News

Volvo Buses has received an order for eight Volvo 7900 electric buses, from Transdev Blazefield for operation by the Harrogate Bus Company, UK. The vehicles will enter service in 2018 and will utilise 'opportunity charging' via the common interface OppCharge, which enables charging stations to also be used by electric buses from other vehicle manufacturers. Opportunity charging uses a specialist overhead mast, which connects to the bus via a pantograph. Charging is fully automated and takes between th

Autelligence’s new workshop Self-driving cars - Strategic implications for the auto industry and beyond, is a forum for executives on the likely consequences of self-driving cars on the auto manufacturing industry. It offers a framework to work out the strategic implications for OEMs and suppliers through a deeper understanding of the competing business models and an assessment of the current technologies and the strategies of leading companies. The workshops will be held on 23 March at the Frankfurt

Following the warning by London Underground chiefs of tube strikes until lunchtime Wednesday 8 February, Waze, the real-time crowd-sourced sat nav app, issued data collected during the strike on 9 January to show, for the first time, just how badly London's commuters are affected by strike action. According to Waze, on 9th January, data at the peak-time 8.05am showed that 24 per cent of traffic was bumper to bumper– effectively standstill; at this time on a normal day it is usually around 12 per cent. Th

The latest report from IHS Markit aims to identify current market trends and key opportunities across various product types, end-user verticals and geographic regions that comprise the market for automated number plate recognition (ANPR) and detection sensors. The report, ANPR and Detection Sensors Report – 2017, provides an updated analysis on the competitive environment, along with detailed revenue, unit shipment, and average selling price analyses for three ANPR product types and five detection senso

LeddarTech has teamed up with Integrated Device Technology to jointly develop the LeddarCore LCA2 integrated circuits, a receiver IC which is a key element within an automotive LiDAR system. This newest generation of LeddarCore IC enables solid-state implementations of high-performance, low-cost automotive LiDARs, which are required for the mass-market deployment of semi-autonomous and autonomous vehicles. As part of the agreement, IDT will leverage its expertise in component requirements analysis, archi

French public transport operator RATP, together with Paris City Council, has launched a public demonstration of two EasyMile EZ10 driverless shuttles on the Charles de Gaulle bridge in Paris city centre. Until 7 April, the two shuttles, which can carry twelve passengers, will operate on a dedicated lane between the Austerlitz and Gar de Lyon railway stations, guided by a combination of cameras, GPS, lasers and LiDAR (light detection and ranging) technology. The demonstration is part of the city’s expe

US-based RideCell, software provider for ridesharing and carsharing services, has expanded into Europe and Asia-Pacific with the opening of a European headquarters, RideCell EMEA. The move boosts the company's success in the US, where ReachNow, BMW's new mobility business, has acquired 40,000 customers in its first nine months. Today RideCell has numerous global customers, including automotive OEMs and corporate and university campuses. RideCell is in the process of completing multiple agreements with

The Taiwanese harbour city of Kaohsiung has launched a new hybrid electric ferry, which it is claimed could revolutionise marine passenger transport across the region by curbing greenhouse and diesel emissions. The city recently re-launched the popular Cijian Island passenger ferry, retrofitted with a Visedo electric propulsion system, replacing the original diesel engine. If successful, the Kaohsiung City Government plans to retrofit the rest of its diesel fleet to help reduce pollution levels around Ta

Travel technology firm SilverRail has unveiled seamlessmobility.com, a new website which it says will act as a centre for information and developments in what it calls seamless mobility, an integrated multi-modal transportation network. As the transport system of the future is likely to include more rail, buses, bikes and autonomous and electric cars and growing numbers of people adopt them, SilverRail believes technologies are required that make it easier for people to use different forms of mass transi

Transport ministers from eight EU countries and Norway met in Paris have called for the introduction of fairer social rules to govern road transport before the sector is opened up to greater liberalisation, according to EurActiv France. France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium, Sweden and Norway met this week to adopt a joint declaration calling for the creation of a common market for transport, in order to safeguard workers’ rights, in particular Eastern Europe drivers who deliver g

Brake, the UK road safety charity, is calling on the government to take action to reduce the numbers killed and seriously injured on Britain’s roads. In recent years road safety policy has been diminished by a lack of interest, urgency and resources, the consequences of which are becoming increasingly apparent as our road casualty figures begin to rise. Brake is calling on the government to act now to uphold its commitment to zero road deaths and injuries on the road. Road casualty figures just released

Jacobs Engineering Group has been awarded a two-year contract by Transport for London (TfL) to provide integrated impact assessment (IIA) services to support development and finalisation of the revised Mayor’s Transport Strategy (MTS) for London. Jacobs is providing assessment of the potential environmental, health, equality and economic impacts of the proposed new strategy, including specific topics such as community safety.

Q-Free has entered into an agreement to sell all assets related to its US-based security business Prometheus Security Group. Q-Free expects the transaction to be closed during February 2017, when all contracts, employees and other assets will be transferred to the new owner. According to Q-Free’s CEO, Håkon Volldal, the company plans to move forward and develop the markets in its tolling, parking, infomobility, urban and inter-urban offerings.

The UK’s independent road safety charity IAM RoadSmart has expressed disappointment in yet another year of no significant change in the levels of drink-driving in Britain, based on new Government statistics just announced. The Department for Transport announced that provisional estimates for 2015 show 220 deaths in alcohol related crashes. Some 1,380 people were killed or seriously injured when at least one driver was over the limit. This represents a statistically significant rise from 1,310 in 2014. In