News

American ITS solutions provider Iteris has been selected as part of a team to operate, integrate, and provide innovative solutions for Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) five traffic operations centres. Iteris was chosen as a sub-contractor by Serco to provide traffic operators at two of VDOT’s five traffic centres and general engineering services as requested by Serco. The centres monitor traffic conditions via cameras and other technology, allowing them to provide traveller information on road

Yotta DCL has completed its acquisition of Mayrise Systems, enabling the two companies to strengthen their asset management systems and services business in the UK and overseas. Yotta DCL, the highways technology arm of Oxford Metrics Group (OMG), has long been a business partner with complementary software and services for highways condition management and visualised asset management, as well as extensive highways surveying and consultancy services. Mayrise provides desktop and mobile software and IT servi

Cobra UK has launched its cycle scanner, which can be retrofitted to heavy goods vehicles (HGV) to aid safety for cyclists. The device was developed in response to the growing issue of cyclist safety, particularly in the London area, and uses the latest GPS and live video CCTV technology. It features a scanner and six sensors along the nearside of a vehicle to detect a cyclist and a live video camera to identify exactly what is happening around the vehicle. If a cyclist enters the nearside of the vehicle,

Hungarian navigation software supplier NNG is to supply its iGO primo software to European consumer electronics retailer Expert Italia, in a partnership that will see the software supplied with the Explorer Tablet, a special edition of the Android-based Samsung Galaxy Tab 2. Italian customers will now have access to a free edition of the iGO primo navigation software with the maps and content of 24 European countries. The turn-by-turn software comes with lifetime map updates and a wide range of NNG’s naviga

Rail Technology supplier Wabtec is to supply Herzog Technologies to provide with positive train control (PTC) equipment and services for Oceanside, California’s North County Transit District (NCTD) in a deal worth US$9 million. The contract includes an option worth an additional US$5 million. Under the initial contract, Wabtec will provide its interoperable electronic train management system (I-ETMS) equipment and installation for seven locomotives and ten passenger transit cab cars on NCTD's Coaster train,

The long-awaited overhaul to the Haifa metropolitan area’s public transportation system begins to take shape this week, as a portion of the extensive Metronit bus rapid transit (BRT) project starts to hit the roads throughout the region. Making use of approximately 40 kilometres of exclusive BRT lanes, the low-to-the-ground and high capacity Metronit aims for efficiency and convenience with its 84 efficient diesel and six hybrid vehicles, according to the Transportation Ministry. The first buses will appear

The first of the twin centres designed to promote common standards in electric mobility and smart grids on both sides of the Atlantic has been inaugurated at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago. The second Centre will be opened in the EU, at the JRC sites in Petten, The Netherlands and Ispra, Italy, in 2014. The launch follows eighteen months of dedicated work following the letter of intent for closer co-operation, signed by the JRC, the European Commission's in-hous

Engine oil manufacturer Castrol has partnered with TomTom to study the impact of stop-start driving patterns across the world. The study will uncover the traffic conditions in fifty key cities and regions around the globe, including New York, Sydney, Beijing, Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Moscow, Rio de Janeiro, London, Istanbul and Hong Kong. The report published by Castrol and TomTom in September 2013. Castrol’s studies already show that drivers can experience as many as 18,000 stop-starts every year.

A consortium comprising Indra and its local partners Esteio and Dataprom is to install an integrated monitoring system, Sistema Integrado de Monitoramiento (SIM), for the Brazilian city of Curitiba. The US$19.7 million project will expand the urban traffic management solution that prioritises public transportation throughout the city and equip it with new intelligent transportation systems (ITS) and an operations support system (OSS) for the city’s fleet of 2,500 buses. The project also includes variable me

Secure Interagency Flow (SIF), an American-based joint venture of French tolling companies Egis Projects and Sanef, are to build and operate the first full toll transactions matching hub in North America. The contract with the Alliance for Toll Interoperability (ATI) is for five years initially with possible annual renewals. The hub will work from constantly updated lists of participating toll operators' accounts to match transactions of other account holders.

Star-RFID, a Thailand-based RFID tag manufacturer and RFID hardware provider Star Systems International, have launched their new Star Venus windshield RFID tag designed specifically for automatic vehicle identification applications such as e-tolling, electronic vehicle registration, parking, secure access, and fleet management. The tag is designed and tuned to work while attached to a vehicle's windshield and constructed to provide reliable reading for years, even in extreme weather and driving environments

According to Paris-based Sesame Active System, close to 60 per cent of all European long-distance light commercial vehicles return empty to base. The company has developed its pan-European Express-online platform to provide a real time online matching service between vehicle journeys and the demand for express freight deliveries across thirty European countries. Via the website, haulage companies provide details of journeys to be made by empty vehicles, while freight forwarders provide information on the po

UK Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has confirmed a £1.2 billion order for more state of-the art trains to transform rail travel on one of Britain’s busiest intercity routes. The 270 carriages will be manufactured in Britain by Hitachi Rail Europe as part of the government’s overall £5.8 billion Intercity Express Programme (IEP). The trains will operate on the East Coast Main Line from 2019 and will deliver significant benefits to passengers, including boosting capacity by 18 per cent, improving trai