Hawaiian Electric is partnering with global electric vehicle software provider ev.energy to create a smart charging mobile app. The service will enable EV drivers to optimise their charging sessions while helping inform Hawaiian Electric’s future charging programs and EV-specific rate options.
The app allows customers to track their EV charging costs and consumption and includes smart charging features such as automated low carbon charging for customers with rooftop solar.
The Smart Charge Hawaii pilot will offer customers the choice to receive either $150 cash or 10,000 HawaiianMiles under Hawaiian Airlines’ frequent flyer program. The project, which has been partially funded by Ulupono Initiative, is available to up to 2,000 residential customers with EVs on O’ahu, Hawai’I Island and in Maui County.
Aki Marceau, Hawaiin Electric’s director of electrification and transport, said:
“For me and other EV owners Smart Charge Hawaii gives us a tool to manage our charging so we remember to power our cars when the sun is shining.
“It also helps Hawaiian Electric understand how to better serve current and future customers with electric vehicles. We hope to create a system that allows for our communities to easily take advantage of all the renewable energy on Hawaiian Electric’s grid, a critical step to meeting Hawaii’s 2045 zero emissions goals.”
By helping to accelerate broader EV deployment, Smart Charge Hawaii supports electrification of the state’s transportation sector. Increasing EV energy demand is expected to result in net benefits for all customers as the utilities’ fixed costs for generating and distributing energy are spread across a broader base, thereby lowering the cost to all customers.
Michael Colon Ulupono Initiative’s energy director, said:
“The Smart Charge Hawaii pilot is a great example of how collaboration between stakeholders can lead to effective solutions that give users deeper insights into EV charging behaviour and, as a result, empowers pilot participants to make decisions that save money while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
Leading European coach company FlixBus has teamed up with Bouden Coach Travel, offering daily travel between Birmingham and London.
After teaming up with Stanley Travel last week – enabling transport between Newcastle, Leeds, Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Manchester – the family-owned company has secured the new partnership to expand their routes. As part of the deal, Bouden will be adding a 59-seater to the FlixBus network, rebranded in Flix’s signature green shade.
Adel Bouden, Managing Director of Bouden Coach Travel, said:
“We see joining the FlixBus network as an opportunity to work with another forward-thinking company offering a fresh approach to a traditional industry.”
FlixBus will also be launching new cross-country lines with long-term partner McGill’s today, between Dundee and Bristol. This will add services from Perth, Dunfermline, Edinburgh, Manchester, and Birmingham, adding Carlisle as a new destination on the network.
Additional lines will also begin to and from Perth Bus Station, connecting passengers to Glasgow, Stirling and Perth Park and Ride, as well as Edinburgh and Dunfermline.
FlixBus, as a widespread travel options in over 40 countries, is also launching their business in India. As home of one of the largest bus markets in the world, will launch their service in India in 2024.
André Schwämmlein, co-founder and CEO of Flix, said:
“Our mission is to offer affordable and sustainable travel options for everyone, and we see significant demand for such services in India.
“This gives the opportunity for Flix to be a key local player in the development of sustainable travel industry, setting up infrastructure and further development in this area.”
The ride-hailing app, Uber, has announced partnerships with various EV makers and other companies in India in order to accelerate their transition to sustainable mobility. They have teamed up with fleet partners Lithium Urban Technologies, Everest Fleet Pvt Ltd, and Moove as part of their goal to deploy 25,000 EVs in India on Uber over the following two years. The company also teamed up with Zypp Electric in order to get 10,000 EV two-wheelers in Dehli by 2024.
Adding another boost to their sustainability push, they also announced the roll-out of Uber Green in Dehli, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, all to begin in June. The Uber Green ride option allows passengers to request e-vehicles with zero tail-pipe emission, rather than average fossil-fuelled cars. The option is available in 100+ cities in 15 countries all over the world.
The Senior Vice President, Andrew Macdonald, said:
“India’s huge scale and electrification momentum makes the country a priority for Uber as we seek to meet our commitment to electrify every ride on our platform by 2040,”
He added that the company is taking a big step towards sustainability by launching Uber Green.
“We know that our impact goes beyond technology. We are determined to become allies of cities and governments as they seek to combat climate change and pollution through sustainable mobility.”
Uber has promised to be a zero-emission mobility platform by 2030 in Europe and North America, and globally by 2040.
They have also more than tripled the number of EVs on the platform and connected 31m riders with an electric vehicle ride in 2022.
Geely, a leading automobile manufacturer in China, has increased its stake in Aston Martin, a British luxury automaker. The manufacturer has grown its stake to 17% in the brand, meaning an increased investment of around 234 million pounds in the company.
This deal now makes Geely the third largest shareholder in the company. In September last year, Geely acquired a 7.6% stake in Aston Martin, but the increased stake has overtaken Mercedes-Benz’s stake size in the company. The Chinese manufacturer bought 42 million shares from Aston Martin’s chairman, Lawrence Stroll’s, Yew Tree consortium and will now gain a seat on the board.
Lawrence Stroll said:
“(Geely Holdings) offer us a deep understanding of the key strategic growth market that China represents, as well as the opportunity to access their range of technologies and components.”
The deal will is very much likely to improve Aston Martin’s reach in China and, as Stroll points out, bring new tech-sharing opportunities to the brand. Geely already owns several British and European carmakers, including Lotus, LEVC, Volvo, and Polestar.
