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The New South Wales government (NSW) in Australia has introduced six mobile applications for train users in Sydney to track arrival of trains in real-time using satellite information. State Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian unveiled the updated apps that will have the real-time capability, making use of markers on stations that will receive information from trains, and then pass it on to the apps. Funded by the state government, one of the apps gives voice-over notification to remind users to exit

In an effort to reduce congestion and improve passenger flow at railway stations in the Netherlands, Danish software company Blip Systems and Dutch railway consultants NPC have teamed up to monitor passenger movements using Bluetooth and wi-fi tracking. In an eight-week study at Groningen railway station, Blip Systems has installed 22 of its BlipTrack sensors which anonymously detect wi-fi and Bluetooth-enabled devices such as mobile phones and laptops. The sensors will monitor passengers and transmit the

The operation of the UK’s innovITS-ADVANCE facility, dedicated to the testing and demonstration of cooperative vehicle infrastructure systems, has been transferred to automotive design and development organisation MIRA. The transition is being made to provide the most sustainable future for this important ITS resource and assure its continuing success. In the five years since its inception, innovITS-ADVANCE has delivered a world class facility that is purpose-built for testing telematics systems. The comb

The Rockefeller Foundation has announced a US$1.2 million, four-city project to support local efforts to build bus rapid transit (BRT) systems in Boston, Chicago, Nashville and Pittsburgh. In each city, the grant will support research, communications and community outreach efforts to engage and educate local stakeholders on the benefits of BRT. As part of its effort to transform cities, the Rockefeller Foundation's transportation work aims to encourage economic growth and improve quality of life by helping

In line with its maxim ‘infrared everywhere’, thermal imaging camera supplier FLIR expects to increase its sales within the automotive sector, particularly to companies like Audi, BMW and Rolls Royce, in order to boost manufacturing numbers and cut per unit production costs. The company has developed a new initiative with Mercedes Benz in which many of the car maker’s new S-Class vehicles will contain a FLIR thermal imager that will scan the road ahead, during the darkness of night, and alert when it sees h

A new source of traffic information will shortly be available to drivers on the central expressway in Collin and Dallas counties, Texas, with the implementation of the 511 system which will provide travel information by telephone and on the web. The system is due to be tested from the end of April and will be formally launched in the summer. The project involves several cities and transportation agencies that are combining their information for the first time. "The idea of pulling it all together at one l

Buckinghamshire-based Traffic Technology has successfully retained its traffic data collection contract with West Berkshire District Council. The company will carry out permanent traffic surveys from around thirty-three sites in West Berkshire, as well as ad hoc traffic and parking surveys, pedestrian crossing studies and journey time studies on behalf of the Council for the next two years, with an option to continue for a further two years. Data from parking surveys is used to inform future parking strateg

Three Belgian regions, Polis members Brussels and Flanders, together with the Walloon region, have agreed on a road user charging test project, to study the impact of such a tax on driver behaviour. The will use 1200 participants from different socio-economic groups within the Brussels Regional Express Network (GEN) area to asses the behavioural change that would be induced by the charge. The tests will investigate the impact on mobility, choice of routes, choice of modes, and will investigate the link betw

German car manufacturer BMW has teamed up with connected services specialist WirelessCar and its local service partner China Unicom to introduce BMW ConnectedDrive services to China. BMW’s services include emergency, breakdown, and concierge calls as well as remote door unlock, traffic information and further internet-based services. WirelessCar’s solutions are provided via its telematics service delivery platform (TSDP), a comprehensive off-board platform based on the open framework next generation telema