News

In an Australian first, free wireless internet technology will be rolled out on all new Queensland Rail city trains from later this year. The announcement follows a successful Wi-Fi trial and the Queensland government will now spend AU$6.5 million (US$6.98 million) installing the technology in new trains. "The trial has been a huge success, the technology has been installed and is now fully operational on the test-train with customers able to sit, back and take advantage of the free internet on their journe

US company Progressive Insurance has received a fourth patent for system technologies used with its optional pay-as-you-drive insurance programme, a usage-based form of car insurance. U.S. Patent No. 8,090,598 relates, in part, to producing a driver safety score based on monitored driving data. Progressive’s usage-based insurance (UBI) scheme, Snapshot, is available in 39 US states and the District of Columbia. It creates a personalised car insurance discount based on customers’ driving habits.

Pierre Mongin, chairman and CEO of RATP has today inaugurated the commissioning of the first automatic trains on Line 1 of the Paris metro in the presence of Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, minister for ecology, sustainable development, transportation and housing and Jean-Paul Huchon, president of the regional council of Île-de-France.

SK Innovation and Continental Corporation have announced their intention to team up for powering electric vehicles worldwide. A joint venture is to be formed through which both companies want to develop, manufacture and market Lithium Ion battery systems for automotive applications. SK Innovation and Continental will have 51% and 49% of ownership respectively. The initial JV operations will be based in Germany and Korea; and the management team will be comprised of executives from both companies. The busine

Metric, together with US partner MobileNow, a leading provider of pay by cell parking services, has introduced what is being claimed as the first commercial parking payment service which allows a barcode printed on a ticket to be remotely scanned for the parking session to be extended.

TSS-Transport Simulation Systems, the developer of Aimsun and Aimsun Online traffic simulation software, is to open a new office in Sydney, Australia. Opening in early 2012, the office is located in Sydney's central Market Street and will be managed by TSS's consulting director, Dr Alexandre Torday, who has been the chief liaison for several Aimsun modelling efforts in the region.

Activu Corporation, a leading provider of IP-based visualisation and collaboration solutions for mission-critical command and control centre environments, is now an approved video display control system listed on Florida Department of Transportation’s Approved Product List (APL). The company’s solution was approved after successful evaluation against the rigorous and comprehensive requirements of FDoT specification 782-2.2.2 for Video Display Control Systems, and after meeting all compatibility requirements

APT SkiData has completed the installation of equipment that will manage and control parking for over 1,000 additional vehicles at London’s Gatwick Airport following the construction of a new short stay car park at its North Terminal.

Iteris has received an order for US$706,000 from Comet Electric to provide video detection systems and related communication equipment for the Omnitrans sbX Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project. The Vantage video detection systems will cover a 22.25km corridor across San Bernardino and Loma Linda, California. The multi-agency sbX project is the beginning of an intermodal public transit system in California’s San Bernardino Valley that aims to reduce vehicle congestion and provide the public with a cost effective

Hughes Telematics has signed an agreement with Volkswagen Group of America, (VWGoA) to deliver Volkswagen connected vehicle services beginning in 2013 that will bring to market a comprehensive suite of connected services for safety and security, convenience, and diagnostics, while offering drivers a new level of service and accessibility.

Daimler and Google have announced a deepening of their strategic partnership to provide Daimler with access to the suite of application programming interfaces (APIs) known as Google Maps API for Business for the use of cloud-based, map-related applications in Daimler vehicles and early access to other new APIs as they are developed. The collaboration will enable Daimler to use Google Maps for their in-car map displays, and significantly improve their ability to quickly and seamlessly integrate useful Google

Eberle Design Incorporated (EDI) has announced the relocation of its corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility to a new 30,000 sq ft premises at 3510 East Atlanta Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona. Telephone and fax numbers will remain the same. The company is recognised as a developer and manufacturer of component products designed to enhance and augment traffic control systems.

Verizon Wireless and In Motion Technology have announced what they claim is the first wireless mobile router system available for securely extending the enterprise network to the vehicle over the world’s largest 4G LTE network. The In Motion Technology onBoard system includes a mobile gateway that transforms vehicles into secure, mobile hotspots; a network management system that monitors network health and communications; and a mobile-optimised VPN server providing end-to-end security.