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Draft legislation which will underpin future services such as connected vehicles has been put before the European Parliament and Council this week. Aimed at harmonising cooperative ITS deployment, the C-ITS Delegated Act - a leaked draft of which had circulated widely within the ITS industry – will in effect decide, for example, what communications protocols are to be used as C-ITS develops. The draft suggests that the eventual law will be technology-neutral, although the fact that it is using the exi

Siemens Mobility has opened a Digital Lab for Intelligent Traffic Systems in Texas to collect and analyse data to develop digital urban mobility technologies. Siemens says the lab will mainly focus on new technologies such as connected and self-driving vehicles, advanced traffic management systems, multimodal transportation, shared mobility, electric bike-sharing and fleet management. Located in downtown Austin, the lab’s software developers and data scientists will develop solutions which seek to imp

Hot on the heels of a similar plan in Los Angeles, serial entrepreneur Elon Musk has been given the green light to build underground ‘express-route’ tunnels in Las Vegas, US. The decision by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) will allow Musk’s The Boring Company (TBC) to construct and operate a people mover for the Las Vegas Convention Center. The service, expected to cost $35-$55 million, will operate via a loop of tunnels that could carry up to 11,000 passengers per hour in autono

Cohda Wireless is to provide Vehicle to Everything (V2X) hardware and software for a pedestrian crossing solution in Estonia which is expected to reduce road accidents and fatalities. The crosswalk, created by mobility developer Bercman Technologies, comprises electronic signage positioned at either side of the road to warn vulnerable road users (VRUs). Cohda Wireless CEO Paul Gray says: “The Smart Pedestrian Crosswalk Solution will leverage our V2X technology to alert VRUs of cars and other vehicles

Chinese auto maker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group has entered into a partnership to launch cellular vehicle to everything (C-V2X) and 5G-enabled cars in 2021. Geely says it is working with Qualcomm Technologies and technology group Gosuncn to offer 5G and C-V2X to select vehicles operating at SAE International Level 3. At Level 3, the driver can safely turn their attention away from driving tasks while the vehicle handles situations which call for an immediate response. The driver must be prepared to in

Indra is launching Air Drones, a set of solutions for managing air traffic for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) at local, regional and national territories. The company says Air Drones is designed to ensure the safety of air operations for drones that fly in densely populated urban environments, rural areas and near airports, where security requirements are strict. Indra’s new Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) system will organise all the traffic, identifying each aircraft and controlling its access a

Moovit is adding SpotHero’s parking facilities to its multimodal trip planner in a bid to make commuting easier in the San Francisco Bay Area. Moovit says users will be able to find parking facilities nearest to their transit station, removing the need to circle for parking. Yovav Meydad, Moovit chief growth and marketing officer, says: “Commuters can help reduce congestion simply by parking at transit hubs, and riding public transit for the ‘last mile’ of their trip.” The partnership will help u

Trafficware has upgraded its ATMS central traffic management system to include user interface customisation enhancements and metadata for connected vehicles. Trafficware, part of Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS), says the ATMS 2.9 brings traffic network data into a single repository for a real-time view of traffic operations. Jon Newhard, vice president and general manager of Trafficware, CTS, says the solution improves the company’s connected vehicle capabilities. “Through deploying connected

Grab has partnered in Indonesia with property developer Sinar Mas Land to strengthen BSD (Bumi Serpong Damai) City’s position as an integrated smart digital city. BSD City is an urban planning scheme which combines housing, business and commercial property over approximately 6,000 hectares. Grab is to provide smart mobility solutions, support small and medium enterprises and encourage technological development. Michael Widjaja, group CEO of Sinar Mas Land, says the company is developing an integr

Bharat Heavy Electricals is setting up a network of solar-based electric vehicle chargers (SEVC) on the Delhi-Chandigarh Highway in India to help alleviate range anxiety for drivers. The company says the SEVC chargers are being set-up over the 350km stretch between Delhi and Chandigarh to bolster confidence for using EVs for inter-city travel. Each SEVC station will be equipped with a rooftop solar power plant to supply green energy and EV chargers, the company adds. As part of the project, Bhar

The British Safety Council (BSC) and Kings College London have launched an app for outdoor workers to measure exposure to air pollution – an increasing preoccupation for the ITS industry. The Canairy app could help improve workzone safety by providing employees, and their bosses, with information to help them reduce exposure to air pollution. The app is being launched as part of the BSC’s ‘Time to Breathe’ campaign, which seeks to encourage companies, policymakers and regulators to take the risks of

The City of San Diego has partnered with the US Marines to develop smart cities technologies such as drones - or unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) - and smart streetlights. The Californian city’s authorities will meet with the Marine Corps Installations Command (MCICOM) regularly to exchange technology ideas, review the status of ongoing projects and identify new areas of collaboration. The partners say they will also utilise working groups to review issues and develop actions plans relating to mobility,

Lime is building on a partnership with Google Maps which it says will allow riders to locate bikes and scooters in 80 cities worldwide. Last December, Lime launched an initial pilot with Google Maps in 13 cities such as Brisbane, Australia, and Seattle, Washington. Lime says the estimated costs and arrival times will be visible next to each vehicle to help users better gauge their transportation options. Riders can view nearby Lime bikes and scooters by tapping the transit icon in Google Maps. Onc

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are at the heart of a new exhibition at the London Science Museum. Driverless: Who is in control? opens on 12 June and looks at “how close we are to living in a world driven by thinking machines”. Continuing until October 2020, the show examines themes familiar to ITS professionals wrestling with the legal, ethical and logistical issues around the introduction of driverless cars to public roads. The museum says it will focus on “how much of this seemingly futuristic technolog

The ways in which authorities can meet the mobility needs of an ageing population and people with disabilities are to be addressed at ITS International’s MaaS Market Conference later this month. Beth Cocker, head of design and consultancy at ESP group subsidiary Viaqqio will describe MaaS-derived pilot projects in the UK West Midlands and in Scotland. Viaqqio has used elements of modular-designed MaaS software previously used in Dundee to address two important issues: the requirements of elderly drivers