Geely chairman, Eric Li, said:
‘Since first acquiring our minority holding last September, we have worked collaboratively with executive chairman Lawrence Stroll and his colleagues and now look forward to exploring joint technology synergies and new growth opportunities to help this iconic automotive brand to achieve its full potential.’
Neom has announced that they have signed an agreement with Riyad Bank for SAR 3 billion in debt financing to help fund the development of Sindalah, marking the first NEOM region to successfully financed with bank debt.
Tareq A. Al-Sadhan, CEO, Riyad Bank, added: “NEOM represents an incredible opportunity for our organization to play a small part in helping make this exciting project a reality. We are proud to be the first financial institution to partner with Sindalah and are confident in the prospect of their future success.”
Sindalah extends over an area of approximately 840,000 square meters and is one of a group of islands that will be developed in NEOM. Each will be developed in unique vision and design.
Rayan Fayez, Deputy CEO, NEOM said: “The Sindalah debt financing signifies NEOM’s desire to diversify its funding sources, involve the private sector and attract capital of all types in the development of NEOM. We have a number of projects currently underway, and in the pipeline, that represent very attractive commercial opportunities for the global financial community to participate in.”
Sindalah will start welcoming guests to enjoy its experiences, exquisite facilities and exclusive offerings from early 2024. It is anticipated that the development will create 3,500 jobs for the tourism sector and hospitality and leisure services.
With its incredible array of amenities, state-of-the-art marine facilities, strategic location and exceptional natural landscapes, Sindalah is expected to become established as one of the most alluring islands in the Red Sea.
Stellantis has warned parliament to make changes the current Brexit deal as thousands of jobs are currently at risk. This danger comes a result of the existing Brexit deal due to issues with the UK’s trading arrangements with Europe. Because of this, the car manufacturer has warned that it will not be able to build EVs in the UK, as part of their pledge, unless changes to the deal are made.
Stellantis cautioned, that under the deal, their company would face tariffs when exporting electric vans to Europe. The agreed trade deal requires 45% of the value of an electric vehicle to come from Britain or the EU from 2024 in order to avoid tariffs. The carmaker has advised the government to extend the current rules on the sourcing of parts until 2027, instead.
This request was made due to fears that manufacturers will no longer continue to invest and may relocate to operations outside of the UK if costs of EV manufacturing become uncompetitive and unsustainable in the UK.
The multinational automotive manufacturing corporation, owns brands such as Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat, and Vauxhall, and is the fourth largest carmaker in the world. But, this issue with the trade deal has created fears within the mobility industry that the British car sector does not have the capacity or supply to make the sweeping switch to electric vehicles.
In 2021, Stellantis announced a 100-million-pound electric vehicles investment in its Ellesmere Port so that the company would be able to develop enough parts in Britain to meet the rules. However, they have claimed that they are now unable to meet these rules of origin, due to multiple external issues, including the raw material cost inflation and supply issues.
Alongside the problems with the trade agreement, the manufacturer has issued major concern over the potential for factory closures and a huge number of job loss as a result.
The Routing Company has announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Emirates Transport to develop on-demand transit in the United Arab Emirates.
The signing will mark TRC’s second in the UAE and follows TRC’s announcement of an agreement with the UAE’s Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure in February 2023.
The MOU creates a joint strategic cooperation agreement to further smart mobility solutions, directing ET and TRC to develop and innovate shared demand responsive transportation services within the UAE.
“As the leading and largest transport operator in the UAE, we recognize that the current transportation models merely capture the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the current and future potential of this market,” said Zain Peracha, Head of Digital Ventures, Emirates Transport. “We expect radical innovation across the industry in this decade and are excited to crack strategic partnerships that will enable us to stand true on our values of best-in-class service and customer satisfaction, as well as our deep commitment to develop operational efficiencies and further electrification within our fleet.”
The MOU’s intended outcome is to launch at least one pilot service in the region within 2023 to effectively evaluate performance, mutual fit, and future areas of focus.
These include improving customer satisfaction and convenience, illustrating high capacity ride sharing safely in the UAE, improving operational efficiency, and more. In addition to the MOEI opportunity, there is a core focus on capturing the nascent potential of B2B demand-responsive deployments within the region.
“Through this agreement, TRC will work closely with Emirates Transport to advance smart mobility solutions – including collaboration on the study, development, and deployment of on-demand transportation services in the UAE,” said James Cox, Chief Executive Officer, TRC. “With a population nearing 10 million that continues to grow at a record pace, the Emirates is in need of more efficient, safe, affordable, and convenient ways to move people. Our partnership with ET aims to achieve just this: sustainable movement at scale.”
TRC will leverage its full suite of Pingo products – including features such as Pingo Campus™ and Pingo Journey™ – to provide enhanced mobility services with ET, namely operating on-demand and shuttle pilots. TRC’s Pingo Campus™ feature is ideal for shuttle operation, allowing riders to track available shuttles in a specified area in real time, while utilizing Pingo Journey™ to find other public transit options and plan onward multimodal transit journeys.
Today Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot named 133 Chicago small businesses, not-for-profits, cooperatives, and environmental organizations as finalists for more than $54M in City grants.
The finalists were selected from over 670 applications received by the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) in early 2023 and represent the largest single round of economic development grant-making in Chicago history. Award amounts range from $10,000 to $5.9M. Collectively, the finalists announced today promote business revitalization, job creation, and neighborhood transformation through the estimated $253M in construction and development they will generate.
