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Scoot Networks has deployed a fleet of 500 electric scooters and 1,000 electric bicycles in Barcelona to provide travellers with more sustainable mobility options. The scooter-share company also collaborated with city officials to develop permits to make the vehicles safe for users. Scoot’s scooters were developed in collaboration with Spanish manufacturer Silence: they come with an extended battery range and can carry two passengers. Users can access the service through Scoot's iOS and Android app. The

Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) will deliver four electric buses and a fast charger to the city of Aarhus, Denmark, and its bus operator Busselskabet Aarhus Sporveje. The vehicles will replace four diesel buses to combat air pollution and they are expected to be operational by August 2019. ABB’s 300kW OppCharge platform will be located at the end point of the 15km long route of line 13, where the buses will be recharged. OppCharge can power single and double-deck electric buses using a pantograph to connect the

Switzerland-based reinsurance provider Swiss Re says its upgraded telematics platform can process vehicle data from any telematics platform and deliver a reliable crash alert to insurance clients. The solution has been embedded with telematics aggregation and crash detection software from UK firm Collision Management Systems. According to Swiss Re, the reliability of the crash alert removes the need for insurance clients to have to deal with large volumes of false alerts generated by telematics devices.

Virgin Hyperloop One (VHO) is designing a Hyperloop portal near Denver National Airport as part of a test project in Colorado. Once completed, the service is intended to provide citizens with fast travel connections to work and leisure destinations, VHO says. Last year, the company partnered with the Colorado Department of Transportation and engineering firm Aecom to examine the technological and economic feasibility of a Hyperloop system in the state.

Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) will upgrade the farebox system for Atlanta’s Xpress bus service. The company will integrate the system with the back office for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) Breeze card. CTS designed and delivered Breeze - an automated fare collection system – in 2006. The project stems from an agreement with the State Roadway & Tollway Authority (SRTA) – a government agency that finances transport initiatives in the US state of Georgia. SRTA expects the fare

Getaround claims its new carsharing service will alleviate congestion in Seattle – and help low wage earners to make more money by becoming renters. The shared cars will be equipped with Getaround Connect – a proprietary technology that allows users to locate and unlock the car with an iPhone or Android app. The system will enable citizens to share vehicles without needing to co-ordinate picking up car keys. Getaround plans to expand its current fleet of 50 cars in the city. The service does not require

Axis Communications, a market leader in network video solutions, and Citilog, provider of intelligent transportation solutions, have teamed up for the ITS America Annual Meeting Detroit to showcase their solutions to optimise traffic and transportation safety and efficiency. The companies have a long history of working together in developing smart, integrated solutions. Citilog became part of Axis Communications in 2016. When coupled together, Axis Communications’ surveillance products and Citilog’s advance

Daktronics will use the ITS America annual meeting to celebrate a half century of innovations and tell a remarkable story of growth from very small beginnings. In 1968, the company began in a garage with two engineers who had the vision to start a US-based manufacturing company. They brought their commitment to quality and innovation to the transportation market in 1988 with a digital message display for the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Today, Daktronics is the world leader in audio-visual

APT Skidata claims its new ticketless solution using automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) will provide drivers with faster and easier access to parking. The Austrian company, a joint venture between Swarco and Skidata, says its platform is suited for operators offering an initial free parking period. The device can replace paper tickets or radio frequency identification cards and uses a vehicle number plate as the access medium or virtual ticket. It is intended to remove issues caused by lost or dam

Uber had disabled the emergency braking function of the Volvo XC90 which killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona in March. A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says the car was “operating with a self-driving system in computer control mode” when it struck 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg, who was pushing a bicycle across the road. According to the NTSB report, Uber said “emergency braking manoeuvres are not enabled while the vehicle is under computer control, to reduce the

UK technology provider Microlise says its new Microlise Camera Solution helps fleet operators reduce insurance costs, encourage good driving behaviour and improve safety. Integrated into the company’s telematics offering, the multi-way camera product records up to four high-definition video streams simultaneously and can be configured with over-the-air software updates. A digital video recorder inside the vehicle records footage from the cameras, which is linked to a Microlise telematics unit. Video cli

Imaging products supplier Framos has appointed Chris Barrett vice president of sensor engineering. He has experience in engineering management, R&D and operations. Barrett has been co-CEO of International Datacasting, where he managed all operations and engineering including projects developing low latency high definition video solutions and a 4K decoder.

The Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) has installed Edeva's traffic system speed bumps on the E65 road in the city of Ystad. Called Actibmup, the solution is intended to improve safety and accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists crossing the street from Ystad harbour. Actibump detects if the speed of an oncoming vehicle is above the limit and lowers a hatch a few centimetres into the road surface to remind the driver of the speed limit.

EU countries will need to switch to distance-based road use charges for trucks and buses in 2023 and for cars in 2026. The European Parliament’s Transport Committee has voted on new amendments in a bid to meet emission reduction targets and make charges fairer. Distance-based charging is intended to ensure vehicles are charged according to actual road use and pollution generated. The rule will also apply to goods vans over 2.4 tonnes from 2022. EU countries would need to set different road charging ra