News

TomTom has introduced the TomTom Traffic Checker, available, from today on the free TomTom MyDrive app, to advise drivers of traffic congestion on their commute before they leave the house or office. The service has been created to provide personalised notifications on drivers’ smartphones so that they can understand if, and why, there is traffic congestion on their commute. In addition, the notifications allow the driver to tap through to the MyDrive app to see the fastest available route to their desti

As part of its measures to reduce pollution in the city, the City of Madrid is to take delivery of 51 hybridised Scania Citywide buses in June. These feature cost-saving and emission-reducing hybrid technology that meets the EU suburban and short distance Class II regulations. Madrid recently enforced tough temporary measures to tackle pollution, including limiting speed limits and banning passenger car access to the city centre if nitrogen oxide levels exceed acceptable levels. In parallel, the Madrid t

Australia’s National Transport Commission (NTC) has released Regulatory Options for Automated Vehicles, a discussion paper that finds a number of legislative barriers to increasing vehicle automation. The paper proposes that there are barriers that need to be addressed as soon as possible to ensure clarity around the status of more automated vehicles on Australia’s roads and to support further trials. In the longer term other legislative barriers will need to be addressed to allow fully driverless vehic

Members of the public can now register to take part in the UK’s first public driverless vehicle trials, due to take place later this year. The trials, which will take place in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, are part of the GATEway (Greenwich Automated Transport Environment) project – a US$11.5 million (£8million) research project to investigate the use, perception and acceptance of autonomous vehicles in the UK. Taking place in the UK Smart Mobility Living Lab @ Greenwich and led by the UK’s Transport

Kapsch TrafficCom subsidiary Kapsch TrafficCom Australia is to deliver the roadside tolling system for the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing (TSRC) Project in Queensland, Australia. The contract, awarded by the State of Queensland, comprises supply and operation for 10 years of the roadside system for TSRC and is valued at around US$6.6 million (€6 million). Kapsch will deliver its latest tolling technology based on the company’s single gantry multi-lane free-flow platform and next-generation vision te

The first international ConCarExpo trade fair takes place on 29 and 30 June 2016 at the Messe Düsseldorf exhibition centre in Germany, organised by the German Engineers Association (VDI). The fair will focus on key aspects such as automated driving and driver assistance systems, navigation and telematics, car2x communication, HMI, control and display systems and the components and systems required. Among the exhibitors in Düsseldorf will be such companies as BMW, Microsoft, TomTom, ESG, Vodafone, Contin

ITM Power has opened its first public access hydrogen refuelling station in London at the National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, the first of three UK stations to be deployed as part of the pan European HyFive project, which was funded by the European Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCHJU) and the UK Government Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV). Transport Minister Andrew Jones MP, who announced a US$2.8 million (£2 million) government fund to support the roll-out of hydrogen vehicles in

The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) will partner with ITS America to host a free Accelerating Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Deployment Day on 12 June during the 2016 ITS Annual Meeting in San Jose, California. The workshop is open to the public and will focus on accelerating deployment of advanced ITS such as connected vehicles and smart cities. It will highlight the USDOT's ITS program, discuss the nuts and bolts of connected vehicles, provide an overview of ITS funding and discuss th

Automotive manufacturer Nissan and multinational power company Enel are to launch a major vehicle-to-grid (V2G) trial in the UK, which will see one hundred V2G units installed and connected at locations agreed by private and fleet owners of the Nissan LEAF and e-NV200 electric van. By giving Nissan electric vehicle owners the ability to plug their vehicles into the V2G system, owners will have the flexibility and power to sell stored energy from their vehicle battery back to the National Grid. The annou

The Kapsch TrafficCom all-electronic toll (AET) system at the Tappan Zee Bridge went live and began collecting toll revenue on 24 April in South Nyack, on the 570-mile New York State Thruway. Kapsch installed this multi-lane free-flow AET system for the New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA), which operates and manages the bridge, over the winter after the system successfully passed a series of commissioning and integration tests. The on-schedule opening of these tolled, cashless traffic lanes elimi

Global Traffic Technologies (GTT) will focus on the benefits of intelligent traffic signal solutions for emergency vehicles at emergency medical services congress EMS2016, to be held in Copenhagen from 30 May to 1 June. The company will discuss using pre-emption priority control systems, technology to give emergency vehicles priority at signal-controlled intersections, allowing first responders to respond to incidents faster and more safely. In addition, on 31 May, GTT's market and development direct

From 2025, all new public transport buses operating in the Netherlands will be zero-emission vehicles, following an agreement signed by Environment Minister Sharon Dijksma with the country’s transport operators that all public transport buses coming into service from 2025 will be electric and hydrogen-powered. The provinces of Noord-Brabant and Limburg have already laid the foundations for this agreement, as bus companies in those two provinces will have switched completely to electric vehicles within a

Drivers who use cellphones while driving will soon face tougher penalties in British Columbia, Canada, after the government announced significantly higher fines, more penalty points and earlier interventions for repeat offenders, including driving prohibitions, as part of its push to eliminate distracted driving, a leading factor in deaths on BC roads. Effective from 1 June, the current penalty of $167 for distracted driving will increase to $543 for a first offence ($368 base fine, plus $175 in penalty

Copenhagen has been hailed as the most ‘vital’ city in a new study as a result of its strong sustainability, cycling and mobility credentials. The Future Spaces Foundation’s study, Vital Cities: Transport Systems Scorecard, an interactive data hub, awards connectivity ratings to twelve cities across the world. The research looks at key factors that make cities thrive, for example breathability, bike and foot networks, use of data and apps, ranking each city based on its performance across more than 30