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Sustainable transport group Transport & Environment has welcomed the announcement by Violeta Bulc, the EU’s head of transport, of plans to develop a Europe-wide scheme to charge lorries and cars for using roads. Bulc stressed that the scheme would be optional, meaning that countries could opt out if they want to. She also emphasised that the fee should be based exclusively on the distance driven and should not be time-dependent, which would bolster more efficient use of roads. European countries curre

In a contract valued at US$1.8 million, Q-Free Netherlands is to supply Raytheon with automatic licence plate recognition (ALPR) systems for its Massachusetts Department of Transport (MassDot) all electronic toll system project in the US. The contract comprises Q-Free’s Intrada ALPR which automatically reads licence plate numbers from still images, together with Intrada VSR which identifies vehicles even if the licence plate is partially occluded, by matching the image to an earlier surveillance. The con

Manufacturer of emissions reduction systems, Eminox, is to take part in a US$4.5 million project to reduce NOx pollution in Hong Kong. The scheme will see buses retrofitted with the latest in emission control technology to help make Hong Kong a safer environment to live and work. Hong Kong’s Environmental Protection Department (EPD) aims to upgrade 1,400 buses with retrofit selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology to dramatically reduce NOx. A pre-qualification programme is currently taking place,

A total of 20 new digital speed enforcement cameras are to be installed at 11 locations in Singapore from March until the end of 2015. Making the announcement at a news conference to announce annual road traffic statistics for last year, Deputy Superintendent and Head of Research, Planning and Organisational Development Weng Wanyi said: “Traffic Police hope that with the cameras and sustained engagement efforts, motorists will understand the importance of keeping to the speed limits, will enhance their o

On 30 January, security loopholes in BMW vehicles equipped with connected drive technologies were revealed. Believed to affect 2.2 million BMW vehicles worldwide, these flaws in the software allow thieves to unlock doors and track car data through a mobile phone without leaving a trace. The Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) has long advocated for secure, open networks for vehicle connectivity. Vehicle manufacturers have argued that only closed networks can be truly secure. In fact, the loop

US transportation secretary Anthony Foxx has called for lawmakers to pass a multi-year infrastructure funding bill, saying the cycle of temporary extensions is killing states' willingness for road and transit projects. It has been ten years since Congress last passed a transportation funding bill of longer than two years. "Last year we sent Congress a comprehensive multiyear proposal, the Grow America Act, which included 350 pages of precise policy prescriptions and substantial funding growth, all foc

TomTom has updated its global maps, increasing coverage and improving features for all business customers. TomTom’s global map database now covers over 44 million kilometres and 4.2 billion people worldwide, and features full navigable coverage for 126 countries. Global map enhancements include the launch of navigable, turn-by-turn maps for Albania and Senegal and the debut of pedestrian maps for Berlin, London, New York, San Francisco, and Toronto featuring pedestrian-specific geometry, such as footp

A before and after study by the Norwegian Institute of Transport Economics, Transportøkonomisk institutt (TOI) of 223 speed cameras that were installed between 2000 and 2010 in Norway found a statistically significant reduction of injury crashes by 22 per cent on road sections between 100 metres upstream and one kilometre downstream of the speed cameras. For killed and severely injured (KSI) and on longer road sections none of the results are statistically significant. However, speed cameras that were i

American Traffic Solutions (ATS) has added another partner to its school bus stop arm enforcement portfolio. In addition to its current integration with AngelTrax, ATS and Radio Engineering Industries (REI) will now work together to offer a school bus stop arm camera enforcement solution. According to ATS, its CrossingGuard school bus stop arm running solution has proved to be extremely effective at reducing the number of vehicles that illegally pass stopped school buses. This alliance will combine

Sensys Traffic has expanded its presence in the Middle East with the award of an additional order for traffic safety systems worth u$1.8 million. The order follows on from a previous order announced in November 2014, and constitutes a further stage in a larger installation of traffic safety systems. “This order is evidence of the strength of our offering in the Middle East, as it follows on almost immediately from a previous delivery to the same customer. It also confirms our view of the growing leve

