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Waymo, the company that began as Google’s driverless car project, has pledged to open a facility in Michigan, US, to produce advanced autonomous vehicles (AVs). In a statement, Waymo insisted: “This will be the world’s first factory 100% dedicated to the mass production of Level 4 AVs.” Level 4 automation means that no human interaction is required, and the vehicle is able to adjust in the case of things going wrong – but there is an option for manual override. This is still some way from Level 5, in

Israeli company ERM Advanced Telematics is improving its StarLink product to include add-ons which allow car-sharing companies to control and immobilise a vehicle to prevent unauthorised use. The StarLink telematics device serves as a foundation solution in which users can choose the DoorLock add-on or one of the company’s eCut immobilisation products. Called StarLink Tracker SF BT, the solution comes with Bluetooth communication as well as a driver behaviour feature. It uses sensors and Canbus integrat

Policy makers are working hard to make sense of a rapidly-changing mobility environment, according to a senior official from the UK’s Department for Transport (DfT). Ella Taylor, DfT’s head, future of mobility, Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (C/AV), says the pace of development in transportation modes, such as e-scooters (not currently allowed in the UK) and e-bikes (which are), presents difficulties for governments trying to create standards and laws. “Across the globe, different modes

Governor of Colorado Jared Polis has signed an executive order which outlines a suite of initiatives to support a transition to zero emission vehicles (ZEV) in the US state. Polis says: “Our goal is to reach 100% renewable electricity by 2040 and embrace the green energy transition already underway economy-wide” He believes the public health and environmental benefits of widespread transportation electrification will increase as the state moves towards a cleaner electric grid. The initiatives include

Tech giant Apple has cut 200 staff from its autonomous vehicle (AV) programme, Project Titan, according to US media reports. Apple is said to describe the changes to Project Titan as a restructuring move. CNBC quotes a company spokesperson as insisting: “We continue to believe there is a huge opportunity with autonomous systems, that Apple has unique capabilities to contribute, and that this is the most ambitious machine learning project ever.” The Apple representative continues: “We have an incre

Ford has given no explanation for the decision to abandon its ride-sharing shuttle service Chariot, but said it came after “significant consideration”. The service will stop operating on UK shuttle commuter routes tomorrow – after just a few months - and on US routes after 1 February. All Chariot services will cease completely by the end of March. A statement from the company gave little clue as to why: “In today’s mobility landscape, the wants and needs of customers and cities are changing rapidly. We a

Bosch has received an automated driving system (ADS) permit from the Victorian government to test automated vehicle technology on high-speed rural roads in the south-eastern Australian state. Bosch is to use a $2.3 million grant from the Connected and Automated Vehicle (C/AV) Trial Grants Programme to develop the technology, which will be tested later this year. The C/AV programme funded through the government’s $1.4 million Towards Zero Action Plan – an initiative which provides guidelines on how V

The impact of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) on the taxi and private hire sector will come under close scrutiny at the 2019 MaaS Market Conference in London on 20-21 March. Lauri Suokannas, head of business development for Helsinki Taxis, will share his company’s experience in participating in the MaaS platform that has been operating in the city since November 2017. Not only are such services seen by many as the future for urban transport, globally MaaS is also predicted to replace 2.3 billion urban priv

Innovations such as Mobility as a Service (MaaS) will help to make transport more free-flowing for individuals – but that must not be done at the cost of society or the environment. That was the message from Paul Campion, CEO of the UK Transport Systems Catapult, speaking at the Westminster Energy, Environment & Transport Forum’s seminar on intelligent mobility this week. He told delegates at the London conference that innovations in the 20th century had put travel within reach of most people, and tha

More than two-thirds of people do not know what a smart city is - and around a quarter find the concept worrying due to lack of available information, says a new study. ATG Access surveyed 1,000 UK participants and found that just 24% of people in this category believe the concept would improve overall safety. Smart Cities: Turning the dream into a reality says educating the public on how smart cities can help solve challenges on traffic congestion will be key to solving consumer reservations. Of

Alstom is to test its Aptis electric bus in a range of depots and urban environments in Spain as part of a six-week roadshow. The initiative will evaluate vehicle’s charging system, autonomy and its performance in traffic. It is starting in the Barcelona Metropolitan area this month and will continue in Madrid and Vigo in February. Altsom says the vehicle comes with two steerable axles minimise the turning radius and the footprint on the road while an automatic parking system reduces space for parking.

Israeli start-up Foretellix has received $14 million in funding to further develop a solution which measures the safety of autonomous vehicles (AV) in a range of scenarios. Foretellix says its coverage driven verification solution enables developers to test AVs in hundreds of millions of driving scenarios. Ziv Binyamini, CEO of Foretellix, says: “This funding will help us accelerate the industry transition from ‘quantity of miles’ to ‘quality of coverage’ and broad deployment.” The company then automat

Chinese property developer Evergrande has acquired 51% of shares of NEVS (National Electric Vehicle Sweden) in a bid to help the smart car firm develop green mobility solutions. Evergrande’s business covers technology, real estate, health and cultural tourism. The deal is expected to help NEVS develop a second car manufacturing plant in Shanghai which will be used to develop electric vehicles and transport solutions. Currently, NEVS has a manufacturing plant in Tianjin, China, and Trollhättan, Sweden

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) has launched a trip planner app in San Francisco to provide commuters with access to various transportation modes and information on service disruptions. The BART Trip Planner was developed in collaboration with HaCon – whose software processes transit data from more than 30 operators including buses, trains, ferries and cable cars. BART says the app takes walking, cycling and car routes and the state of traffic into account to give users a realistic comparison of their commu

International Road Dynamics (IRD) is to use weigh-in-motion (WIM) technology to help maintain commercial vehicle enforcement solutions in the commonwealth of Virginia, US, over a two-year period. The scope of the $4.2 million maintenance and support contract also includes the deployment of IRD’s road side and in-station electronics and computer systems. The company will also use automated vehicle identification equipment, variable message signs, vehicle tracking systems, overview cameras, vehicle dimensio