News

ZF Friedrichshafen has acquired a 60% share of 2getthere, the Dutch provider of automated electric passenger transport systems. The deal is expected to strengthen ZF’s position in providing Mobility as a Service solutions, autonomous transport systems and shared autonomous vehicles. 2getthere’s applications range from driverless electric transport systems at airports to dedicated urban transport infrastructures. The company also has offices in San Francisco, Dubai and Singapore. Carel C. van Hel

Cohda Wireless has carried out a trial of Vehicle to Everything (V2X) technology in Norway’s Bjørnegård tunnel. The idea was to demonstrate the ability of Cohda’s V2X-Locate solution to provide accurate vehicle positioning in areas where GPS systems often run into difficulty – such as in tunnels or underground car parks. The company’s chief technical officer, Professor Paul Alexander, says GPS positioning can be off by up to 40m in such environments – which would have a significant negative impact on

Volvo Buses is to deploy 900 of its vehicles over the next decade to Perth’s metropolitan region on behalf of the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia (PTA). The deal has an order value of AUS $274 million (£146m) until 2024, and is part of an initiative to replace buses reaching the end of their useful life. Volvo says it will deliver an average of 90 buses per year for up to 10 years, with the five-year deal plus an option for a further five years. Initially, the contract will see the deli

Auckland Airport has teamed up with Uber to offer dedicated ride-share pick-up zones at domestic and international terminals from tomorrow. The partners are hoping to provide a service which offers an alternative to driving. Richard Barker, general manager, retail and commercial, at Auckland Airport, says: “As the first airport to allow Uber access since December 2016, this next step provides certainty for travellers on where to catch their ride-share service.” Users can get a ride from an accredited d

Spanish firm Ficosa is to put €500m into R&D over the next four years to provide new technology for connected and autonomous vehicles (C/AVs). The firm believes that revenue from its technology systems will rise from €100 million to €800 million over the next five years. Assisted driving and e-mobility are other areas of interest, and the company has already put its money where its mouth is, showing off a new e-mobility development centre last year. The company had overall revenues of €1.28 billion

Intelligent Imaging Systems (ISS) is providing US state departments of transportation with smart parking solutions for trucks at rest stops. The technology was installed in Ohio as part of the Mid America Association of State Transportation Officials initiative, which unites eight Midwestern states via a Regional Truck Parking Information Management System (TPIMS). ISS says in-ground sensors were fitted at 18 rest stops along Interstates 70, 75 and US Route 33 to provide information on how many parking sp

The US city of Phoenix has appointed Markus Coleman light rail administrator where he will seek to provide more transit options for commuters in the capital of Arizona. Mario Paniagua, Phoenix’s deputy city manager, says Coleman “grew up in Phoenix, has strong ties to the South Phoenix community and knows how important public transit is to our citizens who use that as their main mode of getting around”. Coleman has worked in Phoenix for 23 years on development projects and transportation. He also has ser

The Canadian government has committed CAN$300,000 to develop six electric vehicle (EV) chargers across Prince Edward Island (PEI) province. The funding is part of the government’s CAN$182.5 million investment to develop a fast-charging network for EVs and establish natural gas stations along roads and hydrogen stations in metropolitan areas. It recently made a similar investment in Vancouver. The chargers, built by the Government of PEI, were funded through Natural Resource Canada’s Electric Vehicle and A

Bosch has opened its London Connectory, a Shoreditch-based office space to allow different partners to develop smart mobility solutions. Bosch is now working with Nitrous, a platform for facilitating projects, to encourage collaboration between partners in the public, private and academic sectors. George Johnston, founder and CEO of Nitrous, says: “This space has ambitious goals of making mobility more equitable, accessible, sustainable, and safe, thus reshaping cities around the world.” The first partn

More than 100 UK local authorities say they have no plans to increase their number of electric vehicle (EV) charging points. These findings have been revealed from freedom of information (FoI) requests submitted by the Liberal Democrats and shared with The Guardian newspaper. According to the report, Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat former energy and climate change secretary, says the lack of investment in charging points is due to “cuts to council budgets”. “Unless there is urgent action to tackle our out

French electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Groupil Industrie is using Geotab’s connected fleet management platform to optimise its fleet. Geotab, a UK connected transportation firm, says its platform will provide Groupil with access to technical vehicle and battery management data to improve its overall suite of manufactured EVs. Edward Kulperger, vice president of Geotab for Europe, says: “We believe that the fleet industry is poised for mass EV adoption, which is critical for not only ensuring imp

St. Louis public transport operator Metro Transit is launching a new real-time information and trip-planning mobile app covering the US region, which includes parts of Illinois and Missouri. Jessica Mefford-Miller, executive director of Metro Transit, a public transport operator, says: “With this app, our customers can check real-time information, get the latest service alerts, look up schedules, and plan multimodal trips – all from the palm of their hand.” Called Transit, the app will allow riders to

ITS manufacturer AGD Systems has acquired Radix Traffic, a UK manufacturer of rotating cone tactile equipment to assist visually impaired pedestrians at signalled crossings. AGD says the Radix tactile indicator allows a blind or partially-sighted person to hold a cone which protrudes from the signal. When it is safe to cross, the cone starts rotating as the green man appears. Brian Cherry will serve as a director of the Radix division of AGD Systems to assist in the transition of the company’s produ

Telecoms operator Spark has joined forces with Ohmio Automotion to trial a 5G-connected driverless car on the streets of Auckland, New Zealand. The test was carried out in a controlled area at Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter Innovation Precinct, using Spark’s pre-commercial 5G network, which is available as part of its 5G Innovation lab. Spark launched the lab last November and is now using it to work with businesses in New Zealand to test the technical capabilities of 5G. Ohmio’s driverless car has b

Automobile components company Tata AutoComp Systems has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to supply Tritium’s chargers for electric vehicles (EVs) in India. Tata says Tritium’s Veefil-RT DC fast chargers supply power to a range of EVs, including two-wheelers, passenger and commercial vehicles. David Finn, co-founder of Tritium, says the MoU coincides with the FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacture of Hybrid and EVs) scheme. “The FAME policy is among the most progressive initiatives in the