“I am immensely proud of the investments that the City has made in small businesses and nonprofits throughout my administration,” said Mayor Lightfoot. “By issuing these development grants to budding entrepreneurs and organizations who provide essential services and opportunities, we are making an investment in the vitality of our communities. These individuals and organizations do the hard work to make our neighborhoods safer, healthier, and more prosperous and these grants highlight the City’s commitment to supporting them.”
Lightfoot added: “I want these grants to set a new standard for the role City government can play in supporting small businesses to revitalize commercial corridors, fund climate resilience, build community-wealth and spur transit-oriented development. I hope each and every one of the organizations and communities benefiting from these grants will go on to thrive and remember what we have been able to accomplish together when City Hall listens and responds to the voices from every Chicago neighborhood, not just a select few.”
Details on all grant recipients announced today are here for CRP and here for NOF. An interactive map of today’s finalists and those announced in previous funding rounds can be found can be found here.
Today’s grant announcement includes funding for new, innovative City initiatives, including technical assistance programs to help make City grants accessible to a broader and more diverse range of organizations.
Finalists will receive funds through nine separate City programs that were combined into streamlined universal application processes. Six of the programs are Chicago Recovery Plan (CRP) grant streams: Community Development Grants (CDG) small and large grants, Climate Infrastructure Fund (CIF) grants, Equitable Transit Oriented Development (ETOD) pre-development and development grants, and Community Wealth Building (CWB) grants. Finalists announced today also include applicants receiving funding though Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund (NOF) small and large grants.
This latest round of grants takes the Lightfoot administration’s total direct economic development grant-making in communities to over $250M.
Today’s announcement includes the fourth funding round for Chicago Recovery Plan grants since the first round was announced on May 2, 2022. Pairing City-issued bonds with American Rescue Plan funds from the Biden Administration, the CRP supports an equity-based investment strategy leading to sustainable economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The scale of this investment is completely unprecedented. With the 133 finalists announced today, we’re taking the total number of direct economic development grants made under this administration to over 530 projects, representing more than $250 million in grants,” said Deputy Mayor Samir Mayekar. “Collectively, these grants are unlocking more than $750 million in total development based on the overall cost of these projects. Those are funds going directly into neighborhoods, not just supporting an equitable economic recovery but helping to build thriving, safe, and sustainable communities for the long-term.”
The latest round of grants shows the successful evolution of the City of Chicago’s strategy to mobilize businesses, not-for-profits, philanthropy, and government to leverage local talent and capacities to uplift communities.
“Each of today’s grants represent an investment in people,” DPD Commissioner Maurice Cox said. “The recipients are partnership builders and trust builders who are giving everything of themselves to lift up the communities they love while making the city more equitable and resilient for all Chicagoans.”
Grant funding will be provided as reimbursements for eligible costs based on the grant category. Most grants will involve building rehabilitation work, new construction, and energy efficiency upgrades. Total project costs for capital work under the grants are estimated at $253M.
133 finalists will receive grants across nine programs, coordinated as one cohort of economic development grant recipients. The next round of grant applications is open until August 18, 2023.
Today, 30 CDG finalists were announced, representing a total of $27M in grant funding. The program prioritizes catalytic projects with a strong local impact that leverage local talents, capacities, and institutions to strengthen and contribute to the community. They are open to community developers, business owners and entrepreneurs, and property owners. Residential-only developments are not eligible to receive CDG funding, but individuals and teams seeking to initiate mixed-use developments projects are encouraged to apply. Examples of CDG finalists announced today include Deeply Rooted Dance Theater’s South Side Center for Black Dance in Greater Grand Crossing and Cleo’s Southern Cuisine in Grand Boulevard.
A total of 32 finalists were announced in the CIF category and will collectively receive $6.2M in funding. Climate Infrastructure Fund grants support neighborhood projects that mitigate the effects of climate change and accelerate the city’s equitable transition to the green economy. Finalists were selected based on multiple eligibility factors and alignment with the following three sub-categories: Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Systems, Electric Vehicles (EV) and EV Charging Infrastructure, and Green Infrastructure. Projects selected include The Firehouse, Plant Chicago to renovate a 115-year-old former firehouse into a community hub for the circular economy and Safer Foundation EV Fleet Project, allowing an East Garfield Park reentry program to replace its fleet with clean vehicles.
“The Climate Infrastructure Fund represents a landmark moment for the City of Chicago,” said Angela Tovar, Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Chicago. “We now have funding in place for nonprofit organizations and small businesses to help realize the goals laid out in the 2022 Climate Action Plan. We are incredibly excited to seed community-level climate infrastructure and for the sustainability leadership these finalists will provide for the whole city.”
In the ETOD category, 26 finalists were announced, totaling $4.7M in grants. Equitable Transit Oriented Development grants support projects that create intentional community benefits, build more walkable, affordable neighborhoods and increase transit ridership. Equitable Transit Oriented Development grantees help reduce traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions, promote housing stability and economic vitality, and improve public health. Finalists announced in the ETOD category include Abrams Intergenerational Village providing affordable housing to seniors caring for their grandchildren, and housing insecure youth, and Food Matters providing healthy food options in a transit accessible location off the Green Line in Bronzeville.
In the CWB category, 27 finalists were selected to receive a total of $3.8M in grant funding. Community Wealth Building grants are used to refine cooperative and shared-ownership development proposals through technical and design assistance. Priority models for CWB grants include worker cooperatives, limited-equity housing cooperatives, community land trusts, and community investment vehicles. Finalists announced today include Corner Store Co-Op at the National Public Housing Museum, cooperatively owned by current and former public housing residents, and Turning Red Lines Green, a community land trust that will include a community kitchen.