Twelve European road operators and authorities have teamed up with the European Commission in the EasyWay initiative to foster European harmonisation and interoperability of ITS through a range of projects on common standards and procedures. The EU’s Ten-T programme will contribute almost US$2.3 million to the initiative, which follows up the on-going European ITS Platform and will continue its activities towards ITS harmonisation across the continent. The EIP+ project will monitor the EasyWay deplo

The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) has applauded Governors Beshear (Kentucky) and Kasich (Ohio) following their announcement that they plan to use tolls to pay for at least part of the US$2.63 billion Brent Spence Bridge replacement. Brent Spence Bridge is a double deck, cantilevered truss bridge that carries Interstates 71 and 75 across the Ohio River between Covington, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio. Originally designed to carry 80,000 vehicles per day, approximately 172,0

Reno A&E (RAE), a subsidiary of Eberle Design has been awarded a US patent for its bicycle detection signature analysis technology. The patent covers a signature analysis technique that employs two sets of rules: the first for a bicycle which produces a signature having at least two peaks and two valleys when passing over a loop connected to the vehicle detector; the second for a bicycle which produces a signature having two peaks and only one valley when passing over a marginal side region of a loop con

Speaking to representatives from the South African Department of Transport, the Parliament and the South African automotive industry at a working lunch in Pretoria, Clemens Klinke, head of German service company DEKRA’s automotive business unit, called for the issue of road safety to be given high priority. “Road safety is a key factor for the development of emerging economies. Safe mobility will be crucial for economic momentum here in South Africa,” he said. Klinke outlined the positive developments

Mobile ticketing provider Bytemark is to create a mobile payments infrastructure and smartphone app for the FutureRailway program in the UK. FutureRailway, a collaboration between RSSB and Network Rail, is the delivery team working on behalf of the cross-industry Technical Strategy Leadership Group (TSLG) to implement the Rail Technical Strategy (RTS). Once completed, the FutureRailway smartphone app will offer transport operators and commuters convenient methods for purchasing and activating rail ti

The Chief Executive of the Highways Agency (HA), Graham Dalton, announced today that he is leaving his post in the summer. During his seven years in post Graham has led the agency through a time of financial constraint and of growing ambition for the strategic road network. He has led the agency as it has established a strong reputation for efficiency, for delivering capital investment, and for operating one of the most intensively used road networks in Europe. Graham Dalton said: “It has been a priv

Espírito Santo governor Paulo Hartung is pushing for the construction of a US$2.69 billion railway that will connect sea ports in the south-eastern states of Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro. The proposed 550 kilometre railroad would connect Vitória and Anchieta ports in Espírito Santo to Rio's Açu port in the town of São João da Barra, and would be used for the transport of ore, according to one local paper. The project would contribute to Brazil's overall strategy to boost its commercial competitiv

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has set out final plans for the construction of Europe’s longest substantially-segregated urban cycleways, the centrepiece of his US$1.3 billion commitment to get more Londoners on their bikes. Subject to approval by Transport for London, construction of the routes will begin in March. Two continuous cycle routes, almost completely separated from traffic, will cross central London from east to west and north to south, opening up thousands of new journey opportunit

According to transport planning consultancy Steer Davies Gleave (SDG), the experiences of European cities like London, Milan and Stockholm show that implementing a congestion charging scheme has a positive effect on road user behaviour leading to a better quality of life for residents. However, it also poses challenges for decision makers, technicians, the private sector and users. In Latin America, where congestion levels are high and continuing to rise in its major cities, there is an opportunity to le

Self-driving vehicles are expected to improve road safety, improve the mobility of those who currently cannot use conventional vehicles and reduce emissions. However, a new report by researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) reviews some of the safety aspects attributed to autonomous vehicles and indicates that safety is likely to be an issue as long as self-driving cars share the road with conventional vehicles. Report authors Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoe