News

Verizon Communications and Hughes Telematics have announced a definitive merger agreement under which Verizon will acquire Hughes Telematics for a total of US$612 million. Verizon says the transaction will expand its capabilities in the automotive and fleet telematics marketplace and accelerate growth in key vertical segments. Hughes offers a portfolio of services through its commercial fleet, aftermarket and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) offerings as well products and services for health providers

A school bus stop arm pilot programme undertaken in Volusia County in Florida has revealed the level of drivers illegally passing stopped school buses when the stop arm is extended and children are boarding or disembarking. During a 29 day pilot period, cameras on just one of the county's 229 buses captured a total of 71 violations. The pilot results also showed that eight out of every 10 violations occurred between 1:00pm and 3:00pm with 67 per cent of the violations occurring on either Tuesday or Wednesda

Adaptive Display Solutions has announced that it has supplied a new generation of LED traffic signs to Virginia Department of Transportation (VDoT). The company supplied its 8700 Series 9 Rows x 18 columns signs that could house the NTCIP controller, redundant power supplies, and wireless communication modem with easy access from the front of the sign for servicing.

Norwegian researchers from Norsk Regnesentral say they have developed a system to calculate traffic flows based on a relatively small number of satellite images. The system, SatTrafikk, is ready for testing and the goal is that the road administration will start using the system within a couple of years to improve the traffic planning.

Bartco, a traffic management company based in Melbourne, Australia, has won a US$1.92 million contract to supply portable variable message signs (VMS) to Transport for London (TfL) for use during the Olympic Games. Some 200 signs display both directional and security advice to motorists about road conditions during the Olympics, as well as the management of special Olympic Route Network traffic lanes.

Volvo Trucks has announced it is running successful field tests with vehicles powered by bio-DME, a fuel that can be produced cost- and energy-efficiently from biomass. Since last autumn, ten specially adapted Volvo trucks have been operating on Swedish roads using the fuel which reduces carbon emissions by 95 per cent compared with conventional diesel. The field tests have now reached the halfway point and the results so far have both met, and exceeded, expectations.

Parsons Brinckerhoff has named Anas A. Kassem operations manager of the company's Middle East and North Africa region. Kassem previously served as general manager of the company’s operations in Kuwait and has been with PB for more than 23 years, over 15 of them working in the Middle East with clients that have included Kuwait's Ministry of Public Works, Qatar's Public Works Authority and the Saudi Royal Committee for Al Haram Expansion.

Embarq, the World Resources Institute’s centre for sustainable transport, has released the draft “Traffic Safety on Bus Corridors” guidelines to improve traffic safety worldwide. Based on more than two years of research, the guidelines are part of the Road Safety in 10 Countries (RS10) project, funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Asseco Poland has ordered 109 Hoeft & Wessel Almex.station ticket vending machines for bus and tram stops of the municipal transit association of the industrial region of Upper Silesia headquartered in the city of Katowice (KZK GOP Komunikacyjny Zwiazek Komunalny Górnoslaskiego Okregu Przemyslowego). These units are part of a project for the introduction of a new smart card featuring RFID technology.