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US space agency Nasa is moving into the final phase of its four-year programme to prove that it can safely control drones flying over urban centres. Drones, less commonly called unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), are likely to form an increasing proportion of the transportation mix for future cities, but questions remain over their safety – particularly in built-up, heavily populated areas. Nasa will test them in two areas – the gambling hotspot of Reno, Nevada, and the Texan city of Corpus Christi.

Artificial intelligence (AI) company Stage Intelligence has linked up with a consortium in a bid to make a Paris bike-share scheme more efficient. Stage is partnering with Smovengo – a grouping which consists of Smoove, Moventia, Mobivia and Park Indigo - to deploy its Bico AI optimisation platform across Smovengo’s Vélib bike-share system in the French capital. The company says its system allows users to collect, manage and visualise data and turn it into actionable insights; it has already been used in

Up to 40% of drivers are willing to help reduce air pollution when provided with alternative routes on ThinxNet’s Ryd platform, says Siemens Mobility. The partners worked with air quality specialist Hawa Dawa in a four-week project in Munich to prove that intelligent traffic control can help cities become more sustainable. Siemens says initial results for more than 1,600 drivers in the German city showed savings of 83 kg of carbon dioxide and 114 g of nitrogen oxide as well as a reduction of 633km driven

Nortech is to exhibit its upgraded detector range at Parkex 2019 in the UK which it says now offers detection technology packaged in a slimline housing. The company claims its 8 Series range of single and dual channel detectors will facilitate ‘plug and play’ installation while allowing full-site configuration using the DU800 diagnostics device and mobile app. Plug and play is a combination of hardware and software support that enables a computer system to recognise and adapt to hardware configuratio

Keolis Downer has started operating a light rail service in the Australian city of Newcastle, which will serve as part of a multimodal transport network. The Australian subsidiary of Keolis was awarded the multimodal contract in 2016. It covers the operations and maintenance of the light rail service as well as buses and ferries for a ten-year period. In 2017, the company started operating the bus and ferry services and a year later introduced a real-time, on-demand transport service, powered by Via, a

Scania has joined forces with public transport operator Nobina to trial autonomous buses on public roads in Stockholm. Two Scania Citywide LF electric buses will operate in the Barkaby area of the Swedish capital, around 20km from the centre. Both buses will operate along a dedicated 5km route with four stops. , Initially, they will be run in autonomous mode without passengers for a distance of 1km, while second stage tests are expected to carry up to 300 commuters per day. A safety driver will remai

Moscow is the most gridlocked city in the world, according to a survey of snarl-ups by Inrix. The company’s annual Global Traffic Scorecard found that road users in the Russian capital lost 210 hours last year because of congestion. Inrix weights the data for population, and found that the next four cities on the congestion roll-call were Istanbul, Turkey; Bogota, Colombia; Mexico City; and São Paulo, Brazil. Brazil had another entry on this unwanted list, with Rio de Janeiro in seventh place. Russ

Australian-Israeli company Electriq Global has partnered with Dutch firm Eleqtec to bring its water-based fuel to the Netherlands to power electric mobility solutions. Electriq Fuel is expected to be suitable for mobility applications for trucks, barges and mobile generators. Electriq says it is is comprised of 60% water and achieves a greater range and lower cost than green energy solutions like lithium-ion batteries or compressed hydrogen. The energy density potential of the technology is up t

The Dallas Entrepreneur Center Network (DEC) – backed by tech giants AT&T, Cisco and Microsoft - is launching an initiative to help regional companies and entrepreneurs develop urban technologies. The DEC says its Innov8te Smart Cities Incubator will support technologies which seek to improve mobility, citizen engagement, inclusion, infrastructure, governance and public health as well as public safety and sustainability. The incubator - located in the Dallas Innovation District and Smart Cities Livin

Technology firm Trafi has partnered with public transport company Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) to launch a mobility app which it says integrates all modes of transport in Berlin, Germany. Trafi claims that the Jelbi app will allow users to access the city’s entire public transportation system including scooters, bikes, ride-hailing and car-sharing as well as taxis. The idea is that users can plan and book journeys without needing to sign up to additional companies or jump between different apps.

Parkopedia has integrated its service into Mercedes-Benz passenger cars in China to provide drivers with information on parking garages. The company says the service offers information on garage prices, opening hours, precise location and dynamic space availability. Parkopedia’s service is available with new A-class Mercedes Benz cars equipped with the Command Online Navigation system. The Mercedes Command Online Navigation System controls a range of vehicle functions such as the sat nav and ste

BYD is to build its SkyRail autonomous monorail in Brazil to connect Salvador’s central business district with São João Island. SkyRail will operate along a 20km track with a capacity of 150,000 passengers per day. The route will be partially built over the sea and offer connections with the city’s subway system. Stella Li, senior vice president of BYD and president of BYD Motors, says SkyRail will offer a zero-emission mode of transport for people living in Salvador. The project will become part

Lyft is donating $700,000 to bring more transportation options and free-rides to under-served residents living in East Oakland, California. The ride-hailing company is working with the city of Oakland’s mayor Libby Schaaf and non-profit organisation TransForm to establish a free bike library. The money will be used by TransForm and its partner organisations East Oakland Collective and Scraper Bikes in three initiatives. Lyft and TransForm will fund the East Oakland Collective, a community group, in pil

Almost a year after it came into operation, Transport for West Midlands’ head of smart travel, Chris Lane, will update delegates at the MaaS Market Conference (London 20 and 21 March) on how the Whim West Midlands pilot scheme is working in practice. Introduced in conjunction with MaaS Global, Whim West Midlands is the UK’s first Mobility as a Service platform to go live to the general public and combines public transport (bus and tram) with on-demand taxis and bike sharing. The initial Pay-As-You-Go se

Nine out of ten peak-hour commutes in Singapore should take less than 45 minutes by 2040, saving the average person around 15 minutes every weekday. This is one of the recommendations that the Land Transport Master Plan’s (LTMP) advisory panel submitted to the government to make public transport more connected, safer and inclusive. The recommendations are based on more than 7,400 responses taken from a public engagement exercise conducted by the Land Transport Authority. The study included feedback fr