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Gig has launched its an electric car-share service in Sacramento, California, and will award one member of its programme a year of free driving. Gig says members can participate in the competition by taking a trip with the service until 31 May. The company says the app allows users to see available cars and book up to 30 minutes in advance or instantly choose any of its vehicles which are display a green windshield light. The car can be unlocked via a smartphone and be driven from using a power butt

Parsons is to develop a decision support system using artificial intelligence (AI) to help relieve congested areas along the I-405 Sepulveda Pass corridor in Los Angeles (LA). The company says the system uses structured rules combined with incident and real-time congestion data to drive traffic strategies that mitigate and minimise impacts caused by traffic accidents or sporting events. Parsons will work with Caltrans District 7 Traffic Operations and Los Angeles City Department of Transportation to

Toyota Research Institute-Advanced Development (TRI-AD), technology company Maxar Technologies and NTT Data are working together to build high-definition (HD) maps for autonomous vehicles (AV) using satellite imagery. TRI-AD carried out an analysis, saying that current HD maps cover less than 1% of the global road network and there is a need to broaden the coverage of urban areas and local roads before AVs can become a mainstream mobility technology. A HD map created from satellite imagery would all

Hydro is launching a rotating mast arm which says will improve safety for operators responsible for maintaining traffic signals on multi-lane carriageways. Operators can control the rotating mechanism by using an internal winch located in a separate door compartment at ground level. The aluminium solution can either be installed in the ground or via the retention socket with anti-rotation design. Local technical support is available in the UK.

Shropshire Council in England has installed 115 StradaPAL contactless parking terminals from Flowbird across 10 towns. Councillor Steve Davenport, portfolio holder for highways and transport, says: “The new terminals enable the council to meet growing demand for the convenience of contactless payments for parking among its residents and visitors.” The terminals offer contactless, Chip and PIN and coin payment options along with a capability to print vouchers for local promotions, replacing all coin-only

The city of Los Angeles has released what it calls ‘LA’s Green New Deal’, pledging $860 million per year “to expand the transportation system”. Electric vehicles are at the fore: it pledges an $8 billion upgrade to the city’s electricity grid by 2022, to help build the US’s “largest, cleanest and most reliable urban electrical grid to power the next generation of green transportation”. The city authorities will “expand electric car sharing options” and support implementation of Metro’s first/last mile pl

US lawmakers have supported Kapsch TrafficCom in its patent dispute with Neology. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has upheld an earlier International Trade Commission (ITC) ruling, which said that Kapsch did not violate any of Neology’s patent claims by importing electronic tolling products using the ISO/IEC 18000-6C communications protocol (6C Standard). The Federal Circuit decision confirms the right of industry suppliers to market, sell and distribute 6C Standard tolling tags and re

The Road Safety Foundation has appointed Kate Fuller, formerly TRL’s future mobility and sustainability transport portfolio leader, to road safety engineering director. Dr Suzy Charman, executive director of the foundation, says Fuller has led major projects for government clients in the UK, Europe and the Middle East. “She also has a firm grip on the complexities of future and sustainable mobility, connected and autonomous vehicles, and Mobility as a Service,” Charman adds. Prior to TRL, Fuller spent

TomTom Telematics has launched its OEM.connect programme to allow vehicle manufacturers to connect with its telematics service platform. The programme will allow manufacturers to use TomTom’s fleet management solutions Webfleet and Nextfleet using vehicles fitted with connectivity systems. The company says the owners of OEM.connect-equipped vehicles can then access TomTom Telematics’ applications to help boost the safety of fleet operations. Fleet data from cars, light commercial vehicles or trucks fro

AID (Autonomous Intelligent Driving), a subsidiary of Audi, is installing Aeva’s 4D Lidar technology to its electric ‘e-tron’ test vehicles in Munich, Germany. AID is hoping the technology will help it bring autonomous vehicles (AV) to urban areas within the next years. Alexandre Haag, AID´s chief technology officer, says Aeva’s 4D Lidar technology was chosen for its “combination of long range, instantaneous velocity measurements at cm/s precision and robustness to interferences”. AID says Aeva’

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) has introduced a five-year Energy Action Plan to reduce energy usage and cut greenhouse gas emissions in the US capital. Once fully implemented, it is expected to net $16 million annually in energy cost savings and another $13 million in savings on operations and maintenance expenses by 2025. The plan is part of a commitment by Metro to invest $65m from its capital budget by 2025 in energy efficiency technology, modernise operations and redu

Nyx Hemera Technologies has released two tunnel lighting addressable control systems (TLACs) which it says provides intelligent control and lighting system management capabilities necessary for smart cities. According to Nyx Hemera, the TLACS-U system is designed for road underpasses and small tunnels while the TLACS-A is aimed at controlling indoor and outdoor parking lots, and dealer car parks. The use of powerline communication allows lighting control over existing electrical wiring and makes the solu

The US city of Harrisburg, state capital of Pennsylvania, is using smart sensors to monitor traffic, air quality and waste. A Telensa smart street lighting system has been deployed since 2016 in the city, and CA Traffic (traffic analytics), Libelium (air quality) and FarSite (waste monitoring) are now also involved. Data from these sensors is analysed and combined with existing lighting information and displayed in a smart city dashboard. The idea is that this will show “correlations across departmen

London’s mayor Sadiq Khan has been urged to replace the city’s existing road charge schemes with a single system that charges drivers per mile. Called City Move, the scheme would apply in areas of high demand and poor air quality. Rates would vary by vehicle emissions, local levels of congestion and pollution and availability of public transport alternatives – but would be set before the journey begins. A report by thinktank Centre for London - Green Light: Next Generation of Road User Charging for a Hea

US car-share company Getaround has acquired European competitor Drivy in a $300 million deal, expanding its presence into France, Germany, Spain, Austria, Belgium and the UK. Getaround says the deal allows drivers in Europe to earn money by making their car available to rent on its service. Getaround’s patented technology platform - Getaround Connect - enables users to locate and unlock cars using their smartphone. Meanwhile, Drivy offers a smart unlock function – a connected technology which removes the