News

Swarco Traffic is sponsoring the Institute of Highway Engineers (IHE) Professional Certificate in Traffic Signal Control, a two-part course that enhances the knowledge and understanding of traffic control schemes. The sponsorship is helping cut the cost for delegates to attend the course, to ensure more within the industry are able to attend. Part one, held between 22 and 23 March, will provide delegates with a broader knowledge and general understanding of the sector, while part two, held on 9 and 10 Ma

Poland's General Directorate for National Roads and Highways awarded CH2M a contract for the feasibility study for the expansion of the country’s 70 km long National Road No.8, which is intended to improve travel times for the 30,000 daily vehicles using the heavily-trafficked portions of the road. As part of the contract, CH2M will develop a corridor study, feasibility study (STEŚ), conceptual design for the selected best option and adjust the model functional and utility program. The feasibility study

Plans to sell the UK’s M6 toll road have failed, according to a report by the Financial Times. The road’s banker owners announced plans to sell the road in February 2016 and are now said to be considering refinancing the business after struggling to secure a US$2.3 billion (£1.9 billion) sale price. Opened in 2003 and operated by Midland Expressway, a subsidiary of Macquarie, the toll road was designed carry 72m000 vehicles a day, but has failed to live up to expectations, with an average of around 4

Swedish bus manufacturer Scania is to supply the Iranian province of Isfahan with 1,350 buses for public transport for Isfahan and four other Iranian cities. The first of these new buses, which are intended to improve air quality in the cities, will be in operation at the end of 2017. Air pollution in Iranian cities has steadily increased in recent years; in cooperation with Iranian authorities, Scania has developed solutions that ensure that local emissions are kept to a minimum with the current fuel qu

Smart motorways expert Mouchel has been appointed by AECOM to jointly deliver two of the latest schemes awarded by Highways England on their smart motorway programme, which includes the M62 Junction 10 to 12 and the M6 Junction 21a to 26, in a contract worth around US$3.5 million (£2.8 million). Both schemes are intended congestion by improving transport links between Warrington and Wigan for the M6 and between Liverpool and Warrington New Town, and Manchester for the M62, while supporting economic growt

Clean diesel technology is the best choice for mitigating NOx emissions in the US as part of the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust, according to the non-profit education association Diesel Technology Forum. In a presentation at the 2017 Energy Policy Outlook Conference hosted by the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), Ezra Finkin, the policy director for the Forum, highlighted why clean diesel technology is the best and most cost-effective choice for the immediate mitigation

During the 2017 Transit Bus Summit in Dallas, Texas Global Traffic Technologies (GTT) will discuss its connected vehicle platform and transit performance analytics, which it says can ensure transit vehicles adhere to published timetables and improve operational efficiencies through detailed performance insights. GTT’s industry-leading Opticom traffic signal priority system with built-in active schedule and headway management capabilities helps to keep transit services on time and performing optimally in

Smart Cities Council has announced named US cities Austin, Indianapolis, Miami, Orlando and Philadelphia as the five winners of the Smart Cities Council Readiness Challenge Grant program. Over 130 cities were involved in the application process. The winning cities will receive a tailored Readiness Workshop during 2017 to develop a roadmap for applying smart technologies to further innovation, inclusion and investment within their cities. They will also receive supporting products and services from Counci

Flir Systems’ next webinar on 16 February at 0700 CEST provides an introduction to its TrafiOne detection sensor for traffic monitoring and dynamic traffic signal control. TrafiOne uses thermal imaging to detect the presence of pedestrians and cyclists that are approaching and waiting at the kerbside or walking on the crossing. The 45-minute webinar will discuss the basics and benefits of Flir’s smart city sensor and we will demonstrate its rich set of features. More information and registration deta

Bike-share operations specialist Motivate is merging with bike-share technology solutions provider 8D Technologies, marrying Motivate’s operational and urban transportation experience with 8D’s hardware and software, enabling the company to deliver bike share systems and accelerate future innovation. Motivate manages many of the bike share systems in North America, while 8D Technologies powers nearly 40,000 bikes in bike share programs globally and already provides the hardware and software for many of

Volvo Buses has secured a major order for electric buses from Belgian public transport company TEC Group, which has ordered 90 Volvo 7900 Electric Hybrid buses and 12 charging stations to be deployed in the cities of Charleroi and Namur. The charging stations will be supplied by ABB. Volvo's electric hybrids and ABB's fast-charging systems are based on a common interface known as OppCharge, which enables the charging stations to also be used by electrified buses from other vehicle manufacturers. OppCharg

In a drive to prevent a recurrence of the VW emissions scandal, the European Parliament’s Internal Market Committee has amended EU car type approval to make environmental and safety testing more independent and strengthen national and EU oversight of cars already on the road. Type approval is the process whereby national authorities certify that a vehicle model meets all EU safety, environmental and production requirements before it can be placed on the market. The proposals would require national m

The UK’s Network Rail is installing red light safety cameras at a level crossing in West Sussex to stop drivers putting lives at risk. The new cameras will be equipped with number plate recognition technology, meaning motorists misusing the crossing can now be automatically identified and prosecuted by British Transport Police. These types of cameras were first introduced on Britain’s rail network in 2015 and, according to Network Rail, have since proven to be extremely successful with driver non-comp

Ugandan start-up SafeBoda has launched a ride sharing app, which it claims offers 20,000 safe boda rides per day. Bodas are a common form of motorcycle taxi, providing a popular mode of transport in Uganda and Kenya where the transit infrastructure is less developed. Cheap and efficient, they are able to move around the traffic congestion. However, with little or no formal training required, many accidents and deaths are caused by unsafe boda drivers. SafeBoda, started by a group including former bod