News

French transit operator RATP has joined forces with Airbus to explore the feasibility of urban air mobility in the Île-de-France region. RATP says the partners will commit to analysing the conditions for developing flying vehicles and work on urban integration to make a service available to as many people as possible. As part of the agreement, both companies intend to establish an ecosystem of partners to develop the transport offering. Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus, says: “We already have the t

Aimsun has released a software platform for the large-scale design and validation of path planning algorithms for autonomous vehicles (AV). The company says Aimsun Auto allows test vehicles to drive inside digital cities - virtual copies of transportation networks, where users can safely explore the limits of AV technology. Paolo Rinelli, global head of product management at Aimsun, says Auto removes the need to drive around seeking conditions that users want to test or to “script each actor’s behaviour

Vaisala has launched a route optimisation service that it claims reduces the time involved to create treatment routes based on weather hazards, network priorities and available resources. The Vaisala Route Manager allows details of the road network and available resources such as depot locations and vehicle capacity to be imported to produce optimised routes with instructions which can upload to vehicles, the company adds. According to Vaisala, the solution allows planners to create unlimited sets of rou

Michelin has bought French telematics provider Masternaut in a bid to speed up the development of its services and solutions business for light vehicles and fleets. Michelin says the acquisition will enable Masternaut to roll out its offering across Europe by taking advantage of Michelin’s geographical coverage. It is also expected to improve product performance and develop data science deployments such as predictive maintenance. Florent Menegaux, managing general partner at Michelin, says: “Mastern

Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) is to extend its SimplyGo system to allow commuters to pay for transport via Visa contactless cards from 6 June. The move follows an initial launch in which SimplyGo was made available for commuters using Mastercard in March. Yeo Teck Guan, LTA senior group director, public transport, says: “We are seeing a steady uptake in usage since its launch, with an average of over 120,000 daily trips. With the inclusion of Visa, more commuters will benefit,” Users

Qualcomm has been accused of supressing competition from smartphone chip rivals by threatening to cut off supplies and extract licensing fees. US District Judge Lucy Koh has ordered the company to renegotiate licensing agreements at reasonable prices. Qualcomm, a key player in the ITS industry - particularly in the nascent area of 5G technology - refutes the ruling. “We strongly disagree with the judge’s conclusions, her interpretation of the facts and her application of the law,” said Don Rosenberg

Karhoo has joined forces with SNCF Mobilités to bring door-to-door transport services to travellers across France. Boris Pilichowski, co-CEO Karhoo, says: “Enabling door-to-door transport for SNCF customers takes us a step closer to a truly integrated network while improving the passenger experience ten-fold.” Karhoo has created a platform which it says enables travellers on SCNF’s high-speed trains to book first- and last-mile journeys by taxi or private hire vehicle. Called Mon Chauffeur, the service

Redflex Traffic Systems has won a contract to operate an automated work zone speed enforcement (AWZSE) programme in the US state of Pennsylvania. The deal is with the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (DoT). The contract is expected to generate $30 million in revenue for the Redflex over the initial term of the agreement which will end February 2024. Under the AWZSE programme, Redflex is to provide automated photo enforcement equipment, data colle

Here Technologies has piloted a system with Mitsubishi Electric which it claims can enable vehicles to automatically warn others about upcoming road hazards with lane-level precision Here says the Lane Hazard Warning platform enables an event detected by a vehicle’s sensors – such as a slow car or pothole – to be localised to a specific lane. This information can then be transmitted in real time via the cloud to other vehicles approaching the same area, the company adds. Hiroshi Onishi, executive office

Telecoms giant AT&T is to deploy smart city technology to help improve lighting in the city of San José, California. The company says the 670 smart lighting controls and 550 LEDs will also reduce energy costs and decrease environmental impacts. Additionally, AT&T will provide more than 100 Wi-Fi extenders to boost Wi-Fi connectivity and 15 digital infrastructure nodes to help improve public safety. As part of the agreement, AT&T is to pledge $200,000 to help local community organisations provide r

MaaS America, a non-profit association founded to advance a model of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) in the US, has announced the members of its charter advisory committee. The MaaS America Advisory Committee (MAAC) is a volunteer group that will offer advice to MaaS America on matters ranging from association policies, programmes and events to communications and operation. MAAC members include: • Timothy J. McGuckin, founder, MaaS America • Randell H. Iwasaki, P.E., executive director, Contra Costa Tran

Siemens Mobility has opened an office in Michigan to support its ITS portfolio and deliver road transportation products and solutions. Marcus Welz, president of Siemens Mobility intelligent traffic systems in North America, says the office will allow the company to serve nearby customers and improve engagement with the automotive industry in Michigan. “As both the road infrastructure and automotive industry makes a shift towards an autonomous and connected future, it is important that we grow in lockst

Immense Solutions has secured $4.6 million to develop its ‘Simulation as a Service’ platform which it claims increases efficiencies for public authorities and mobility service providers. Software firm Immense says the solution uses simulation and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve how transport stakeholders make decisions about the movement of people and goods. It provides simulations of travellers, places and mobility systems that enable rapid operational understanding of how a city moves, the com

Bus manufacturer New Flyer of America has partnered with Robotic Research to develop driverless bus technology. The partners will deploy advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) in heavy-duty transit bus applications. New Flyer says the partnership supports the Federal Transit Administration’s plan to assess potential risks, barriers and mitigation strategies associated with the implementation of automation technologies in transit buses. Both companies will seek to develop an Xcelsior Charge battery-e

Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) is to continue providing maintenance and technical support for the TAP regional fare programme in Los Angeles for five and a half years. The contract extension, valued at $68.2 million, is part of an agreement with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LAMetro). TAP, LAMetro’s contactless system that links 26 regional transit providers on a common contactless smart card, is being improved to include a mobile app to complement LAMetro’s cloud