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According to the European Commission (EC), open standards for intelligent transportation systems (ITS) would save the public sector €1 billion a year US$1.5 billion a year, citing Urban Traffic Management and Control (UTMC) as one of the standards being developed in the transport domain. Launched in 1997, the UTMC programme was the UK Department for Transport (DfT) main initiative for the development of a more open approach to ITS in urban areas. UTMC systems are designed to allow the different application

Signal Group is expanding with controlling interest in Oregon-based Northwest Signal

The 2013 European Congress in Dublin saw the official launch of ITS Malta, the world’s latest national ITS association. ITS Malta’s David Seisun said: “This is the first step in becoming an internationally recognised institution that focuses on Intelligent Transport Systems. Malta has always kept a small step back when it comes to ITS yet now with the help of the Government, ITS (UK) and other ITS organisations all over the world we have set sail with this organisation.”

Another newcomer, and still something of a fledgling organisation, is ITS Ethiopia. Posed in future tense, the association’s website says it will be a legally constituted non-profit institution with bylaws and a board of directors elected by members. Currently it is using the experiences of other ITS Societies to help craft a suitable legal framework. The association aims to promote and advance the implementation of applicable ITS technologies through research and development as well as project planning and

ITS United Kingdom has elected Sharon Kindleysides of Kapsch and Dr Alan Stevens of the UK Transport Research Laboratory as chair and vice chair respectively. Kindleysides, who heads up Kapsch’s UK office has previously served as ITS (UK) vice chairman. She said she was particularly looking forward to “explaining and demonstrating how ITS can bring tangible benefits to the lives of the travelling public whilst helping transport bodies save money.” One of Kindleysides’ first duties was to sign a Memorandum

It is a busy period for ITS Australia which has just hosted a successful Perth Showcase including a site inspection to a Traffic Operations Centre. An evening showcase attended by more than 60 members heard about ITS activities currently underway including recent improvements ITS is delivering to Western Australia’s road network. The association’s summit is scheduled for September which will not only examine intelligent transport systems but also integrated thinking and action on vehicle emissions and air q

ITS South Africa is preparing for the biennial i-Transport Conference and Exhibition which takes place on 3-4 September 2013 at the Gallagher Convention Center in Midrand. The conference has the theme ‘Enabling ITS Integration’ and is designed to bring together the country’s key ITS stakeholders to benchmark against global best practice, share experiences and identify new opportunities and solutions.There will be four parallel sessions: ITS and Public Transport; Traffic Management and Operations; ITS Lifecy

ITS America is calling for input from ITS professionals worldwide to complete a 10-minute survey focusing on ITS deployment in developing and emerging economies. The results will be used to update the content of the PIARC World Road Association ITS Handbook and to help transform the contents it into a series of web-based modules on key ITS topics. Those wanting to participate in the survey should go to: www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1228759/PIARC

Public transport passengers in Sydney, Australia, have enthusiastically welcomed the city’s new Opal smart card, being progressively rolled out across ferries, trains, buses and light rail in the greater Sydney area, with 10,000 already issued since trials began in December 2012. By 2015 the Opal system, being installed by the Cubic-led Pearl Consortium for Transport New South Wales, will cover 42 ferry wharves, more than 300 train stations and more than 5,000 buses and light rail systems.

In an effort to improve student safety at school bus stops, Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) in Georgia, US, is introducing an automated stop-arm enforcement program utilising a safety camera system that monitors and detects drivers who illegally pass school buses, endangering the lives of children as they enter and exit the bus. Developed by Redflex, the Student Guardian safety camera system consists of a single enclosure installed approximately six feet behind the stop-arm, monitoring traffic in both

The country-wide electronic toll collection (ETC) system is Belarus has begun operations, replacing the manual tolling system on 815 kilometres of the country’s road network. The US$353 million contract was awarded to Kapsch TraffiCom in 2012. The system, based on Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) technology, comprises 56 tolling and enforcement gantries and 48 customer service points, together with two modern data centres were implemented, 500,000 on board units for automatic payment and sixteen

Hot on the heels of committing an extra US£760 million to drive forward the market for ultra low emission vehicles, the UK Government has made an extra US$56 million available to offset the cost of installing infrastructure for recharging electric vehicles (EVs). Money will be made available to dozens of local authorities, National Health Service trusts and train operators to provide charging points on their property and town and city streets. Transport minister Norman Baker commented: “With hundreds of new

TransCore is to convert legacy automatic vehicle identification (AVI) toll systems to SunPass interoperable and toll-by-plate all electronic toll systems on three causeways in Miami-Dade County in the US. The contract, worth around US$13 million, includes the Broad Causeway for the town of Bay Harbor Islands and the Rickenbacker and Venetian Causeways for the Miami-Dade County, all to be operable by spring 2014. For the town of Bay Harbor Islands, TransCore will convert a bi-directional cash toll plaza to

US intelligent traffic management specialist Iteris has improved financial results for its fiscal first quarter ended 30 June 2013, with total revenues total revenues in the first quarter of fiscal 2014 increased by 4 per cent to US$17.0 million compared to US$16.3 million in the same year-ago quarter. The increase was primarily attributed to a 5 per cent increase in both roadway sensors and transportation systems revenues.