Uber sells its driverless subsidiary
Ridehailing firm Uber has announced it’s sold its driverless subsidiary Advanced Technologies Group to the Amazon-backed company Aurora. Aurora was founded in 2017 by entrepreneurs including former head of Google’s driverless division Chris Urmson (pictured). The company said they wanted to deliver the “opportunity to safely accelerate the adoption of self-driving technology” by “building an […]
TDI announces latest webinar detailing Street Manager
The national and local government initiative promoting the future of multi modal mobility, the Transport Data Initiative, has announced its third webinar, to be held on Tuesday 15 December from 11:00 – 12:00. It will include Department for Transport representatives from the ‘Street Manager’ project, including Paul Chandler, Product Owner: Street Manager, Department for Transport […]
Research suggests air quality improved when LTNs removed
Researchers have discovered that levels of the dangerous nitrous oxide emitted from vehicles was reduced when a low traffic neighbourhood was removed in London. The Telegraph says the emissions measured dropped significantly just days after road closures were scrapped, explaining that the Wandsworth Council research suggests traffic congestion and pollution is being shifted from more […]
Crossrail employing 140 drivers – more than a year before it opens
It’s emerged that 140 train drivers are receiving salaries of more than £60,000 per year to drive trains on London’s new Crossrail line, despite it not opening for another year. Financial paper City AM says the drivers’ union ASLEF has confirmed that they’re getting £62,533 a year, with a two per cent pay rise due […]
Canadian public transport network hit by cyber attack
The transit system in the Canadian city of Vancouver has been hit by a ransomware attack, causing major problems across its network. In a statement, TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond confirmed, “We are now in a position to confirm that TransLink was the target of a ransomware attack on some of our IT infrastructure. This attack […]
Comment – the non-contact alternatives to pedestrian push buttons
By Mark Pleydell, ARTSM The Covid-19 pandemic has led to the emergence of a raft of technology solutions that avoid the need for pedestrians to press the button at pedestrian crossings. While these may go some way towards reducing the number of surfaces and infection opportunities a pedestrian encounters during a journey, they introduce a […]
TomTom offers road safety warning system
Location technology company TomTom has collaborated with the European Commission-backed Data for Road Safety initiative to develop a ready-to-deploy system to warn drivers about dangerous driving conditions. The Dutch firm says by using connected car technologies, vehicles can detect and warn occupants about dangerous road conditions – for example, when roads are slippery and that […]
HE uses virtual reality for training
Highways England is testing a virtual reality solution for training its staff, using sensor-equipped headsets to give staff an exposure to “real world” motorway scenarios. The installation by specialist companies Old Barn Audio, Martin Audio and Magic Beans at a warehouse in Derbyshire (pictured) creates what they call an immersive environment with stereoscopic 3D headsets […]
Humber Bridge bans cash payments
The operators of the Humber Bridge have announced they won’t be accepting cash payments again. They stopped taking cash in June saying it’d help protect staff from contracting Covid and say that since then drivers have “embraced” cashless payments and that applications for the HumberTAG free flow solution have “rocketed”. In a statement the operators […]
HE planning Brexit contingency test
Highways England is to test the contingency plans it’s drawn up to cope with any cross-channel disruption in Kent after the UK leaves the EU at the end of the month. From Friday 11 December, along with the Kent Resilience Forum, Highways England will carry out a live test to mobilise a moveable barrier system […]