Search

A new report suggests that MaaS will be implemented more quickly in Europe than in the US – but why should this be? Ben Spencer examines the arguments

1999’s fatal Mont Blanc fire means safety is a constant concern for tunnel operators. Alternative fuels and automated vehicles were also high on the agenda at PIARC’s first conference on the issue. David Arminas reports from Lyon – and walks the Croix-Rousse tunnel More than ever, tunnel management must be done in a holistic fashion. That was the message from André Broto, president of the World Road Associa-tion (PIARC) as he kicked off PIARC’s first International Conference on Tunnel Operations and Safe

C/AVs and smart cities are still in their infancy. But Mike Warren suggests thatintegrating their data and services can create a co-operative relationship that improves safety, liveability and the economy for citizens The recent technological boom has led to two major public advances: connected and automated vehicles (C/AVs) and smart cities. While these are significant in their own right, when coupled together they create a new way in which citizens can access city services; live in safer, environment

A project to avert transport chaos in hurricane season and a programme which led to a huge reduction in road crashes were among the big winners in a new US awards scheme. The US National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE)’s inaugural Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) Awards were open to cities, counties, metropolitan or rural planning organisations, state departments of transportation (DoTs) and private companies. Patrick Son, managing director of NOCoE, says 60 entries high

Volkswagen (VW) says it will install more than 2,400 free electric vehicle (EV) chargers at 600 Tesco stores in the UK by 2020. The chargers, provided by public charging network operator Pod Point, will allow customers to use a 7kW charger and pay for a 50kW rapid charge at a cost which the company says is in line with ‘the market rate’. The chargers will be implemented at Tesco Superstores and Extra stores. Jason Tarry, Tesco CEO, says the deployment is part of a wider commitment to address environmen

Basler claims a single Ace U camera can monitor multi-lane highways. The Ace U Models feature 20 MP resolution and are expected to be suitable for the inspection of structures such as printed circuit board or display production. According to Basler, the U Models allow customers to use fewer cameras to achieve the same amount of pixels than before with cameras with lower resolution. This can also help reduce issues of image registration and mechanical alignment. The GigE models feature the in-camera

Mobility operator Transdev and bike-share company Mobike will offer ‘free floating’ bicycles to local authorities in France in a partnership to provide residents with a ‘clean’ last-mile solution. Transdev says 70% of local authorities in France consider the development of ‘soft’ transportation modes as a priority in the transition to clean energy. The companies aim to market the Mobike bicycles in more than ten authorities over the next year. Richard Dujardin, general manager of Transdev France, says:

Quantum XYZ is seeking to use SureFly’s eight-rotor hybrid ‘octocopters’ to launch an air taxi service in Los Angeles. SureFly, a subsidiary of US technology company Workhorse, is currently pursuing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) type certification for its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Quantum intends to submit an application to become a FAA-certified urban VTOL air carrier. The company’s president, Tony Thompson, says: “Once SureFly receives FAA Type certification, we

Australian technology company Seeing Machines says its monitoring system for autonomous research vehicles will help drivers remain alert and ready to take back control of driving tasks. The company says the Guardian Backup-driver Monitoring System (Guardian BdMS) was designed to improve safety for on-road testing of autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles. The retrofit solution tracks the driver’s face and eyes during on-road automated or semi-automated vehicle testing. It also tracks the driver’s on-

Quantum XYZ is seeking to use SureFly’s eight-rotor hybrid ‘octocopters’ to launch an air taxi service in Los Angeles. SureFly, a subsidiary of US technology company Workhorse, is currently pursuing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) type certification for its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Quantum intends to submit an application to become a FAA-certified urban VTOL air carrier. The company’s president, Tony Thompson, says: “Once SureFly receives FAA Type certification, we

Kapsch TrafficCom has upgraded a traveller information system in Texas to help transportation agencies in Dallas-Fort Worth optimise traffic flow. The new system will also provide travellers with real-time traffic and transit information. Kapsch updated the 511DFW platform for the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG). The company will maintain the system for two years and make improvements based on new data sources and customer feedback. The solution includes integrated applications such

