Tributes paid to former Transport Secretary Darling
The former Labour Transport Secretary Baron Darling of Roulanish has been described as “one of the great Secretaries of State” and “one of the very few Secretaries of State for Transport who made a difference”, after his death aged 70. As Alistair Darling, he was Labour’s Transport Secretary from 2002 to 2006 with a brief […]
London’s black cabs join Uber
Uber is to launch Black Cabs in London from early in the New Year. The ridehailing app says the move “opens up the Uber app to the iconic hackney carriage – much-loved by tourists and Londoners alike and an historic part of the capital’s transport network”. Uber launched in London more than a decade ago, […]
Think tank suggests seven ways British cities could increase public transport use
The number of people taking public transport to work in the UK’s large cities lags well behind European counterparts and getting up to speed with Europe will require doubling the number of regular commuters using a bus, train or tram. That’s according to Centre for Cities, a think tank dedicated to improving the economies of […]
Car drives round ice rink to test AI-powered anti-skid system
Researchers into driverless vehicle technology have used an ice rink to test a new anti-skidding feature with their autonomous car. The University of Surrey says its 90-minute test at the Guildford Spectrum rink was a huge success – gathering more data than the researchers expected. Carmine Caponio, a researcher in automotive engineering at Surrey, […]
GM reported to be cutting driverless subsidiary’s budget
General Motors is reported to be planning to reduce the amount it spends on its driverless vehicle division, Cruise. The Financial Times reports it announce a cut in the budget after it suspended testing of its driverless taxis following a crash involving a pedestrian in San Francisco. It says GM currently spends about $700 million […]
Counting Scope 3 carbon emissions on this week’s Highways Voices
This week on Highways Voices talk about the new guidance for local highways authorities about consistent carbon measurement and reporting, that includes Scope 3 emissions. Simon Wilson from the Future Highways Research Group updates us about guidance around consistent carbon measurement and reporting. He joined in March last year to talk about Scope 1 and […]
TTF hosts webinar to help authorities apply for share of £70m signals funding
The Manager of the Transport Technology Forum, Darren Capes, is to host a question-and-answer webinar to assist local authorities with applications for a grant from the £70 million earmarked to make traffic signals more efficient. The online session on Monday 4 December will support authorities apply for a share of the money, which was announced […]
Gloucestershire County Council switches to FixMyStreet Pro
Not-for-profit organisation SocietyWorks has launched a new, dedicated installation of its FixMyStreet Pro software for Gloucestershire County Council, through which residents can report local street, highway and environmental problems. Gloucestershire County Council joins more than 30 other local authorities, highways agencies and other public bodies in using FixMyStreet Pro for managing inbound reports of local […]
£2m legacy fund as part of Black Cat project
A £2 million initiative aimed at leaving a “lasting positive legacy” in the East of England has launched, with National Highways asking for applications from not-for-profit groups and community organisations. National Highways A428 Black Cat to Caxton Gibbet improvements in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire are set to begin construction before the end of the year. Recognising […]
WMCA launches air quality plan
The West Midlands Combined Authority has begun implementing a plan aimed at significantly improving air quality and the health of local people The plan, initially announced in February, will be delivered with £1 million of government air quality funding. It will include research into the potential to positively impact air quality by reducing speed limits […]