In addition to the CRP programs listed above, 17 finalists were announced for NOF grants. The NOF program offers two types of grants, Small Projects (awards up to $250k) and Large Projects ($250k to $2.5M). Today, 16 Small Projects grants were announced for a total of almost $4M in funding, and one Large Project will receive $2M.
Anthesis has announced the launch of its Anthesis Impact Tracker. This is a dedicated digital solution designed and developed for local authorities to accelerate climate action through enhanced monitoring, reporting, and decision-making.
Part of the Anthesis Digital portfolio of Software-as-a-Service tools, Anthesis Impact Tracker has been led by the experts behind the SCATTER greenhouse gas reporting tool, used by 80% of all local authorities, and Area Based Insetting, an innovative alternative to traditional offsetting for UK local authorities.
Anthesis Impact Tracker aims to help users track progress on implementing their climate action plans and collaborate, monitor, and report transparently with stakeholders across their local areas.
The tool enables a local plan or strategy to be automatically visualised across key impact areas or themes, such as renewable generation, the built environment, transportation, or biodiversity. Further metrics, such as deadlines and stakeholder responsibility, can be added against actions to support coordination. Flexibility is key, and the tool is designed to adapt to a range of strategic approaches to action planning and use cases.
Anthesis Impact Tracker also provides immediate access to a range of data through which the impact of local climate initiatives can be reviewed, stated the release.
More than forty preloaded key performance indicators from multiple sources are included, ranging from building stock performance, renewable generation, and land management to macro scale emissions data. Gaining immediate access to this library will save users significant time in identifying relevant indicators and accessing their data. In addition, the library will expand over time, including adding local data unique to users’ areas.
“Anthesis Impact Tracker is extremely user-friendly. Having all our data sourced in one place helps to provide insights into the progress of our Climate Action Plan. The dashboard is a great step forward for reporting and data transparency,” said Georgia James, Environmental Data Officer, Camden Borough Council.
Anthesis Impact Tracker will be available from May 2023 through Anthesis Digital, Anthesis’ hub for climate-related technology and digital learning capabilities. Further enhancements will be rolled out throughout the year, including enhanced reporting capabilities and new modelling functionality to better track the impact of actions against net zero commitments.
The Quebec government is set to introduce two draft regulations which hope to increase the requirements for the zero-emission vehicle standard.
The city has set a goal to have 2 million electric cars on Quebec roads by 2030. The current target is 1.6 million electric cars within the next 6 years.
Environment Minister Benoit Charette stated that the two draft regulations will be open to public consultation starting May 3. The government’s ultimate aim is for 100 per cent of new vehicle sales to be all-electric by 2035.
According to the latest inventory of Quebec’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2020, 42.8 per cent of the province’s GHGs come from the transportation sector. Out of this, 20.4 per cent is due to light road transportation.
Charette stated that strengthening the ZEV standard, which was implemented five years ago, will be crucial in reaching the GHG reduction target. This standard requires automobile manufacturers to ensure the supply and availability of electric vehicles on the Quebec market, both in variety and in number, through a system of credits.
Quebec has seen a rise in EV popularity over the last few years. Last year, 12 per cent of newly registered individual vehicles were electric, compared to only 0.7 per cent in 2015.
Charrette announced the two draft regulations on the first day of the Montreal Electric Vehicle Show (SVEM), which will run until Sunday at the Olympic Stadium. The sixth edition of the show features several dozen electric cars on display.
Peachtree Corners – one of the nation’s first smart cities powered by real-world connected infrastructure and 5G – today launched a collaboration with Spoke, a company that aims to transform roadway safety and rider connectivity by delivering the first ever connected IoT ecosystem for vulnerable road users (VRUs). This technology provides insight and contextual awareness to drivers by connecting VRUs to the mobility ecosystem around them, ensuring VRUs are seen and protected. This partnership allows Spoke to continue testing and developing their VRU2X technologies using Curiosity Lab’s living smart city ecosystem where real drivers, pedestrians and autonomous vehicles use the public roadways each day.
Spoke’s VRU2X system leverages three levels of connectivity within the mobility system. This includes C-V2X to provide direct and immediate communication between cars and VRUs, LTE/5G cellular communications for advanced contextual awareness alerts between cars and VRUs and camera/radar system for vehicle identification and visualization. Leveraging these layers of connectivity, Spoke’s technology ensures VRUs, including pedestrians, cyclists and more, are identifiable by vehicles and that VRUs are aware of vehicles before the naked eye can detect them. Spoke also works closely with premium automaker Audi in conducting C-V2X initial deployments to develop solutions around bicycle-to-vehicle use cases.
“The technology we have created is a culmination of our passion for cycling, our own experiences feeling unsafe or being injured as a VRU and our vision of making roadways safer for all,” said Spoke Chief Strategy and Operation Officer Reid Sigety. “With our partner Qualcomm, we have reimagined the form factor for C-V2X technology, making this solution small enough to fit on a bike without disturbing the biker or impacting the performance. Dedicated hardware provides additional safety benefits that help reduce crashing and incident-related congestion while providing high location accuracy with an anonymous connection 10 times per second. Partnering with Curiosity Lab not only allows us to continue to improve and develop our solutions further, but also gives us a space to see how these solutions will improve in real-world scenarios. We are excited to further test and refine this technology with our partners at Peachtree Corners and to continue to improve our solutions with the goal of saving lives across the country.”