Intrepid Control Systems says its NeoOBD2 Pro software development kit provides easy access for WiFi/BLE applications to available vehicle networks like CAN/CAN FD, LIN and Ethernet. Developers can use the open platform OBD interface for automotive enterprise Internet of Things and wireless car applications, the company adds. The company’s NeoVI Ion, an expandable vehicle network adapter, logs vehicle data and transmits it via cellular or Wi-Fi to the wireless neoVI server. Users can remotely download

The Pan-American Highway connects the US and Canada with Latin America, running for thousands of miles from Alaska in the north to Argentina in the south. Mauro Nogarin finds that one tunnel built underneath it is now providing relief for thousands of travellers each day On the Pan-American Highway, the lengthy series of roads which spans both American continents - from the US state of Alaska to the Latin American country of Argentina - ITS solutions are many and varied. One of these, in Peru’s capital

Glare from the sun is a factor in a large number of road accidents – many of them fatal. But there is a solution at hand: using polarisation can mitigate the effect of glare and improve ITS camera enforcement, explains Stephane Clauss The effect of glare on driver safety has been well documented. A 2013 UK study by the country’s largest driver organisation, the AA, calculated sun glare was a contributing cause in almost 3,000 road accidents in 2012 alone. This represented one in 33 accidents on Britain’s

Mobility services are a potential gold mine for data-hungry tech companies. That being the case, Andrew Bunn asks: what exactly happens when giants such as Google and Amazon decide to get their teeth into MaaS? There are many different perspectives on Mobility as a Service (MaaS), with many different views on what the latest and future applications of technology are going to bring to transportation infrastructure. However, there is one question that does not seem to come up at all. Up to now, MaaS-relate

Panasonic is at the heart of a C-V2X project which began last year in Colorado. The company’s smart mobility boss Chris Armstrong tells Adam Hill how it is working out Colorado needs traffic and transport solutions – and fast. The US state’s population has grown 50% in the last 20 years and another 50% hike is predicted in the next 20. It also spends more than $13 billion in roadway crash costs each year. In 2015, 546 people died in traffic-related crashes, and more than 3,000 were seriously injured.

Kirk Steudle, former director of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDoT), has been nominated to receive the IRF Man of the Year award. Established in 1951, IRF's Man (Woman) of the Year award recognises public, private and education sector professionals with an outstanding track record of leadership and commitment to the road transport industry. Abdullah A. Al-Mogbel, chairman, IRF, says: "This accolade crowns an exceptional career and a highly respected voice on innovation in transportation, at

Public transit is a huge component of US transportation, insists Mary Scott Nabers, CEO of Strategic Partnerships – and infrastructure upgrades have the potential to create thousands of jobs When it comes to public transportation, the US lags far behind other countries. Governments in Europe, Asia and Canada invest heavily in public transportation because it is viewed as an essential public good. The US government, however, views public transit a little differently and funding has been inadequate for d

Siemens Mobility is to deliver intelligent tunnel solutions for a section of the European route number four (E4), the Stockholm Bypass, as part of a €75 million contract. The 21km bypass will connect the southern and northern parts of the surrounding Stockholm communities. It includes 18km of tunnelling and is expected to alleviate congestion for residents and visitors. Michael Peter, CEO of Siemens Mobility, says the southern tunnel will minimise environmental impact. Construction is scheduled to be

Electric vehicles are widely expected to play a major role in the smarter, cleaner cities of the future. Paul Sernia explains why – and looks at the place of ultra-rapid chargers as part of a versatile public infrastructure Electric vehicles (EVs) are widely expected to play a major role in the smarter, cleaner cities of the future. With no dirty tailpipe, EVs can help improve the polluted air of inner cities. And when deployed as widely shared assets – through car clubs, ride-sharing services and taxi