safe air taxi experience and allow industry regulators to interact with the infrastructure and provide feedback. The Volo-Ports are also expected to: • Enable real-life testing of the full customer journey to perfect the passenger experience. • Showcase planned customer service

Co-operative traffic management needs to be more de-centralised rather than a ‘Big Brother of mobility’ approach that watches over our every movement. This is one of the key messages at Enabling interactive traffic management through public-private cooperation: examples from practical trials at this week's TS European Congress in Eindhoven, Netherlands. Pedro Barradas, policy officer at DG Move, the European Commission’s (EC) directorate-general for mobility and transport, said discussions were held on h