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The Public Transport Authority of Western Australia has chosen Flowbird Transport Intelligence as the prime contractor for its multimodal smart card scheme, SmartRider. The contactless electronic ticketing system uses RFID technology to provide Perth’s metropolitan region with access to bus, train and ferry services. Flowbird will provide ongoing support services for the daily running of SmartRider on all three modes. The company says it will establish “an enhanced service and support base” in Perth to s

Grab Ventures has launched a three-month electric scooter pilot at the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Kent Ridge campus for three months. The subsidiary of technology firm Grab says it offers a green transportation option for NUS staff and students. The scooters are available at eight parking locations on the campus. Grab intends to increase this number to 30 by the end of December. Professor Yong Kwet Yew, NUS senior vice president, says the partnership provides a last-mile transportation op

Theia Technologies says its range of 4K and megapixel NIR corrected lenses for ITS can be used in applications ranging from long distance traffic surveillance and ANPR/LPR, to ultra-wide views without distortion. At the Vision show in Stuttgart earlier this month, the company showed off for the first time its ML610M 6-10mm varifocal lens with 4k resolution, NIR correction for a 2/3” sensor covering the focal range of 3 prime lenses with up to 87 degrees horizontal field of view. The telephoto lens po

Industry veteran Brian Negus has been given an award by ITS Australia to mark his long service to the ITS sector. Following a career spanning more than half a century, Negus received the Max Lay Lifetime Achievement Award at a ceremony in Brisbane this week. He was a director of ITS Australia for 12 years from 2007 – and for half that time he was also its president. Despite retiring, Negus still has a role as ambassador for the organisation, representing ITS Australia nationally and internationally, and i

Uber is adding drivers from a specialist company to its app in a bid to provide more wheelchair-accessible vehicles (WAV) to disabled passengers in the US. MV Transportation specialises in providing on-demand transportation to people with disabilities and older passengers. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says there are not enough drivers on its platform who use WAVs. He believes the collaboration will allow riders in wheelchairs to be picked up within 15 minutes on average for trips in New York City, Bosto

Nedap has launched two automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras for vehicle access control applications. The company says its advanced ANPR Lumo uses deep learning algorithms to capture number plates which include different font formats. The ANPR Access V2, a successor of Nedap’s ANPR Access, is expected to offer improved performance while being compatible with existing installations. Both cameras integrate parking and traffic management systems as well as third-party security systems using

Bike-share and electric scooter company Lime has launched a ‘free-floating’ car-share service in Seattle and intends to make 1,500 vehicles available in early 2019. Bloomberg says the company has deployed 50 Lime-branded vehicles and intends to increase this number to 500 by the end of the year. Users can unlock a LimePod vehicle, a customised two-door Fiat 500, via the company’s app for $1 and are charged 40 cents per minute while driving. Toby Sun, Lime’s chief executive officer, says the company is a

The European Parliament (EP) and European Council (EC) have agreed on rules to improve the tracing of drivers who fail to pay road tolls when travelling within the European Union. The informal agreement is expected to improve information exchange on vehicle data. Additionally, the agreed rules are intended to allow service providers to develop a system which allows drivers to use a single on-board toll payment device when travelling across the EU. Rapporteur Massimilano Salini (European People’s Party

Spain-based technology firm Minsait is to launch its smart city solution in two European cities: Helsinki and Antwerp. Its Onesait Digital Platform for Cities was chosen in a competition, Select for Cities, which is part of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 innovation project. The open-data platform utilises the Internet of Things to integrate and manage data from multiple sources and devices using predictive models, helping city authorities make informed decisions about transit and generating useful info

The Road and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai has approved the expansion of its smart traffic systems project valued at د.إ 590 million (£125m). RTA says the initiative also includes the development of a control centre for traffic management in the Al Barsha area to help manage bottlenecks. The project’s initial package includes the installation of traffic monitoring systems and information gathering, including the installation of cameras, vehicle detectors, Bluetooth devices and weather sensors.

RATP Dev is upgrading one of its London bus depots to house a fleet of 36 electric buses. The Shepherd’s Bush location will house the vehicles for two all-electric Transport for London (TfL) bus routes, and the French company says it plans to turn the location ‘all-electric’, making it RATP’s first zero-emissions garage in London. The firm already operates four all-electric buses out of Hounslow, and 246 hybrid buses within the UK capital altogether.

People in the UK resort of Bournemouth are being warned not to use a ‘lifts-for-cash’ service which is operating in the town. A closed Facebook group called ‘Bournemouth & Poole town lifts’ has more than 7,000 members but council leaders say the service could be illegal. Members communicate via social media. Once accepted, they can ask for trips, talk to drivers or make money by using their vehicle as a taxi. But Nananka Randle, licensing team manager, planning and regulatory services, at Bournemouth Bo

NKM Mobilitas has installed a Tritium liquid-cooled DC fast charger for electric vehicles (EV) at the Koki Terminál P+R, a parking facility in Budapest. NKM Mobilitas is a subsidiary of National Utilities, the state Hungarian provider which supplies gas and electricity to households in the country. Tritium’s Veefil-RT 50kW DC fast charger is expected to provide NKM Mobilitas’ customers with 125km of range in 30 minutes. The solution offers Chademo and CCS connectors as well as an interface and inte

BlaBlaCar is hoping to expand its carpooling service by making an offer to acquire Ouibus, a subsidiary of SNCF and French bus operator. BlaBlaCar believes adding buses to its current offering will help optimise vehicle occupancy rates for buses and cars and offer a convenient door-to-door solution for travellers. Nicolas Brusson, co-founder and CEO of BlaBlaCar, says the project supports the company’s ambition to grow a broad mobility offering across Europe which combines cars and buses. Frédéri

The A254 between the junction with A28 in Margate and the junction with the A255 near Ramsgate is the UK’s riskiest road, according to an interactive Dangerous Road Map. There were 26 fatal and serious crashes per billion vehicle kilometres on this road, say motor insurer Ageas and the Road Safety Foundation (RSF). Both organisations are now calling on an immediate investment from the UK government of £75 million, and the same amount annually for five years thereafter to improve the country’s riskiest