News

The synergy between two European transportation projects, the optimised CO-Modal PASSenger transport for reducing carbon emissions (Compass) and Optimising Passenger Transport Information to Materialise Insights for Sustainable Mobility (Optimism) has prompted the release of a joint newsletter to report their activities and findings. Both projects share common objectives. Through the scientific analysis of social behaviour, mobility patterns and business models they propose a set of strategies, recommendat

Driver risk management company DriveCam is to implement its DriveCam driver risk management and fleet management solution across Greyhound Lines’ entire fleet for a five-year service contract term. Following successful trials in its BoltBus fleet, Greyhound decided to deploy DriveCam across its entire fleet. Greyhound is now able to take advantage of DriveCam’s suite of safety and compliance services, reinforcing its safety platform. Using its Driver Science Engine, DriveCam combines data and video analytic

UK drivers with plug-in vehicles are set to benefit from a US$57.3 million funding package for home and on-street charging and for new charge points for people parking plug-in vehicles at railway stations. The coalition government will provide 75 per cent of the cost of installing new charge points. This can be claimed by: people installing charge points where they live; local authorities installing rapid charge points to facilitate longer journeys, or providing on-street charging on request from residents

Police cars in Laval, Canada have been equipped with dashboard-mounted directional traffic radar systems in a bid to reduce speeding in the municipality. The BEE III devices, supplied by MPH Industries of Kentucky, USA, through their Canadian distributor 911 Pro, have been installed in ninety vehicles, and, according to Constable Nathalie Lorrain, around 200 police officers will be trained to use the units. Lorrain said Laval police previously depended on hand-held laser units to be able to monitor speeding

Siemens’ dual function smart card has been awarded the MasterCard Transport Ticketing Award 2013 in the category ‘Ticketing technology of the year’ at the recent Transport Ticketing Conference in London. The award marks Siemens UK launch of integrated mobility and eTicketing, part of the company’s expanding portfolio of ITS and city solutions. According to the company’s business development manager, Andy Gill, electronic ticketing from Siemens makes it easier for people to switch between different means of

Israeli telecommunications company Accel Telecom has partnered with navigation and traffic app supplier Waze to launch Voyager, which it claims is the first standalone connected car smartphone device that can be easily installed in any car and operates using an existing phone number via a twin-SIM. The company says Voyager is a dedicated connected car smartphone device that provides drivers with a safer and superior connected car experience. The device combines android based smartphone technology with an HS

A new study from the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI) aims to review pedestrian and cyclist solutions on major roads, with or without a central barrier, where the permitted speed limit is between 70 and 90km/h. Reconstructing an existing road with a central barrier is primarily considered as a road safety measure which reduces the risk of head on collisions. A negative effect of this type of design is that conditions for cyclists and pedestrians become difficult, especially when

A $US30 million plan to improve transport links in the UK town of Worcester has been given the go-ahead by local transport minister Norman Baker. The government is backing it with US22 million of funding. The project will improve access to rail travel, upgrade traffic signals and make it easier to walk and cycle in the area. Intelligent transport systems which provide better information to bus passengers and road users will also be installed and a smarter choice scheme will encourage transport users to look

The Moovit crowd-sourced app for public transport information is now available in beta in the UK, including complete coverage across England, Scotland, and Wales. Already operating in the US, Canada, and Western Europe, Moovit is said to be the first public transport application to harness the power of the crowd, using real-time user-generated information to improve public transport trip planning and navigation. In addition to schedules, trip planning, and step-by-step navigation, Moovit collects and shares

The US Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s first hearing of the 113th Congress focused on the importance of infrastructure to the US economy and examined the role played by the Federal Government in ensuring safe, efficient, and reliable infrastructure. Chairman Bill Shuster highlighted how the quality of the nation’s infrastructure affects the lives of Americans in many ways on a daily basis, and how the Federal role in ensuring a strong transportation network is firmly rooted in the first day

Sweden’s supplier of RFID solutions for rail applications, TagMaster, has been awarded a major new contract by Alstom Transport in France to develop and supply RFID systems to Alstom’s signalling division. Both companies have signed an agreement that will see TagMaster develop a customised version of its heavy duty (HD) RFID reader which, together with HD ID tags, will be used to provide positive train detection functionality as a sub-system in the Alstom Urbalis communications based train control (CBTC) si

Officials in Texas and Oklahoma say their electronic toll systems could be interoperable in 2014. Chairman of the Team Texas Interoperability Committee Clayton Howe says the exact timing will be up to Oklahoma to decide but indications are it could be up and running by the end of the year. Interoperability will mean Texans will be able to travel Oklahoma's turnpikes and receive their tolls on their Texas accounts. Similarly, Oklahoma drivers will be able to drive on Texas tollroads and be billed to their Ok