The partnership will allow Spoke to continue to test their C-V2X and VRU2X technology within certain Peachtree Corners municipal vehicles and will be used by select Peachtree Corners road workers to improve safety while working along public roads. This will be done using Commsignia’s C-V2X central system, which will be measuring the effectiveness of these solutions. In addition, Spoke will integrate its technologies into Curiosity Lab’s existing infrastructure for further testing with the goals of developing new standards for C-V2X messaging, helping grow the city’s C-V2X ecosystem and collaborating to build LTE and HMI use cases to expand VRU2X messaging.
“As a City Manager, safety for our residents, cyclists and pedestrians is a top priority,” said Peachtree Corners City Manager Brian Johnson. “Each year nearly 1,000 bicyclists are killed and over 130,000 are injured in crashes or incidents on public roadways in the United States. Spoke’s technology is the first C-V2X implementation made for pedestrians, cyclists and other VRUs to use while along public roadways. With this in mind, making the decision to partner with Spoke and test these technologies in our city was an easy one. This month the city will be hosting our first-ever Curiosity Lab Criterium, where we will be showcasing and demonstrating Spoke’s technology alongside Audi. This criterium is more than a bike race – it is the City of Peachtree Corners highlighting the importance of VRU and cyclist safety along public streets. We are honored and thrilled to be partnered with Spoke and to be bringing attention to important safety issues to make our residents’ lives safer each day.”
Spoke’s VRU2X technology will be featured at City of Peachtree Corners’ Curiosity Lab Criterium on April 26 where professional cyclists will race with the C-V2X units. Audi will have a vehicle at the event to demonstrate how the technology works with Spoke technology. Learn more about Spoke and their mission to improve roadway safety and the Curiosity Lab Criterium: https://www.curiositylabptc.com/curiosity-lab-criterium/.
About Spoke
Spoke is elevating road safety to an entirely new level. We are synergizing state-of the art technologies with market-leading partners in the automotive, motorcycle, and bicycle spaces to deliver Spoke’s transformative, first-of-its-kind CV2X and modem-based solutions at scale. We hope to provide everyone with a new peace of mind on our daily rides, commutes and adventures, and are dedicated to protecting the most vulnerable on our roadways by connecting them to the traffic participants and mobility ecosystem around them.
About the City of Peachtree Corners, Georgia
As the heart of what is being called #SiliconOrchard in the metro-Atlanta region, Peachtree Corners is a vibrant municipality that’s home to more than 45,000 residents, 45,000 jobs and an innovation hub that houses some of the world’s most disruptive technology companies. As the United States’ premier smart city powered by real-world connected infrastructure and 5G, Peachtree Corners serves as the model for how government and private industry can better collaborate to create a better future for society and business. From the world’s first deployment of teleoperated e-scooters to fully autonomous shuttles being utilized by actual residents, and from a solar roadway to the largest electric vehicle fast-charging hub in the region, Peachtree Corners is where the most future-forward Internet of Things (IoT) and sustainable technologies come to life for the benefit of its citizens, and the world. For more information, visit http://www.peachtreecornersga.gov.
About Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners
Curiosity Lab is a 5G-enabled intelligent mobility and smart city living laboratory located in the southeastern United States near Atlanta, Georgia. Designed as a proving ground for IoT, mobility and smart city emerging technologies, the centerpiece of the lab is a three-mile public autonomous vehicle roadway leveraging cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) technologies. Additional infrastructure includes intelligent traffic cameras and traffic signals, smart streetlights, the country’s first “IoT Central Control Room” implemented in a city and a 25,000 square foot innovation center. Owned and operated by the City of Peachtree Corners, Curiosity Lab is one of North America’s only real-world testing environments and is available for use free of charge. Additional information can be found at www.curiositylabptc.com.
The city of Minneapolis has announced that shared bikes and scooters will be returning to the streets as it has entered into agreements with Lime, Veo and Spin.
The city will be offering scooter rentals in 2023 through Lime, Veo and Spin, Lime and Veo will also have e-bikes available.
Lime and Veo riders will be able to end their bike trip anywhere within the city. All they will need to do is lock their bike to a bike rack or to any signpost except a stop sign or a bus stop sign.
However, state law highlights that scooter riders must follow similar traffic laws to bicyclists, and shared bikes and scooters can’t be ridden on sidewalks.
Lime will be using Class 1 e-bikes, which will be pedal assist bikes. Veo will have Class 2 e-bikes and have both pedal assist and a throttle, similar to scooters.
This is the first time the city has had this type of e-bike in its bike share program. They are a great option for people with physical limitations because users don’t need to stand as they do on scooters or pedal as they do on Class 1 e-bikes.
Beyond the riding and distribution requirements, all three operators are required to have low-income pricing programs for qualified residents.
Operators will also be required to have ongoing education and outreach on safe riding and proper parking behaviour.
Helsinki City Centre has implemented new electric scooter reforms. Shared electric scooters and bicycles may only be parked in designated places in the city centre and parts of the inner city. Leaving an electric scooter or bicycle in other places in the area is unequivocally a parking violation.
The new parking reform will be implemented with road signs throughout the areas in which parking of e-scooters and bikes is prohibited.
The restricted area covers the Hesperia Esplanade and the area south of the Pitkäsilta bridge in the city centre. The western border runs along the Lauttasaari bridge.
The restricted area will be marked using road signs with text located at the borders of the area. The available parking spaces will be marked with separate road signs. The parking areas will also be shown in the operator-specific applications.
There is reportedly to be 250 parking areas in the city centre. The parking spaces will be on squares, marketplaces and roadside parking areas. Around 130 of the estimated 250 parking areas will be in car parking places. The marking of the parking areas will start at the beginning of April.
