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A major restructuring of transport services is underway in a growing number of cities worldwide as new consumer-lead business models threaten the future of traditional operators. That’s the message Paul Campion, CEO of UK innovation agency Transport Systems Catapult, will give to delegates at the opening of ITS International’s 2019 MaaS Market Conference (20-21 March, Inmarsat Conference Centre, London). Campion will argue that the digitisation of transport is driving a move from a supplier-centric system

A major restructuring of transport services is underway in a growing number of cities worldwide as new consumer-lead business models threaten the future of traditional operators. That’s the message Paul Campion, CEO of UK innovation agency Transport Systems Catapult, will give to delegates at the opening of ITS International’s 2019 MaaS Market Conference (20-21 March, Inmarsat Conference Centre, London). Campion will argue that the digitisation of transport is driving a move from a supplier-centric system

A mobility operating system cannot be privately built, it must be open and governed by cities, according to the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADoT). Speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show 2019 in Las Vegas, LADoT general manager Seleta Reynolds described how the authority had published specifications to manage scooters following what she described as an “explosion of private companies”. She explained that the first bucket of application programming interfaces (API) provides consistent

Keolis Shanghai, a joint venture with Shanghai Shentong Metro, has opened the first section of the Songjiang tram line, offering connections to Shanghai Metro Line 6. The first phase is expected to transport 170,00 passengers per day. The 13.9km route runs across Songjiang, a suburban district, and includes 20 stations from Canghua Rd station in the west to Zhongchen Rd station in the east which serves residential areas and universities. The service is being operated with 15 Citadis trams manufacture

Kapsch TrafficCom has introduced what it says is the first configurable roadside unit for Cooperative Vehicle to Everything (C-V2X) direct communication. Presented at the Consumer Electronics Show 2019 in Las Vegas, the RIS-9260 is based on the Qualcomm 9150 C-V2X chipset solution, and is designed to connect vehicles with their environment, “while enabling traffic infrastructure to support vehicles with the information needed to improve safety, efficiency and support autonomous driving”. Kapsch Traff

Delphi Technologies is collaborating with TomTom on electronic and software applications designed to further optimise vehicle fuel efficiency and emissions through the use of real-time mapping data. Delphi says its Intelligent Driving controls will use the information to predict changing driving conditions such as traffic congestion to help shorten commute times. Mary Gustanski, the company’s chief technology officer, says the partnership will seek to integrate more information about a driver's route

Governments are “lagging behind” in developing regulations to ensure the safety of autonomous vehicles (AVs). This was among the main messages from a key session at this week’s Consumer Electronics Event 2019 event in Las Vegas, US. Speaking during ‘Mobility and Connectivity Perspectives from the C-suite’, Joe Vitale, global automotive leader at Deloitte, said the company’s yearly consumer study has shown that more people feel getting into an AV is unsafe, which is in part due to the deaths caused b

Here Technologies is to integrate its navigation and location services with Amazon’s Alexa to offer drivers voice-first navigation. At CES 2019 in Las Vegas, Here announced that it would utilise Alexa Auto tools to keep drivers focused on the road while offering personalised guidance. Alexa will come pre-integrated with Here Navigation On-Demand, the company’s new navigation-as-a-service model which allows drivers to search for points of interest and access live traffic information. Additionally,

WSP has been appointed by the UK’s Transport for the South East (TfSE) to develop a transport strategy that will help unlock growth in the region. For the next 18 months, WSP will work with Steer (formerly Steer Davies Gleave) to develop a strategy up to 2050 in a bid to deliver increased productivity. Adrian Hames, director at WSP, says the company will use its future scenario toolkit to inform the modelling work needed to develop the new strategy. The transport strategy will consider environmenta

Scania is to deliver 741 Euro 6 gas buses to Bogotá, Colombia, in a deal which is expected to reduce carbon emissions by up 20%. This deployment serves as an extension to an initial order placed by TransMilenio for the procurement of 481 Euro 6 gas buses and is part of the city’s bus rapid transit (BRT) renewal programme. Masivo Bogotá will operate the 260 bi-articulated Scania F340 HA 8x2 buses across 18 stations on the Américas BRT line. Carlos Ocampo, Scania Colombia's managing director, says:

Road congestion and lack of infrastructure funding are among the main issues facing the transportation industry, according to the new president of the IBTTA. Chris Tomlinson, who is also interim executive director of the newly created Atlanta-region Transit Link Authority, suggested an absence of technological standards, particularly in the US, is also a potential problem. But along with “continued increases in congestion in our urban areas”, he points to opportunities. “We can see a convergence of t

Alstom is to supply vendor managed inventory (VMI) services to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) over three years to help improve passenger safety. The €50 million contract includes two-year exercisable two-year options. The deal serves as an extension to a 2013 agreement. Alstom says VMI has allowed SFTMA to carry out regular and predictive maintenance of its fleet as well as decrease inventory management costs and increase daily average car availability by 20% and mean distan

Chinese technology start-up Onemile has launched its electric scooter rental service which comes with a seating pad to help improve rider safety. The company’s Halo City scooters are available in Hawaii, Paris, London and Berlin. Onemile aims to offer its service at mid and long-term rental and says it will provide an integrated parking location and management system. It is not the only company looking to find new ways to improve safety for riders. In the US, Bird rolled out an app feature which a

Construction has started on the first phase of San Diego’s Downtown Mobility Plan to help improve safety for cyclists and scooter riders. The 9.3 mile section will feature two-way cycle tracks on major arteries and help provide safer passage from Balboa Park to the San Diego Convention Center. It will be painted green and be separated from vehicular traffic by parked cars, flex posts or grade variations. City mayor Kevin Faulconer says connecting popular destinations in downtown to surrounding neighbour

Jenoptik’s average speed control system has received type approval to be used in an 18-month trial on a stretch of highway in Lower Saxony, Germany. Jenoptik’s TraffiSection, which is laser-based, has been approved by PTB (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt) and is supported by the Ministry of Interior of Lower Saxony. From mid-January, the system will obtain data on drivers who exceed the speed limit on a 2.2km stretch of Federal Highway 6, south of Hanover between Gleidingen and Laatzen. Jenop