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Cellcontrol, a leading developer of distracted driving solutions, has launched what it claims is a first-of-its-kind programme with specialist member-owned insurer Pure (Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange) to help prevent distracted driving incidents caused by teenage drivers. As part of the pilot, Pure has offered complimentary devices and a full year’s subscription to Cellcontrol’s technology to drivers under the age of 18, and will be providing the technology at a discounted rates to the entire P

A team of experts funded by an IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grant has provided government leaders with initial recommendations for a more effective and efficient public transport system in Rabat and nearby Sale and Temara, in Morocco, by 2020. Rabat won a Smarter Cities Challenge grant from IBM which sent some of its top employees to work and live in the city for three weeks. There, they studied the area's transportation opportunities and created a plan to improve the urban public transport system.

New York City officials have this week launched a request for qualifications for possible private firms to operate parking meters in the city. The meters cover over 80,000 parking spaces in five boroughs. Spokesperson for the city's mayor, Julie Wood, said that the privatisation would allow for innovative methods to improve quality and efficiency of the city's parking services. She added that the city will proceed cautiously with the plan, stating that any possible deal would see the city maintaining full c

Econolite has announced that ITS New York, at its annual conference, awarded the Outstanding ITS Project of the Year to Econolite and its partner, Century Business Horizons (CBH), along with NYC DoT, KLD Associates, and TransCore. Econolite and CBH were honoured for the remote traffic microwave sensor (RTMS) non-intrusive radar detection systems used in the Midtown in Motion project.

Stockholm has set a target to use renewable fuels for 75 per cent of its public transport by 2016, as part of a range of new measures for social responsibility and climate impact set by Stockholm County Council (SLL). The measures also include a 75 per cent reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by 2020, compared with 1990, and a 10 per cent reduction of particle emissions by 2016, compared with 2011. The council also aims to raise the level of material recycling to a minimum of 25 per cent and for its IT op

Tangier in Morocco has announced that at the end of 2012 the first calls to tender should be launched for an aerial tramway transport system in the city, where the streets are often on steep slopes. It will require an investment of around nearly US$23 million, less than an underground rail system as the city is on sandy ground making such a system expensive to build. It will have a capacity of 2,800 passengers per hour, or 32,000 per day, the equivalent of 50 buses. It will be the first of its kind in Moroc

Streetline, a provider of smart parking solutions for cities, airports, universities and private operators, has unveiled ParkSight Portal, an integrated, web-based application suite providing real-time and historical insight for cities and universities to better understand and manage the parking ecosystem. "Smart parking is about new data and new insights for action," said Zia Yusuf, the company’s president and CEO. "Streetline pioneered the market for smart parking sensors that has sparked innovation in t

Hybrid and electric cars are neither clean nor green according to a new environmental book, Green Illusions, written by University of California - Berkeley visiting scholar Ozzie Zehner. It exposes numerous hidden side effects of new hybrid and electric cars. The analysis considers mining impacts, toxins, energy use, suburban sprawl and carbon footprints of production. From an environmental perspective, Zehner argues that hybrids and electric cars are no better than conventional internal combustion engined

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is continuing to support improvements to public transport systems in Romania with a loan of up to US$25.75 million to the city of Arad to finance the acquisition of new energy efficient trams. The financing will support the city’s wider objective of restructuring its public transport system and improving efficiency, as well as reducing traffic congestion and air pollution in Arad.

Mercedes-Benz and Glympse, a mobile technology company that pioneered temporary real-time location sharing, are teaming up to provide real-time location sharing to their drivers by integrating Glympse into the new Mercedes-Benz Digital DriveStyle application, set to launch in the new A-Class in September. Drivers will be able to select a recipient, set a timer, and ‘send a Glympse’ to anyone they choose. The recipient will receive a text or email link, which will show the driver’s real-time location on an i

Google launches NFC-enabled transit payment card in Kenya Google has launched Beba in Kenya, a pre-paid NFC (near field communication)-enabled card to allow cash-free payment of bus fares by transit travellers. According to TechMtaa, an African technology website, the move was expected, and is rolling out first in Nairobi. The card, which can be loaded with up the local equivalent of US$115, is likely attractive to customers, as it may help them dodge rising rates, or bus drivers that don’t provide exact or

International Road Dynamics (IRD) has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, International Road Dynamics South Asia (IRDSA), has been awarded a major contract from Reliance Infrastructure in India valued at over US$1.66 million. The contract award for the prestigious Gurgaon Faridabad expressway in the state of Haryana in India spans over 50 lanes across four toll plazas, and includes 12 lanes of electronic toll collection using radio frequency identification readers and transponders as well as four st

Cale Group’s newest subsidiary, Cale America, has been selected by the Public Parking Authority of Pittsburgh (PPAP) to upgrade its parking meter system. The new programme will introduce pay-by-license plate technology which Cale has successfully implemented in cities such as Calgary in Canada, and Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Customers will enter their vehicle license plate number at a solar-charged multi-space meter and the company’s system will inform parking enforcement staff which vehicles are paid in