News

French car manufacturer Groupe PSA says its ‘free-floating’ car-share service provides members in Washington, DC with access to 600 vehicles. The Free2Move service is available to drivers for a $10 membership fee and does not include late fees, per trip fees or insurance charges, the company adds. Members can use the Free2Move app to locate, book and open/lock the vehicles. This pilot coincides with Maven’s announcement to expand its peer-to-peer car-share service in Washington, DC – and other US

The city of Surabaya, Indonesia, is giving free bus rides to commuters who provide used plastic bottles as part of a strategy encourage recycling. This initiative is expected to serve the city’s ambition to eliminate plastic waste by 2020. Citizens can travel on red city buses by dropping off plastic bottles at terminals or can use the bottles to pay for their fares. Reuters says a two-hour bus ticket costs ten plastic cups or up to five plastic bottles, depending on their size. Labels and bo

Nearly all UK drivers with keyless technology are unaware of the major digital threats posed by hackers, according to research conducted by MoneySuperMarket. The study reveals that 99% of drivers are unaware of security flaws such as phone phishing, where hackers send emails to drivers which contain malicious links that connect to a car’s Wi-Fi features and take control. MoneySuperMarket says 16% of drivers - or someone they know - have experienced car hacking. Also, eight out of 10 drivers do not k

Draft rules have been adopted by European policy makers which would bring the idea of widescale ‘user pays’ road pricing one step closer. European Union member states which currently use time-based road user charges will need to switch to distance-based ones for trucks and buses (over 2.4 tonnes) from 2023, and vans and minibuses from 2027, if the rules are made into law. The idea is that vehicles would then be charged according to their actual road use and the pollution they generate. The ‘user

General Motors’ subsidiary Maven is expanding its peer-to-peer car-share option to more US cities. The service – which sees owners renting out their vehicles - is currently available in four urban areas: Ann Arbor, Chicago, Denver and Detroit. But GM says it will now be rolled out in Baltimore, Boston, Jersey City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, DC by the end of the year. Owners can rent out their GM car, so long as it is registered in 2015 or later, with Maven taking 40% of each rental. Despi

Electricity and gas company SP Group says it will build a network of 1,000 electric vehicle (EV) chargers in Singapore by 2020 to meet public demand. Wong Kim Yin, SP group chief executive officer, says the initiative will enable greater adoption of EVs, help its customers go green and save energy and cost. The deployment will include 250 high-powered direct current (DC) chargers which are expected to offer power ratings up to 350kW to support EV models with bigger battery capacities and longer driv

Aurrigo has made 15 of its self-driving pods available to residents in the UK town of Milton Keynes as part of the Autodrive project. The three-year initiative, funded by Innovate UK, is part of an agreement with Milton Keynes Council to trial the pods as a first/last mile solution for citizens and visitors. The company says the Autodrive pods can travel up to 15mph for 60 miles on one charge – operating in the city centre from the central railway station. Brian Matthews, head of transport innov

Ride-hailing company Grab has launched a programme to make its service safer for drivers and passengers in south-east Asia. As part of the Safer Everyday Tech Roadmap initiative, Grab’s analytics tool works with the company’s app to help employees understand how to improve driving behaviour. Drivers also receive telematics reports on speeding, acceleration and breaking as well as reminders from a fatigue monitoring system on how long they have been travelling without taking a rest. Tan Hooi Ling, Gr

Redvision has released a wiper option for its Vega 2010 camera which it says removes dirt and water from the camera window. The PoE-driven wiper is concealed behind the front bezel of the camera when not in use. Stephen Lightfoot, technical director at Redvision explains: “Wiper power comes from the PoE-driven, CHAT interface board. This also provides camera, washer and built-in heater power to the Vega, along with audio communications. The Vega 2010 rugged housings are expected to allow installers to fit

Urbanova, telecommunications company Verizon and the city of Spokane, Washington, are collaborating on smart city solutions to tackle congestion and improve parking within the university district. Urbanova is a consortium of researchers and professionals whose stated aim is to make cities more sustainable through technological development. David Condon, mayor of Spokane, says Urbanova and Verizon will share resources around technology applications and data delivery to help achieve smarter infrastructure

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies has appointed engineering firm Dar Al-Handasah to begin construction of a Hyperloop system in Abu Dhabi in the third quarter of 2019. The project also includes a Hyperloop commercial track and an centre for logistics which it calls XO Square. In April, HyperloopTT unveiled an XO square centre in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The facility houses the company’s logistic research division, a fabrication lab and what the company refers to as ‘an ecosystem’ of global companies, s

The row about the employment status of Uber drivers has flared up again, as a trade union alleges that each UK driver is owed approximately £18,000. This follows a refusal from the company to accept a two-year old court ruling, says the GMB, the union which looks after the interests of professional drivers. The Central London Employment Tribunal ruled in 2016 that Uber drivers are entitled to holiday pay, a guaranteed minimum wage and rest bre

Verra Mobility says its pay-as-you-go tolling service can be used on 95% of cashless toll roads and bridges throughout the US without additional hardware, transponders or multiple accounts. Called Peasy, the digital platform is expected to remove the need for drivers to pre-fund tolling accounts or to submit payments by post. Peasy is available for drivers who have an existing transponder or toll tag account as well as motorists who do not have an account with a toll authority. Users can add multiple

BYD has delivered five electric C6 buses to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation in Kathmandu to help improve air quality in Nepal. The buses will operate in Lumbini, a Buddhist pilgrimage and UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) world heritage site. This deployment is part of a wider initiative from the Nepalese government to replace 1,000 taxis in Kathmandu Valley, as well as school buses, with electric vehicles. Last month, BYD also delivered 12

Navya’s self-driving electric shuttle will operate as a daily mobility service for a planned city project in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The Autonom shuttle will link parking areas in Masdar City with its main podium. Navya and Abu Dhabi’s Department of Transport have customised the shuttle to mitigate the effects of extreme heat and humidity on battery performance. They also carried out health and safety tests to ensure the safety of passengers and pedestrians. Autonom can c