Features

The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) is pioneering fresh approaches to Electronic Fee Collection (EFC) deployment in the US. Its new system, operational since January 2009 on all buses and commuter trains, is the country's first full-network rollout of transit e-ticketing technology built on an open-payment network, according to the organisation's Technology Programme Development Manager Craig Roberts.

The Province of New Brunswick has prepared a deployment plan for ITS applications for Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO). The plan, developed by Delcan Corporation, identifies a number of potential ITS/CVO investments and initiatives to be implemented. One of the initiatives is the Motor Carrier Profile (MCP), which has been selected as one of the sample projects for the application of the Project Evaluation Methodology Framework for Canadian ITS.

Delcan has developed an ITS project evaluation methodology for Transport Canada. Victor Bruzon explains how it will assist in selecting and managing programmes. ITS projects offer a cost-effective solution for many transportation problems. Individual projects are often not evaluated and such evaluations can be restricted by limited data, the ability of ITS to affect only a portion of the transport network, and by evaluation methodologies that were developed with more traditional transport investments in min

On 11 January 2005, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) began installing GELcore LED traffic signal modules state-wide through an Energy Savings Performance Contract. In tendering for the work, the energy service contractors could choose any manufacturers equipment but all of them proposed to use the GELcore brand.

According to the UITP, the International Association of Public Transport, public transport offers even better value for money than usually stated. To address the issue, it has released a Focus Paper - Assessing the benefits of public transport - and is holding a special session dedicated to the theme during the UITP World Congress in Vienna, Austria, from 7-11 June.

Nashville's signal optimisation programme produced a stunning return on investment. Are those results exceptional? Could similar results be replicated in cities across the US and indeed the world? ITS International spoke to Chris Rhodes, P.E. of Kimley-Horn and Associates, project leader for the Nashville signal optimisation programme. "You have to bear in mind that with signal optimisation programmes you don't see, for instance, physical construction or new pieces of equipment on the roadside that someone

A new vehicle routeing initiative has arisen to help improve emergency response and relief following natural disasters in Japan. David Crawford reports Japan’s national ITS group ITS Japan and the country’s leading automotives have agreed on a new combined approach to the organisation of traffic management and emergency response in the wake of major natural disasters. A new, robust traffic information platform using probe data obtained from vehicles to support traffic flow will build on the shared experienc

Road markings are among the most cost-effective solutions to make roads safer. A recent study carried out for the American Glass Bead Manufacturer’s Association quantifies by just how much Despite only making up 23% of the US mileage, fatalities on America’s rural two-lane highways made up 57% of all traffic fatalities in 2009 — resulting in more than $77Bn in losses for that year alone. Moreover, a rural motorist is 2.7 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash per mile travelled than their urban