News

A high price tag was the biggest disincentive for majority of over a third (37 per cent) of surveyed motorists when it came to considering buying an electric car, a recent survey run by TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk reveals. In second place with 29 per cent was the limited range that electric cars offer compared to conventional, internal combustion engine cars. A lack of charging facilities (20 per cent), concerns about the car’s battery lifespan (11 per cent) and a lack of model choice (three per cent) also co

According to independent research conducted by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), products powered by TomTom’s HD Traffic reduce average drive times by 13 per cent and up to 30 per cent in congested areas. HD Traffic is the company’s real-time traffic technology and is used in products ranging from portable navigation devices (PNDs), smartphones, automobile infotainment systems, and government traffic management centres. In addition to reduced commute times, the study showed that TomTom outperforms the comp

Securing sufficient funding to complete truly European infrastructure projects is the major challenge lying ahead of EP's three co-rapporteurs on the Commission's proposal of a new funding instrument for Trans European transport, energy and ICT networks. The first joint meeting of TRAN and ITRE members to discuss the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) took place on yesterday. TRAN-members Dominique Riquet (France) and Inés Ayala-Sender (Spain), and Adina Ioana Valean (Romania) from the committee for Industry,

A public referendum held in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, supported a plan to make the city's public transport system free of charge. Altogether 68,059 people took part in the referendum, which was just around a fifth of all eligible voters in Tallinn. In the referendum, 75.5 per cent supported and 24.5 per cent were against the idea of free public transport.

Activu Corporation, a leading provider of IP-based visualisation and collaboration solutions for mission-critical command and control centre environments, has announced that its solution has been selected, as part of Florida Department of Transportation’s ITS initiative, for deployment at the Southwest Florida Interagency Facility for Transportation (SWIFT) SunGuide Center and the Sarasota/Manatee County satellite transportation management centre (STMC) in District One.

Yesterday, the industry-led initiative formerly known as SmartWay Europe was launched under the new name Green Freight Europe. Founder members of the group comprise over 30 companies, including multinational shippers, carriers, retailers and associations. The group aims to establish Green Freight Europe as the leading independent voluntary programme for improving environmental performance of road freight transport in Europe. The launch event took place in Brussels in the presence of European Commission Vice

International Road Dynamics. (IRD) has been awarded a US$1.345 million contract to provide a high speed weigh-in-motion (WIM) and verification system for a new commercial vehicle enforcement facility (CVEF) in Solano County, California. This system will be used by local enforcement personnel for selecting and directing commercial vehicles into the CVEF and by Caltrans for traffic planning purposes.

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the University of Oulu and Aalto University in Finland have analysed the financial statements for 2002-2009 of companies, public utilities, and municipal units that own infrastructure, including water services, as well as road, port, airport, railway and electricity networks. Owning infrastructure is relatively risk-free. The most profitable is the energy sector where the return on investment was about 13%. The average annual return on investment of ports was 10%. T

GreenRoad, a specialist in driver performance and safety management, has released details about UK fleet driving behaviour revealing that the most common risky manoeuvre is harsh braking; January is the most dangerous month and 11 pm is the most dangerous time to drive. By analysing driver performance data GreenRoad discovered that HGV truck drivers are the safest, followed by cars, vans and buses. By contrast, speeding is the most dominant unsafe driving behaviour in North American fleets, and cars are ope

During its Board of Directors meeting last week, ITS America signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the World Bank to formalise their desire to cooperate and exchange ideas about how transportation technologies that enhance information capture, analysis, communications, and sharing can improve surface transportation safety, mobility and environmental sustainability.

Zipcar, a leading car sharing network, has announced the exercise of its option to purchase a majority ownership interest in Barcelona-based Catalunya Carsharing, known as Avancar. The company operates a fleet of vehicles throughout the cities of Barcelona and Sant Cugat del Valles. The transaction is expected to be completed in early 2012, and builds on Zipcar's initial equity investment in Avancar in December 2009. With this transaction, Zipcar increases its percentage ownership in Avancar to a controlli

In a historic and unanimous vote, the Nassau County Legislature, Long Island, New York, has approved a contract with Veolia Transportation to manage the county's bus and paratransit system under a new public-private operating partnership to commence January 1, 2012. The value of the contract is US$106 million annually and makes Veolia Transportation the service provider of four of the top five largest transit contracts in the US, including Nassau County, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and New Orleans. The company won

Thales has been selected by Andrade Gutierrez (AG) and CR Almeida to deliver its SelTrac communications-based train control (CBTC) signalling solution for Line 17 of the São Paulo metro. The new line will be driverless and fully automatic. The first phase of implementation is planned to support the 2014 FIFA World Cup, with completion scheduled for August 2014, a record delivery time of just 27 months. The new 18km elevated line will be built by a consortium led by Andrade Gutierrez (AG) and including CR Al

Nottingham City Council in the UK has placed an order for 200 Aura Elite pay and display parking meters manufactured by the Metric Group to replace their existing on and off street equipment. Metric, the UK’s only pay and display parking machine manufacturer, says it won the order against strong European competition. The first phase of a delivery programme for installation of the 195 solar and five mains Elite’s for on and off street parking in Nottingham will start before the end of the year.