News

Compass3D, the latest EU project, aims to prove the social and environmental benefits of cooperative systems by deploying services for road users, including drivers of buses, emergency vehicles, trucks, taxis, electric vehicles and private cars, to increase road safety and energy efficiency, while reducing the level of congestion in road transport. With a total budget of more than US$13 million, this new pilot project will involve 574 users and 334 vehicles in the deployment of co-operative ITS (C-ITS) in s

German vehicle manufacturer BMW, through its brand BMWi, is continuing its strategy of electro-mobility based on the needs of the customer by forming a partnership with French electrical equipment and energy management specialist Schneider Electric to create a recharging system for electric vehicles. The agreement includes supply and installation of a wall-mounted recharging station for the BMWi3 and BMWi8, maintenance and other services, which will enable drivers to recharge the vehicle in their own garage

Electric car owners in British Columbia (BC), Canada, are to benefit from electric vehicle charging stations to be set up in twelve communities across the province the provincial government. Environment minister Terry Lake said that a total of US$1.31 million will be invested to set up the stations, which will also meet the West Coast Green Highway agreement that BC has signed with three US states, in which charging stations will be set up along the Pacific West Coast, from California to BC.

Capitalising on its investment in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technology, New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is to install permanent dynamic message signs (DMS) along New Jersey’s interstate highways. The signs display major waypoints, such as intersecting highways or significant roadway features, and indicate how many minutes it will take to reach that waypoint. The DOT has completed the testing phase on fifteen DMS on I-287 and I-195 and is planning further signs on other major

As part of a plan to enhance asset management and drive efficiencies, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council in the UK has implemented street lighting software from UK supplier of local authority service management systems, Mayrise Systems. Supported by £400,000 worth of funding from the Department of Transport the council has developed a number of projects designed to develop a model for highway asset management, to be achieved through innovative use of IT and the continued delivery of safety schemes.

Keeping an accurate log of business mileage is made easier by a new app launched by TomTom; the new Webfleet logbook app for Android and iPhone helps drivers and businesses reduce mileage claim administration and creates reliable logs to help with tax compliance. A driver simply selects whether a journey is for business, private or commuting purposes, validating journey information on his mobile device. The app works in combination with the in-vehicle TomTom’s link tracking device which reports the trip inf

San Diego North County’s Interstate 15 corridor is best known for its flood of freeway traffic, not its mass transit stations. This is due to change next year, when the Sabre Springs/Penasquitos transit station, just east of I-15 on Sabre Springs Parkway, is set to undergo a US$12.2 million face-lift that will include a four-storey parking garage, electric vehicle charging stations, electronic next bus signs and even some smart parking spaces. “This will be our flagship station,” said Frank Owsiany, who ov

The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) is seeking public input as it develops the next version of the ITS Strategic Plan. A new document called An Open Dialogue on the Draft Focus and Themes for the Next ITS Strategic Research Plan: Engaging Stakeholders in Their Discussion and Development was released today and it identifies the ITS-related issues that USDOT will focus on for the rest of the decade. The current ITS Strategic Research Plan - 2010-2014 established a focused research agenda to prepare th

Work being carried out by the University of Toronto’s Intelligent Transportation Systems Centre could have a beneficial effect on the city’s congestion problems. Says Professor Baher Abdulhai of the Centre, "Everybody realises that we have a big congestion problem in Toronto and the scarier part is that it's getting worse, exponentially." One of the solutions he's working on is smarter traffic lights using artificial intelligence to control the flow of traffic. "Each traffic light would learn how to time i

Suffolk County Transit (SCT), based in Yaphank, New York, has chosen US ITS technology provider INIT to implement an intelligent transportation system (ITS) on more than 300 of their fixed-route and community transport vehicles. SCT provides public transport for over 1.5 million people over a service area of 900 square miles on Long Island. The contract includes an inter-modal fleet management system, onboard computers, driver terminals and onboard announcements. 10 percent of the fleet will be equipped wi

The City of Cologne, Germany, and IBM have completed a smarter traffic pilot to predict and manage traffic flow and road congestion in the city. The pilot demonstrates how the city of Cologne can anticipate, better manage, and in many cases, avoid traffic jams and trouble spots across the city using analytics technology. Germany’s fourth largest city, Cologne has a population of just over one million, is a retail centre, hub for trade shows and a cultural center with many museums and galleries. The increas

Iteris, US-based intelligent traffic management information solutions provider is to upgrade and operate the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) next generation 511 Traveler Information System. The company has been awarded a three-year contract, valued at approximately US$2.5 million, including two one-year options for ongoing operation and maintenance. Work on the project is planned to begin immediately. A component of the award includes IterisPeMS (iPeMS), a state-of-the-art system that a

Norwegian toll technology provider Q-Free has received a further order from Vespucio Norte Express in Chile for its OBU610 toll tags, valued at US$3.4 million. Delivery starts in May 2013. One of the first urban concessionaires in Santiago, Vespucio Norte Express is one of the most modern road connections worldwide. In operation since January 2006, the 29 km link is one of the busiest roads in the Chilean capital. It aims to reduce travel times, increase safety levels for users, contribute to urban develo