News

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

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