His Excellency Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, Director-General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), revealed that RTA's precautionary measures and initiatives applied to the scheduling and the operation of public buses, marine transit means and taxis had accelerated the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. He stated that such measures contributed to restoring the growth of public transport ridership to 70% of the pre-Covid-19 levels. They also contributed to reducing the number of kilometres travelled by 18%, improving bus on-time arrival by 6%, and cutting carbon emissions by 34 metric tons. "In cooperation with Alibaba Cloud, RTA has recently started trialling the'City Brain' system to manage traffic in urban areas using artificial intelligence and advanced algorithms. The system analysis a massive number of big data received from nol cards, operating buses and taxis as well as the Enterprise Command and Control Centre. Then it converts the data into useful information that could be used in sending instant notifications and improving bus schedules and routes. The system is expected to improve the bus ridership by 17%, average waiting time by 10%, and the journey time and the average bus usage by 5%," stated Al Tayer.

The driver, who got the bus humming with the push of a button, stayed behind the wheel but was hands-off most of the time, keeping intervention to a minimum. The bus, sporting an array of sensors and cameras, was limited to a maximum speed of around 30 kph. The bus completed the circuit from Gunma University to Shibukawa Station in about an hour, twice a day for nine days, as part of a pilot program set up by the school, a local bus line, the Gunma Prefectural Government and NEC. The aim: to achieve the government's goal of getting driverless vehicles up and running on Japan's roads by the end of the year. The move underlines the fact that self-driving vehicles are no longer a vision for the distant future, but just around the corner.

OSAKA – Osaka City Bus Corp. took media representatives for a test ride on a self-driving bus Monday. The affiliate of subway operator Osaka Metro Co. aims to start autonomous bus services in fiscal 2020, which starts April 1, in the city's waterfront area. A French-made Navya Arma autonomous bus was used in the test. When manual driving is necessary, the operator would have to use a controller because the Arma has no steering wheel. A staff member would push an emergency brake button when the vehicle meets an obstacle and needs to stop.

Google and Apple loom so large over the field of digital mapping that it's understandable why it may seem they represent the beginning and the end of this market. But the demands of a wide range of services such autonomous vehicles and smart cities are giving rise to a new generation of mapping competitors who are pushing the boundaries of innovation. The fundamental approach to mapping used by the two giants, mixing satellite imagery and fleets of cars roaming the streets, is becoming archaic and too slow to meet the fast-moving needs of businesses in areas like ecommerce, drones, and forms of mobility. These services often have very specific needs that require real-time updates and far richer data. To address these challenges, new mapping companies are turning to artificial intelligence and crowdsourcing, among other things, to deliver far more complex geodata.

TOCHIGI – A test of self-driving bus services organized by the transport ministry kicked off at a michi no eki roadside rest area in Tochigi Prefecture on Saturday. The ministry hopes to launch the autonomous bus services in fiscal 2020, aiming to provide a means of transportation for elderly people living in hilly and mountainous areas with dwindling populations. On Saturday, a ceremony to mark the launch of the test and a test-ride event were held in the city of Tochigi. Among the participants was transport minister Keiichi Ishii. According to the ministry, 80 percent of michi no eki rest areas in Japan are in hilly and mountainous areas.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) sensors are to be installed at every major junction and council car park in Milton Keynes to monitor movement of vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians in real time. Around 2,500 sensors, provided by UK tech start-up Vivacity Lab, are due to be switched on early next year. The sensors will build up a picture of which areas of the town are most busy and at what times. "This will provide real-time congestion information that can help with strategic planning and journey planning," said Geoff Snelson, director of strategy & futures at Milton Keynes Council. Data of real-time movements could be used to manage the networks through roadside information or feeds to apps, said Snelson at the Imagine Festival in Milton Keynes, organised by the Transport Systems Catapult.

The days of sitting in a taxi while it's stuck in a traffic jam could soon be a thing of the past for people in Singapore. The country's Ministry of Transport has revealed that it is in talks with companies to start trials on flying taxis. These futuristic vehicles are part of a drive to expand the range of urban mobility options, and Singapore plans to have them ready by 2030. Singapore's Ministry of Transport has revealed that it is in talks with companies to start trials on flying taxis. At the conference, Mr Keong showed three human-carrying drones that have already been prototyped.