News

Motorists using major highways in England can now access real-time, personalised traffic and roadway travel information on their smartphones by downloading a free app developed by Philadelphia-based Information Logistics. The Hands-Free Traffic Talker England (HFT England) app audibly broadcasts information about a motorist's specific travel route, freeing the user from the distractions of touching the phone, reading messages, or listening to irrelevant traffic alerts.

Motorists using major highways in England can now access real-time, personalised traffic and roadway travel information on their smartphones by downloading a free app developed by Philadelphia-based Information Logistics. The Hands-Free Traffic Talker England (HFT England) app audibly broadcasts information about a motorist's specific travel route, freeing the user from the distractions of touching the phone, reading messages, or listening to irrelevant traffic alerts.

Austria-headquartered Kapsch TrafficCom has announced that its subsidiary, Kapsch TrafficCom Canada (KTCC), has made a significant investment in Simex, Integracion de Sistemas, a Mexican systems integration company with 28 years of experience in the Mexican market in the fields of automation and control, toll collection, security and parking systems.

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDoT) has awarded an on-call contract to Parsons Brinckerhoff for construction services in support of the agency’s efforts to implement accelerated rail services along a high-speed rail corridor between Pontiac/Detroit and Chicago.

Clean diesel engines will continue to be the dominant power source for heavy-duty vehicles in the United States for "decades to come because of their power and efficiency," according to a newly released study prepared for the US Department of Energy.

Visteon Corporation has completed the sale of its automotive lighting business to Varroc Group, based in Aurangabad, India and a global provider of automotive parts, for $72 million in cash, subject to price adjustments. The two companies announced plans for the sale on March 12.

A new report from a Washington, DC, energy policy group urges the federal government to begin allocating its US$150 billion budget for transport services to carriers that fuel their fleets on domestically produced natural gas, electricity, biofuels and other alternatives to diesel and gasoline.

Vix UK has worked with Go North East (GNE) and Nexus to carry out a successful trial of automatic vehicle location (AVL) technology integrated into the Vix ticketing platform. Following on from a small scale pilot for Nexus (the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive), which provided a showcase for the interaction between major real-time passenger information systems, the trial was successfully accepted and signed off by Nexus earlier this year.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is to install another 10,000 security cameras equipped with links to police stations at strategic locations across the Thai city by the end of this year. Data from the new cameras, along with the 10,000 that have already been deployed, will also be used by the intelligent traffic information centre and the Traffic Police Division to monitor traffic conditions across the city.

According to a new report from ABI Research, after more than a decade of trials and tests, the ITS industry finds itself facing important decisions regarding mandating dedicated DRSC-based technology and ensuring seamless integration with existing converged technologies, using them as a proxy to bridge the time, penetration, and cost gap of ITS infrastructure which is not expected to reach critical mass before the end of this decade.

In-car technology is revolutionising the driving experience, especially when it comes to connectivity options, including mobile device connection to the Internet, navigation systems, emergency response systems, and driving habit monitoring devices. Yet, it is claimed that more than three in four car owners (76 per cent) report that they believe in-car connectivity technologies are too distracting and even dangerous to have. In addition, more than half (55 per cent) argue that automakers have taken technolog

Esri has announced a strategic alliance with Microsoft to assist public and private agencies and communities around the world during disasters. Microsoft will display Esri public information maps on its cloud-based disaster response incident portal, as well as point citizens to the maps via its online outlets, such as MSN and Bing. Esri's ArcGIS integration within a number of Microsoft's disaster response management solutions will provide governments and leading aid organisations with a more comprehensive s

Siemens Infrastructure & Cities will handle the electrification of Hawaii's first rail transit system which is scheduled for completion by 2019. The new line will run alongside Honolulu's 32-kilometer main arterial road from the East Kapolei district via Pearl Harbor and the airport to the Ala Moana district in the west.

TransCore ITS has announced that Tracy Marks has been named as president, succeeding John Simler. Marks joined the company in 1993 and most recently served as senior vice president of both the Southern US and international regions. In addition, he has been general manager of United Toll Systems, a growing product division within TransCore ITS.