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The European communicating cars test drive along the Cooperative ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) Corridor spanning Austria, Germany and the Netherlands has reached its final destination in the Netherlands. Initiated by NXP Semiconductors, the test drive also included Siemens, Honda, Cohda Wireless, TÜV Süd and automobile clubs AvD and ANWB. The ITS showcase ended in Helmond following a week-long tour which began at the Electronica electronics trade show in Munich. The event saw a convoy of five Ho

TomTom has announced a multi-year deal with Acer, to bring its navigation technology to new Acer smartphones. Initial roll-out will begin with Europe in the fourth quarter of 2014. ‘AcerNAV’ is a turn-by-turn navigation application powered by TomTom’s navigation engine, NavKit. The new app enables users to navigate anywhere in the world, without extra roaming charges, and the ability to download any TomTom map for free.

Bus rapid transit has grown by 383 percent in the last ten years, with hundreds of systems in dozens of countries qualifying as true BRT, according to new data released by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. While costs vary across nations, BRT capital costs are generally less than ten per cent of the cost of metro, and 30-60 per cent of the cost of light rail. BRT can also be implemented much more quickly that rail-based transit, allowing systems to be created and expanded quickly t

RATP Group subsidiary RATP Dev and Saudi Public Transport Company (SAPTCO) have won a twelve-year US$2.1 billion contract to implement, operate and maintain the future bus network in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh. The network’s 103 lines will gradually enter service after two years of preparation starting from the launch of the contract. The network will be run using a fleet of approximately 1,000 vehicles and will include four BHLS (Buses with High Level of Service) lines, two circular lines, 17

The Mott MacDonald Grontmij joint venture (MMG JV) is to provide professional engineering design services to support strategic investment in England’s road network. The JV has been appointed on Lot 1 of the Highways Agency’s new US$7.8 billion Collaborative Delivery Framework (CDF), the country’s largest ever framework for the improvement of motorways and major A roads. The Highways Agency’s CDF is Collaborative working practices and knowledge sharing between designers, the Highways Agency, delivery part

On 18 November, key players from across the mobility debate took part in a wide ranging conference on Intelligent Mobility for Smart Cities in Brussels. The conference examined how intelligent mobility technologies will integrate into the everyday life of smart cities through the development of vehicle connectivity, automation and adaptive infrastructure. Keynote speaker John Baekelmans, CTO of CISCO’s Smart+Connected Communities, highlighted the crucial role that transportation will play in smart citie

The EU's TEN-T Programme is to invest over US$4.4 million in studies and pilot deployment of 115 high power re-charging points on Central European roads, to enable long-distance driving of electric vehicles and promote sustainable transport modes. The EU says Europe needs to adapt the road infrastructure to meet consumers' e-mobility requirements as the number of cleaner and more efficient vehicles, including electric ones, is increasing. One priority is to enable efficient long distance driving on an i

Hub Parking Technology has appointed John Lovell as the new managing director and CEO of its North American companies, Hub Parking Technology USA and Hub Parking Technology Canada. Robert Kempton, the current CEO of Hub USA is to become the general manager of the new Hub Latin American region. Kempton has 38 years of industry experience and has held a number of senior management positions, most recently as CEO of ZEAG North America and then of ZEAG Canada, which has been part of Hub Parking Technolog

The Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT’s) Automated Vehicle Location (AVL) and Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS) Program - designed and implemented by Delcan Technologies, a Parsons company, in partnership with Iteris - recently received the Best of ITS award from the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America). Honoured as the Best New Innovative Practice in the Sustainability in Transportation category, MDOT was recognised for the program’s leading-edge technology as we

SITURV, the transport authority for the Valenciennes city and region transport network, has awarded RATP Group subsidiary RATP Dev the contract to operate its Transvilles network, connecting 81 municipalities in its metropolitan areas of Valenciennes Métropole and Porte du Hainaut and their 350,000 inhabitants. The seven-year contract will begin on 1 January 2015. The Transvilles network has two tram lines, 27 bus lines, one future BHLS (bus with a high level of service) line scheduled for 2016, two corp

Santiago's public transport system is operating at full capacity, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said. Her comments come after a power failure resulted in the closure of three key metro lines on Friday, leading to the worst service disruptions in the subway network's history, forcing hundreds of thousands of commuters to find alternative means of transport. The shutdown caused Metro de Santiago president Aldo González to resign and government and opposition lawmakers have asked transport minister