The city has agreements with the companies renting electric scooters. The agreements specify the compensation for the use of the parking areas and the maximum number of vehicles by an operator in the restricted area.
The six operators operating in the restricted area are Voi, Tier, Lime, Ryde, Bird and Bolt. Each operator can have a maximum of 700 electric scooters in the restricted area. The city monitors compliance with the agreements.
The Urban Environment Committee decided on the reform in its meeting on 21 March.
Rubicon Technologies has announced that it has entered into an agreement with City of Miami to help enhance its residential waste and recycling services.
The agreement will put Rubicon’s smart city software at the heart of Miami’s Department of Solid Waste.
Rubicon will help the City’s Department of Solid Waste transition to a fully digital operation as part of Miami’s resilience planning efforts.
The city will use Rubicon’s technology to balance its waste and recycling routes to streamline collection, track material and tonnage on its bulky trash routes, and reduce missed pickups and unnecessary go-backs, stated the release.
The partnership will see newly created routes that will help the Department of Solid Waste be able to closely monitor route performance, identify areas where waste and recycling services can be improved, and make data-driven decisions to enhance route efficiency and better serve the Miami community.
“The goal of Miami’s Department of Solid Waste is to promote a safe, clean, and healthy environment while delivering a comprehensive, cost-effective, and environmentally sound solid waste management service for our residents,” said Francis X. Suarez, Mayor of Miami. “I look forward to working with Rubicon alongside the great men and women of our Department of Solid Waste to improve our city’s operations and give the residents of Miami the most efficient waste and recycling collection experience possible.”
Miami is looking to lead the way in becoming the most sustainable city in the world. The City has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050, and in 2022 it announced that it had achieved LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification.
“Rubicon is dedicated to helping cities become smarter, more efficient, and more effective,” said Conor Riffle, Senior Vice President of Smart Cities at Rubicon. “Miami is one of our country’s most unique and culturally significant cities, it is a global tech hub, and we are thrilled to bring Rubicon’s unique technology to the City to power a core service: waste and recycling collection. Rubicon’s technology products will help the City of Miami better understand and meet its citizens’ needs, create a stronger economy, and be more prepared for future challenges.”
The release highlights that RUBICONSmartCity helps existing government-owned fleets improve neighborhood streetscapes by monitoring vehicle health, improving driver behavior, and ensuring that materials are collected efficiently.
Globally, transport accounts for almost a quarter of carbon dioxide emissions, and road vehicles such as cars, trucks and buses account for nearly 75% of those emissions. The electrification of public transport offers a great opportunity for countries to reach their net zero goals and to build low-carbon cities.
Electric bus adoption in public transport urban fleets is increasing all over the world. While the interest began in China, now in the U.S, battery-electric buses are expected to remain the lowest-carbon option in every part of the country, and Europe is seeing an evergrowing increase in electric bus fleets.
In the first half of 2022, 1767 electric buses were registered in Europe which was nearly double what was registered the year before. The global electric bus market is expected to reach 670k units in 2027 according to a report made by MarketsandMarkets. Although the Asia Specific region has occupied 98% of the world’s deployed electric buses, North America is projected to be the fastest-growing market during the forecast period.
Here are some of the leading electric bus makers, racing to get a portion of the 1.2 million e-buses on the road globally by 2025.
BYD Motors
BYD has become one of the most established e-bus makers in the world in the last 10 years while also being one of the largest electric vehicles manufacturers in the last three years. In recent months, has secured Europe’s largest single order of 246 buses to Dutch global public transport provider Keolis Nederland BV. The company have also won the largest order for pure-electric buses outside of China to date, supplying 10002 electric buses to Bogota, Colombia.
BYD has deployed more than 60,000 electric buses around the world and have more than 18 million zero-emission electric miles driven across America. In the U.S, BYD America operates a bus and battery plant in Lancaster California.
Proterra
North America is expected to be the fastest growing e-bus market in the world. Proterra has sold more than 1000 electric buses since 2004, making it the largest e-bus manufacturer in North America.
Proterra’s ZX5 Electric Transit Bus models boast some of the lowest operating costs and the largest range potential of buses of its kind — a whopping 329 miles on a single charge.
The California-based company develops its battery packs in house and back in 2019, launched a battery leasing program to minimise upfront costs and provide financing options for transit buyers.
The Biden administration’s plan to make all new American-built buses operate with zero emissions by 2030 is hugely advantageous to Proterra and other U.S. e-bus manufacturers, as it will allow access to critical resources to electrify transportation and drive domestic sales.
VDL Groep
VDL Groep is a Netherlands based company that originally began as a family business and is now one of the leading heavy-duty electric transport providers in Europe. The company has manufacturing plants domestically and in Belgium.
Back in January, VDL received its largest order for electric buses from EBS. With no less than 193 new generation VDL Citeas, EBS will start the newly formed Zaanstreek-Waterland concession in December 2023.
Yutong
Yutong has contributes significantly to China’s domination of heavy-duty electric vehicle sales and manufacturing. It is headquartered in Zhengzhou of central China’s Henan Province. Every year,Yutong’s new energy buses can reduce carbon emissions by 3,000,000 tons, which is equivalent to the CO2 absorption of a 7,000-hectare broad-leaved forest, greatly improving the urban atmospheric environment with significant social and environmental benefits.
Yutong has four manufacturing bases for conventional buses, new energy buses, special vehicles and parts & components.
