News

Volvo Car Mobility will launch its M car sharing service in Sweden and the US in Spring 2019 to help provide an alternative to car ownership. The brand is intended to offer users a personalised on-demand service via an app. M is developing proprietary technology which asks users about their needs and preferences. The vehicle will draw learnings and data from the company’s car sharing service in Sweden called Sunfleet, which operates 1,700 cars. The service will be integrated with M from next year and wi

Virtuo has launched a mobile car rental service in London, UK. A Mercedes A-Class vehicle can be booked via the app for 30-mile trips outside the capital, starting at £35. The company says the service requires no paperwork and no hidden fees. Drivers can communicate with the company’s London-based customer service team through the app, 24 hours a day, the firm says.

Navya says ABM Greiffenberger’s three-phase induction motors will allow the company to transport passengers safely in its Autonom shuttle. The AC induction motor comes with an air cooling system and is intended be operated over a wide revolutions per minute (RPM) range. The electric motor has an output of 15 kW in continuous operation with a peak output of 35 kW. The peak torque is 30 newton-metres and the maximum rotational speed is 8,000rpm. Aymeric Dubois, test engineer, says the motor is maintena

China-based DiDi Chuxing will deploy its ride-matching app in Japan in partnership with investor SoftBank. The joint venture, DiDi Mobility Japan, intends to offer on-demand services and smart transportation to citizens and tourists in the autumn. Stephen Zhu, vice president of Didi Chuxing and CEO of DiDi Mobility Japan, says the new platform is intended to help taxi companies improve their efficiency, enhance user satisfaction and build more broad-based demand for taxi services. Through the agree

Technology company Grab and the National University of Singapore (NUS) has set up an artificial intelligence (AI) lab to help develop smarter cities in South-east Asia. The partnership intends to solve challenges such as congestion and the liveability of cities in the region. The Grab-NUS AI Lab, part of an initial joint investment of S$6m (£3.3m), will utilise data from the Grab platform to provide insights into how citizens move across cities. It will also be used to map out traffic patterns and ident

Videalert will open a mobile enforcement vehicle (MEV) engineering hub in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, to meet demand from UK councils. The company says demand is driven by councils who want to rapidly deploy enforcement to a range of locations where non-compliant drivers are causing congestion or safety issues. MEVs are equipped with digital camera technology and a suite of software for rapid deployment in enforcement and monitoring applications.

Canada-based manufacturer Electra Meccanica is deploying its all-electric Solo commuter vehicle in a car share programme at the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre. The initiative is intended to provide travellers with an environmentally-friendly travel option. This project stems from an agreement with Harbour Air Seaplanes. The carbon-neutral airline says the project serves as an extension to its commitment to sustainability.

WSP USA is designing a half-mile section of smart pavement in Colorado in a bid to improve driver safety and vehicle connectivity. The pavement uses sensors to determine a vehicle’s location, direction and speed on US 285 north of Fairplay. The smart pavement was developed by Integrated Roadways and will be implemented as part of an agreement with the Colorado Department of Transportation. Tim Sylvester, founder of Integrated Roadways, says the pavement will collect real-time traffic data, record t

Inrix says its new platform will help cities and road authorities communicate with operators for safe deployment of highly automated vehicles (HAVs) on public roads. Called AV Road Rules, the solution will allow users to validate and manage traffic rules and restrictions for these vehicles. The platform also creates a channel to communicate road infrastructure needs from HAVs back to transportation agencies to improve safety. The company says the solution will allow cities and road authorities to di

Despite next year’s merger, Alstom are currently ‘still firm competitors’, insisted Siemens Mobility’s CEO Gordon Wakeford. Through the agreement, Siemens Mobility will combine its rail traction and drive business with Alstom. The Siemens subsidiary has also won a contract with Transport for London (TfL) to upgrade the algorithms and systems which control traffic in London. “Once that's done we can upgrade traffic controls throughout the UK and work with TfL in exporting that around the world,” Wakef

EVgo has added second-life BMW i3 batteries to its Union City fast-charging station in California to store energy during peak solar hours and reduce strain on the grid. This energy is then used to deliver a fast charge to EVgo customers’ electric vehicles during periods of high demand. The second-life battery system integrates two BMW i3 battery packs into a single housing. Evgo says each battery pack has a capacity of 22 kWh which combines with a 30 kW inverter to offer a 30 kW/44 kWh energy storag

NKM Mobilitas will install 12 of Tritium’s Veefil-RT 50kW DC fast chargers along main traffic routes in Hungary during the second half of 2018. The roll-out is part of a wider ambition to establish a charging network throughout the country. The company is a subsidiary of National Utilities, the state Hungarian provider which supplies gas and electricity to households in the country. NKM Mobilitas plans to work with local governments and municipalities to implement 100 e-chargers across Hungary by the

Audi has joined forces with telecoms company Huawei to continue developing intelligent connected vehicles in China. The partnership’s stated aim is to improve and optimise traffic flows to help create intelligent cities. Additionally, the collaboration is intended to advance automated driving and digitalisation of services. It follows a trial of the LTE-V mobile communication standard for connected cars in the city of Wuxi, eastern China, in 2017. Drivers received real-time traffic information via con

Residents of Hawaii can now use Hui’s car sharing app to access 70 Toyota and Lexus vehicles at 25 stations throughout Honolulu. The capital’s round-trip service was launched by Toyota distributor Servco Pacific. Hui utilises Toyota’s proprietary global mobility service platform and was developed by Toyota Connected North America. The app features driver identification, authentication and payment management tools. These vehicles feature Toyota’s Smart Key Box, which generates a digital key and allows

Seatbelts will become mandatory on all medium and large highway buses built from 1 September 2020 in Canada, following new safety rules established by Transport Canada. The government department develops transportation regulations, policies and services. Marc Garneau, minister of transport, says: “By having seatbelts on highway buses, we can help reduce injuries in severe collisions, such as rollovers, and improve safety for everyone.”