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Volvo is trialling its 12m long autonomous electric bus on roads at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore ahead of an anticipated release onto public roads. The Volvo 7900 Electric single-decker bus can carry approximately 80 passengers and is the first of two buses being trialled at the NTU’s Centre of Excellence for Testing and Research of Autonomous vehicles (CETRAN) before being extended beyond the campus. CETRAN is staffed by NTU scientists and features a track which replicates var

Teleste is to help the Prince of Songkla University (PSU) in Thailand develop smart campus applications for transport and street lighting. PSU students and researchers will utilise Teleste’s advanced video management, Internet of Things and situational technologies to develop new services and applications. The project is being launched in support of the government’s Digital Thailand 4.0, an initiative which seeks to establish an economy based on digital computing technologies. Dr. Wasin Suwannarat, vi

Transit authorities could soon be seeing the benefits of contactless payments – without having to replace expensive turnstiles or terminals. That, at least, is what Visa is suggesting as the company launches its own secure access model (SAM), which is set to be put into service in Brazil. Metro Rio will be the first transit operator to launch contactless payments using the Visa SAM in late April. Visa and Planeta Informatica say the new technology “makes it easy for transit organisations and operators to

Ola Electric Mobility, a company backed by Indian ride-hailing platform Ola, has raised 4 billion rupees (£42m) in an initial funding round. Ola hopes to bring one million electric vehicles (EVs) to India by 2022 and is currently running pilots to deploy EVs and charging solutions for electric two-wheeler and three-wheeler services. Anand Shah, head of Ola Electric Mobility, says electric mobility requires chargers which can provide a reliable replacement for the petrol pump. “By making electric easy

After a century as the city of the automobile, Los Angeles is taking a major step on the road towards congestion charging. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LAMetro) is to explore road pricing and is also thinking about levying fees on ride-share companies for their part in creating gridlock. The moves are part of LAMetro’s ‘Re-imagining of Los Angeles County: Mobility, Equity and the Environment’ plan, which seeks policies to make transport sustainable in the famously-cong

Coup is to deploy 1,500 electric scooters across Berlin, Paris and Madrid – expanding its overall fleet to 5,000. The company says the European cities will each receive 500 e-scooters to meet increased demand. From 1 April, users will have access to a pricing structure in Berlin of €0.21 euros per minute for a minimum rental time of 10 minutes. Dr. Bernd Schmaul, chief executive officer of Coup, says: “We are taking this step in response to feedback from our users. There is increasing demand for lower

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has launched an electric mobility service called Glyd for commuters travelling to offices in Mumbai, India. Glyd comprises ten electric sedans called e-Veritos which are operating between corporate hubs at the Bandra Kurla Complex and the city’s western suburbs. M&M will gradually expand the service to crowdsource routes based on demand. M&M is deploying the service as part of an agreement with telecoms operator Vodafone-Idea and Cisco Systems. The fleet comes with conn

Applied Information has launched a product to detect when a traffic control device has been knocked down due to an accident, storm or vandalism – and call for help. The AI-900-032 Knockdown Detection Sensor uses battery power and wireless Internet of Things technology to send alerts to transportation system managers when it is in an ‘abnormal’ position. It is part of the Glance Smart City Supervisory System suite of products which allow cities to manage traffic and ITS assets under one web-based applicat

Toyota Research Institute-Advanced Development and telematics company Carmera are conducting a ‘proof of concept’ project to develop camera-based automation of high definition (HD) maps for roads in Japan. Toyota says the project will help realise its automated mapping platform, an open software concept which supports automated driving by combining data gathered from vehicles of participating companies to generate HD maps. Cameras which use Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) components will be equipped to th

Automotive manufacturer Maruti Suzuki has partnered with the Delhi Police to stop red-light running and speeding. The partners are launching a red light and speed violation detection system along the 14km ring road between the Dhaula Kuan intersection and Sarai Kale Khan village, near the Indian capital. Maruti’s system, which has 3D radars and more than 100 high-resolution cameras, is also expected to capture the registration numbers of vehicles involved in wrong-way driving or failure to stop at st

Thales and Australian mobile network provider Telstra are working together to enable the management of low altitude airspace for autonomous flying taxis, drones and helicopters. The partnership is investigating how 4G and 5G technology and Internet of Things capabilities could enable robust navigation and monitoring of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) – more commonly called drones. Chris Jenkins, chief executive of Thales Australia, says the partnership intends to help customers integrate unmanned aircra

MTR Nordic has launched its MyHeadsapp travel app which it says will provide public transport updates for service disruptions on routes in Stockholm, Sweden. The firm operates and maintains the city’s metro and commuter trains in cooperation with public transport company Storstockholms Lokaltrafik (SL). Mark Jensen, CEO of MTR Nordic, says: “We have developed an app that gives travellers information about any disturbances on their own journey from start to finish, no matter how many changes you make.”

Tolling organisation ASECAP has welcomed a European agreement which would force governments to take ‘systematic account’ of vulnerable road users (VRUs). But it warns that the industry must guard against any unintended consequences of the provisional agreement between the European Council and European Parliament, which is designed to strengthen road infrastructure management in a bid to reduce fatalities and serious injuries. The wording has yet to be endorsed by the Council and the relevant European Par

Practical applications of new and developing technologies in the transport sector will dominate the agenda at the fourth MaaS Market conference taking place in London on March 20-21. City authorities, transport operators and senior tech industry presenters will discuss their direct experience of participating in Mobility as a Service (MaaS) projects while addressing issues such as data exchange, payment systems, interoperability and political accountability. These will include Lauri Suokannas of Taksi

Gotcha is to deploy 1,000 electric bikes across southern California this summer in a bid to improve air quality and reduce vehicle usage. The agreement with the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments in the US state, and covers 15 municipalities, including Pasadena, Pomona and El Monte. Riders will be able to use the Gotcha app to locate bikes at mobility hubs throughout each area and have the option to pay on a daily, monthly or annual basis. Steps are already being taken to improve air quality in