The bus plants include five production procedures, 15 production lines as well as completed road test procedures, covering an area of 2,466,000 square meters with an annual production and sales volume of more than 70,000 units.
What does the future look like for electric bus fleets?
The United Nations has estimated that 2.5 billion people will live in cities by 2050 which will account for two thirds of the world’s population. Three million city buses already operate globally and more than 13%, over 385,000, are electric vehicles according to Bloomberg. Through the utilisation of electric bus fleets, cities could reduce a growing share of carbon emissions produced by their transportation systems.
However, introducing new fleets presents a series of hurdles for many city and transport authorities. Firstly, it is a huge initial investment for cities and although this is offset by lower operating costs, many do not have the finances to build the systems and infrastructure to accompany it. Investing in new electric transport could potentially mean that cities will have to rethink cities and update infrastructure.
Introducing new electric bus fleets goes beyond just simply replacing petrol powered buses, it requires a new charging infrastructure, ticketing and payment system and software that gathers vehicle movements, which proves to be highly resourceful for agencies.
These challenges can only be solved through private and public partnerships between national governments, city authorities, vehicle manufacturers and technology companies.
Due to this grant, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) mandated the transition to 100 percent zero-emission bus fleets by 2040. The company pledged to help with the transition to achieve their zero emissions goals.
The Los Angeles Country Metropolitan Transportation Authority (L.A. Metro) initiated the transition of its entire bus fleet and bus maintenance facilities from compressed natural gas to zero-emission technology. This is one of the most significant efforts to date.
Similarly, in San Diego, the North County Transit District (NCTD) said that it would provide planning support for a phased implementation to transition from diesel and compressed natural gas buses to battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
Additionally, in London, the Mayor has invested more than £300 million to transform London’s bus fleet. Currently, the city has around 850 zero emission buses operating, with more looking to go into service once the infrastructure to support them has been built.
Across the globe in India, Mumbai is set to have the biggest e-bus fleet in the country as they expected 50 new electric double deckers to hit the road back in October which would take the bus fleet to over 450.
Throughout the globe there are companies and cities making huge efforts to electrify their fleet and hitting the highest low emission targets to date. If only we had the time to name them all. As public transport accounts for some of the highest emission percentages, it is vital that fleets and manufacturers make the transition to save our cities and their environment.
Univrses and the Swedish Transport Administration have announced a new partnership to help optimise the country’s road infrastructure management.
This partnership is said to use Univrses’ cutting-edge AI software, 3DAI™ City, to digitize and manage roadside infrastructure, ultimately contributing to a safer, more sustainable and efficient transportation network.
The need for more efficient monitoring and maintenance of Sweden’s road network comes after the administration has recognised the growing population and ongoing urbanization.
In response to these issues, Trafikverket has recently signed a contract with AI company Univrses to work on a revolutionary project, called Digital Summer, for Connected Road Surface Monitoring.
Through this partnership, Trafikverket will harness the power of advanced machine learning technology to enhance the management of Swedish roads.
The company have stated that during Digital Summer, Univrses’ 3DAI™ City platform will be used to capture changes in the condition of road surfaces through connected vehicle cameras.
The AI software allows for the digitization of Sweden’s roadside infrastructure, transforming physical assets into live data and generating never-before-seen insights. Univrses’ scalable Analytics tools enable transportation officials and infrastructure managers to efficiently monitor roads and roadside assets and make better-informed decisions. This helps streamline operations and allows them to work proactively to benefit both the environment and society at large.
Björn Eklund, Project Sponsor at Trafikverket, stated, “Univrses and Zenseact is one of three partnerships we have started up which aim to explore innovative solutions for the development of better road infrastructure management. This joint effort aligns with Trafikverket’s objectives of enhancing safety, efficiency, and sustainability in the transportation sector while keeping innovation at the forefront in managing Swedish road networks.”
Another key player in this project is Zenseact and through the partnership, with their help, the company’s will be taking a significant step towards a smarter road transportation network in Sweden and also helps to set an example for the world.
Via has announced today that it has acquired Citymapper. This new acquisition will accelerate Via’s vision to build the end-to-end digital infrastructure for transit systems.
While Via’s software enables cities and transit agencies to efficiently plan and operate their public transit networks, Citymapper empowers transit riders with the ability to navigate the urban transport network through intuitive and beautifully designed apps, states the release.
Through the integration of Citymapper, Via will be able to connect all elements of a transit system, offering a unified solution for cities, transit agencies, and riders.
“The team at Citymapper has spent a decade building some of the greatest technology in urban mobility, with the mission to make cities easier to navigate and urban transportation more efficient, sustainable, and accessible,” said Citymapper founder and CEO Azmat Yusuf. “We share this vision with Via, and through this acquisition, can expand Citymapper to a larger audience, make our technology available to cities and transit agencies, and extend the positive impact on the communities we serve.”
The release highlights that cities and transit agencies will have access to Via’s software platform which enables them to plan transit networks that are responsive and resilient to rapidly changing needs, to operate smart multi-modal transportation systems, and to use data to continually enhance performance — now unified with an optimized experience for riders from Citymapper.
Following the acquisition, the Citymapper app will continue to be available to its worldwide user base, and Via anticipates it will further expand Citymapper’s global reach.
“We have the utmost respect for the world-class product and user experience that Azmat and his team have built,” said Via co-founder and CEO Daniel Ramot. “By bringing our teams together, we see an exciting opportunity to deliver Citymapper’s capabilities to cities and transit agencies all over the world, so that they can create the most user-friendly and relevant transit experience for their communities.”
