Search

The US Department of Transportation (USDoT) is to pledge $15 million to two University Transportation Centres (UTC) to advance research and education programmes that address transportation challenges. Elaine Chao, US transportation secretary, says: “These investments in transportation research will help address our country’s congestion and durability challenges.” The University of South Florida will focus on congestion relief while Washington State University will focus on improving the durability of tra

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) could have value as the mainstay of inner city transport networks in future. “It’s pure speculation, but we are likely to see more segregated road networks,” said Chris Hayhurst, European consulting manager at MathWorks. For example, level 5 (completely driverless) AVs could simply be used to pick up and drop off people in the centre of a town. “In an inner city where there are no conventional cars at all it could have huge value,” he added. Hayhurst spoke to ITS Internat

Union Tank Eckstein (UTA) has introduced UTA One in Germany as part of its stated aim to provide a single toll solution for Europe. The company says UTA One allows transport firms to pay toll fees with one single invoice and offers single trip reporting, including an analysis of the covered toll routes of individual heavy goods vehicles. Currently, UTA One supports the toll systems in Belgium, France, Italy, Austria, Poland, Portugal and Spain. The solution is to be extended to include Czech Republic,

Lucid Vision Labs has launched its Atlas 12.3 MP and 31.4 MP cameras over 5GBase-T PoE which it says can be used for ITS and traffic applications. Rod Barman, founder and president at Lucid, says: “The 5GBase-T Atlas camera hits the sweet spot of faster frame rates, small size and excellent price-performance.” According to Lucid, the 5GBase-T Ethernet interface offers similar bandwidth as CameraLink, allowing the use of standard CAT5e and CAT6 cables up to 100 metres. Atlas supports large format APS-

Heathrow Airport is to introduce an ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) for passenger cars and all private hire vehicles in 2022. The project is seeking to tackle air pollution and reduce congestion by encouraging more people to use sustainable ways of getting to and from the London airport. The ULEZ will introduce minimum vehicle emissions standards for vehicles entering car parks or drop-off areas at all terminals. Initial proposals for the ULEZ could set the charge figure at £10-15, in line with cha

Uber is to launch a helicopter service in New York City which is expected to offer flights from Lower Manhattan to Kennedy International Airport in eight minutes. A New York Times report says the average flight on the Uber Copter will cost $200-225 per person and include ground transportation on both ends of the trip. Eric Allison, head of Uber Elevate - the ride-hailing firm’s aerial division - says: “Our plan is to eventually roll out Uber Copter to more Uber customers and to other cities, but we want

Urban road safety is a key problem in Europe, an issue that needs to be addressed as a priority. That is the finding of a new report by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC). The ETSC’s report reveals that road deaths on urban roads decreased at around half the rate of those on rural roads over the period 2010-2017. The report also shows that vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, account for 70% of those killed and seriously injured on urban roads. Dovilė Adminait

Lindsay has launched TAU-M, a partially reusable crash cushion which it says performs to Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) standards when installed in asphalt and concrete. TAU-M is expected to help shield temporary, work zone and permanent hazards. The solution includes durable slider panels, free-standing backstops for concrete and asphalt systems, non-proprietary transitions for bi-directional traffic applications and a shift in the placement of anchor points for easier access. Additional

The Netherlands’ famous love of bicycles could be a problem when it comes to the deployment of autonomous vehicles there. And there might be other obstacles, finds Ben Spencer Of all the countries on the planet, the Netherlands is most ready to start deploying autonomous vehicles (AVs), according to a survey by KPMG earlier this year. On the face of it, this is good news: coming first out of 25 countries listed in the Autonomous Vehicles Readiness Index (AVRI) for the second consecutive year puts the Du

International ITS experts flocked to Russia for a new conference on the challenges of urban transit. Eugene Gerden reports from Moscow The Leaders in Urban Transportation Summit is a new international conference organised by the Moscow Department of Transport and Road Infrastructure Development. Dedicated to the latest developments in the field of ITS in the city of Moscow, it took place in the Moskva-Citi Business Center in April – and the intention is to make it an annual event. Senior transport o

Moscow summit urges transit change

The Royal College of Art is a design powerhouse, and researcher Artur Mausbach is turning his attention to what future mobility will look – and feel – like. Adam Hill finds out more The name Royal College of Art (RCA) does not immediately bring to mind images of industrial design. But past alumni of this prestigious London institution include vacuum cleaner king James Dyson as well as that former enfant terrible of the artistic world, Tracey Emin: the RCA has always had a foot in both camps. And now it

ITS International’s third MaaS Market conference in London provoked lively discussions about micromobility, AVs, the stupidity of car drivers - and Star Trek. Adam Hill was taking notes…

Just prior to resigning as Conduent Transportation CEO, Mick Slattery talked to Adam Hill about the importance of digital and how tech can transform ITS. "I am not a career public sector person,” declares Mick Slattery, chief executive officer of Conduent Transportation, at the beginning of his interview with ITS International. “I am not a career transportation person. I am new to this industry, effective August last year. At my core I’ve spent my career creating and launching new opportunities for clie

Last week’s ITS America 28th Annual Meeting & Expo saw some of the ITS industry’s biggest players gathering in Washington, DC. ITS International produced three Daily News magazines at the show, covering launches, deals, products and highlights from a packed speaker programme. For all the stories and digital editions of the Daily News, go to: www.itsamericalive.com

Mott Macdonald and its joint venture partners have completed the Sydney Metro Northwest, an autonomous train service available for commuters in the Australian city. Delivering 36km of new metro rail, the AUS$8.3 billion (£4.5bn) project is expected to improve travel times and increase the reliability of trains. It also comprises eight new stations from the Epping suburb to Tallawong railway station, five upgraded stations and 4,000 commuter car parking spaces. Mott Macdonald worked with engineering compan

Technology company Vitronic is to deploy 500 traffic control systems to the Kingdom of Morocco in a bid to improve safety in the region. Vitronic will work with its local partner Alomra Group International to install its Poliscan laser systems in 12 regions and their metropolises such as Casablanca, Rabat and Marrakesh. The technology is expected to provide speed enforcement and to monitor traffic light intersections. The company says it will supply its Compact City Housing solution throughout the countr

The Department of Information Technology (DIT) in Russia is to implement an agreement between Moscow’s mayor Alexey Kornya and mobile network operator MTS to trial 5G technologies. Eduard Lysenko, head of DIT, says: “Moscow is setting itself the task of reducing operator expenditure on creating infrastructure for the commercial launch of 5G by removing administrative barriers." Kornya and MTS will also seek to pilot projects involving virtual and augmented reality, Internet of Things and smart city techn

Swarco Traffic is to provide traffic solutions and smart technologies to deliver parking guidance across the University of Warwick’s campus in the UK city of Coventry. Tony Gillings, project manager at Swarco Traffic, says the technologies will “help the University to effectively manage its car parks and provide university staff and visitors with the necessary guidance and information they need to park safely and efficiently”. Swarco Traffic will supply an initial 42 parking guidance signs to display par

Mobility company Skedgo has partnered with software firm Fluidtime to expand its Mobility as a Service (MaaS) offering. SkedGo says its mobility platform can combine all public, commercial and private transport modes into smart trip chains, with priority settings for time, carbon and money. Fluidtime’s mobility solution, Fluidhub, is aimed at helping cities and public transport companies install and operate integrated mobility services. Speaking to ITS International, John Nuutinen, SkedGo's chief busin