Back in 2021, Via successfully acquired Remix and in 2023 Fleetonomy. This has paved the way for a new generation of smart and flexible transportation solutions.
Following ten years of negotiations, Nations have reached a historic agreement to protect the world’s oceans. The High Treaty aims to place 30% of the seas into protected areas by 2030, to safeguard and recuperate marine nature.
After 38 hours of talks, an agreement was reached on Saturday evening at the UN headquarters in New York. The discussion had been held up over disagreements on funding and fishing rights.
The last international agreement on ocean protection was signed 40 years ago in 1982 – the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
That agreement established an area called the high seas, international waters where all countries have a right to fish, ship and do research, but only 1.2% of these waters are protected.
Marine life living outside these protected areas has been at risk from climate change, overfishing and shipping traffic.
The latest research by the International Union for Conservation of Nature has shown that nearly 10% of global marine species were found to be at risk of extinction.
These new protected areas, established in the treaty, will put limits on how much fishing can take place, the routes of shipping lanes and exploration activities like deep sea mining.
Environmental groups have been concerned that mining processes could disturb animal breeding grounds, create noise pollution and be toxic for marine life.
Countries will need to meet again to formally adopt the agreement and then have plenty of work to do before the treaty can be implemented.
Tartu and Tallinn have announced that they have signed a contract with the Latvian transport solutions start-up mobility.delivered for the development of a travel planner and ticket purchase application that combines different mobility services.
The aim is to consolidate the systems of public transport, taxis, electric scooters, and other mobility providers in Tallinn and Tartu into a single travel planner. This will also allow riders to pay for the ride on the same platform with a single payment.
According to Tartu Deputy Mayor Raimond Tamm, diverse mobility services and their active use are of great importance to Tartu.
He commented: ‘This will help achieve our ambitious environmental goals. In the future, the application in question will allow both residents of Tartu and our guests to easily plan their movements, make choices between different modes of travel, and conveniently pay for all services used with a single payment. I am very happy that we have teamed up with Tallinn and that an innovative and necessary application will be introduced in the two largest cities of Estonia at the same time.’
Jānis Meirans, CEO of mobility.delivered, the leading partner of the consortium that won the tender, said that the mobility service implementation project provides an opportunity to bring the company’s knowledge and innovative solutions to the transport sector.
He said: ‘The integration of different modes of transport into one system is extremely interesting. Our ultimate goal is to have a large and positive impact on the way people move, which is in line with our vision to revolutionize transportation for communities everywhere,’ said Meirans. ‘We are sure that the residents of and visitors to Tallinn and Tartu will appreciate our joint efforts to offer sustainable and comfortable everyday transport in one solution.’
The contract has an amount of EUR 120,000 with the European Regional Development Fund co-financing part of the procurement volume through the activity of supporting innovation-promoting procurements.
The release has stated that the other half is jointly covered by the cities of Tallinn and Tartu so that Tallinn’s share of project financing is one-third and Tartu’s share is one-sixth.
According to the contract, the platform must be open to users by the end of August of this year.
Atkins has been appointed as a Delivery Partner organisation for THE LINE at NEOM in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The release states acivilizational revolution that will have no roads, cars or carbon emissions, THE LINE is set to provide an unprecedented urban living experience.
A linear development, THE LINE, once completed, will be 170 kilometers long and only 200 meters wide cognitive city run on 100% clean energy.
The project hopes to eventually accommodate nine million residents and will be built on a land area of 34 square kilometers
THE LINE will be surrounded by large world-class protected areas as 95% of the surrounding NEOM region will be protected for conservation. This was part of the initial plan to build around natural areas rather than over them
Atkins has been awarded a five-year contract under a framework agreement for consultancy services on THE LINE. In collaboration with NEOM and other Delivery Partner organizations, Atkins will provide project and construction management consultancy services for the design, procurement, construction, testing and commissioning of the project, together with the management of the critical interfaces that the linear city shares with adjacent NEOM projects and logistics, states the release.
The project has adopted a highly collaborative delivery model in response to its scale, complexity, supply chain and requirements for innovation.
“THE LINE is a truly ground-breaking, world first project and we are proud to have the opportunity to bring our global engineering, digital and net zero expertise to help create a lasting legacy for the Kingdom and its people,” said Philip Hoare, President, Atkins. “As a Delivery Partner organization, we will work closely with NEOM and our partners to seamlessly connect people, data and technology to drive innovation, value, efficiency and certainty on the project. Our combined intent is to radically transform the way major infrastructure projects are delivered and THE LINE, with its vision and complexity, provides a great opportunity to demonstrate what our industry can achieve.”
The LINE offers a unique approach to urban design. The design is a new concept referred to as ‘Zero Gravity Urbanism’. The concept layers city functions vertically while giving people the possibility of moving seamlessly in three dimensions (up, down or across) to access them.
The company states that the development’s infrastructure will be embedded with sustainable smart technology containing essential utilities and transportation services, generating car-free communities and public realms.
“With over 50 years’ presence in the Middle East, Atkins has played a key role in supporting the region’s transformation by delivering some of its most iconic and complex projects,” said Campbell Gray, Chief Executive Officer, Middle East & Africa, Atkins. “Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s most dynamic growth markets and we are committed to supporting the country’s ambitions through our global engineering expertise, our in-depth local knowledge, and our investment in the Kingdom’s future talent. As a Delivery Partner organization, we will work closely with NEOM to drive value and efficiency by adopting innovative technologies and world-class sustainability standards.”
