City of Palo Alto upgrades traffic management
The City of Palo Alto, California is to install what is said to be one of the first traffic management systems in the country to address the needs of connected vehicles.
Trafficware will implement a traffic data export system using its ATMS.now 2.0 and SynchroGreen systems that will allow the city to securely disseminate real-time traffic signal data to auto manufacturers using smart vehicle technologies.
The traffic signals at 100 intersections will be upgraded using Trafficware controllers, in addit
Swarco electrifies car sharing
Swarco Traffic Systems is to install fifty Park²Power compact fast charging stations in South Baden, Germany, extending the region’s electric car charging infrastructure to 100 stations.
Payment is based on credit card and NFC technology and the charging points can be used by both customers of the region’s ‘my-e-car’ car sharing initiative and other electric car drivers. Each charging station provides two charging points powered by certified green energy from a local hydroelectric power plant.
The ‘my
Telenor Connexion joins M2M World Alliance
The M2M World Alliance has added a new member, Telenor Connexion, to its operator coalition. The M2M World Alliance is a global partnership of telecommunications providers committed to bringing technology to market that will simplify the process of global M2M deployments. Telenor Connexion is a leading enabler of connected business solutions, with more than 15 years of experience in M2M/IoT solutions deployed across the globe.
New Zealand launches first road risk mapping scheme
Four cities in New Zealand are collaborating with the New Zealand Transport Agency and Auckland Transport in the urban kiwiRAP programme - a risk assessment process for urban road transport. The scheme begins in Auckland, Tauranga, Christchurch, and Dunedin later this month and is a development of the successful highways programme that has used crash data and risk mapping to identify where road funds are best spent to save lives since 2005, reports the Sun Live news website.
Cubic completes Sydney Opal Card rollout early
Cubic Transportation Systems has completed the roll out of Sydney’s Opal contactless smartcard ticketing system across all transport modes and connecting multiple operators and commenced operation and maintenance of the Opal system under the ten-year services agreement that is part of the original contract. The contract to build the new electronic ticketing system (ETS) – later branded as the Opal Card – was awarded to the Cubic-led Pearl consortium in 2010.
Highways England strategic business plan promises more smart motorways
Improved customer service, better planning and stronger relationships are at the heart of a five-year plan which sets out how England’s motorways and major A roads will be modernised, maintained and operated between 2015 and 2020. The pledges are made in the first Strategic Business Plan published by Highways England, which focuses on modernising, maintaining and operating the network, making specific commitments, including modernising core motorways and upgrading some of the most important major routes to
The bottom line - US surface transportation system needs major investment
The 2015 Bottom Line Report on transportation investment needs, released by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the American Public Transportation Association, estimates that to meet current demand it will require an annual capital investment over six years by all levels of government in the amount of $120 billion in the nation’s highway and bridge network and US$43 billion in America’s public transportation infrastructure. To meet the combined surface transportation
Infrastructure and the autonomous vehicle
Harold Worrall ponders the effect of autonomous vehicles on transportation infrastructure. For the last century the transportation industry has been focused on the supply of infrastructure to support the ever growing fleet of vehicles and the greater number of miles covered by each vehicle. Our focus has been planning, funding, designing, building and maintaining roadways. Politicians, engineers, planners, financial managers … all of us have had this focus. We have experienced demand growth since the first
iMobility Forum public consultation
Within the framework of the iMobility Forum R&I Workshop, the iMobility Forum is organising a public consultation, iMobility Forum roadmaps and contribution to Horizon 2020 Work programs and beyond.
The iMobility Forum R&I working group is currently preparing material for the broad open consultation of the proposed R&I roadmaps in order to provide the research needs for 2016-2017.
Through this web public consultation, which is open from 8 December 2014 to 12 January 2015, the iMobility Forum is seeki
Sorting sensible from shiny in tolling technology
Instead of always striving for the latest shiny toys Kevin Hoeflich of HNTB advises a 10-steps method for selecting the most appropriate technology. Amid the hype and razzmatazz surrounding the launch of Apple’s iPhone 6, the company also announced its new mobile payment system, Apple Pay. Built into the new iPhone 6, Apple Pay works at 220,000 merchants across America and is supported by major US banks and the big three credit card companies.
Peru lands second metro loan
Peru has secured additional funding for its US$5.8 billion Lima metro line No.2 project, which is due to be completed by 2020. Just a day after receiving a US$750 million from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Caracas-based lender CAF agreed to lend a further US$150 million, the third loan it has granted the initiative.
"This approval complements the support CAF has been providing Peru in the search for urban transport solutions," CAF president Enrique García said in the statement.
The L
San Francisco launches congestion management strategy
San Francisco mayor Edwin M. Lee has launched the city’s congestion management strategy to improve traffic flow and safety, especially in the South of Market neighbourhood where construction and growth remain the highest in the City.
The strategy outlines additional efforts the city could undertake, beyond traditional approaches such as the Interdepartmental Staff Committee on Traffic and Transportation (ISCOTT). These additional efforts include smarter traffic enforcement, better construction permitt
Croydon’s first pure electric ‘emission free’ buses hit the streets
Transport for London (TfL), Arriva and UK bus manufacturer Optare have introduced the latest electric buses to the capital’s fleet. The two Optare MetroCity buses are now in service in Croydon on a route is used by around 4,700 passengers a day.
The buses are the latest addition to Europe’s greenest bus fleet and will increase TfL’s experience and understanding of this relatively new technology. The buses have zero tail pipe emissions at point of use, resulting in lower overall carbon emissions.
Congress ‘needs a lesson in smart transportation’
Former US transportation secretary Ray LaHood says Congress needs to learn there’s more to transportation funding in the 21st century than building more roads and bridges. He urged smart transportation advocates attending the Smart City Council’s Smart Cities Now forum in San Diego this week to take their message to Congress. There are new people in Congress who are going to write a transportation bill, LaHood suggested, and if they don’t incorporate all of the smart technologies that the forum has
ANPR library identifies even damaged number plates
Vision Components' Carrida software engine is a powerful OEM Library, which is easy to integrate into existing security and surveillance applications, including access control, toll control and traffic analysis. The high-performance, hardware-independent software tool assures reliable high speed recognition of vehicle number plates.
Automobile industry explores passenger car connectivity
The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) has brought together key industry stakeholders and policy makers to review the opportunities and challenges related to passenger car connectivity. The conference explored how automotive connectivity technologies could revolutionise personal mobility, as well as examining some of the challenges faced in rolling out connected cars.
ACEA president Carlos Ghosn, European Commissioner for Digital Society and Economy Günther Oettinger, and Director Gene
Iteris webinar – maximise the value of NPMRDS
The latest webinar by Iteris, ‘MAP-21 Solutions: Leveraging NPMRDS for Performance Measurement’ on Wednesday, 17 December 17 at 11 a.m. EST will inform participants how to maximise the value of their NPMRDS data set.
As MAP-21 increases requirements for performance measurement and reporting, having the tools to effectively analyse transportation system data is a must. With the availability of the National Performance Management Research Data Set (NPMRDS) from FHWA, agencies have access to Big Data for th
AECOM-led consortium chosen as general consultant for metro project
Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) has appointed a consortium of four companies as the general consultant for the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro, the city’s first fully-underground Metro route and said to be one of the city’s most expensive transport infrastructure projects.
The consortium, led by Hong Kong’s AECOM Asia, includes other companies such as Japan’s Padeco, US-based Louis Berger Group and France’s Egis Rail.
A team of 26 specialists will work on the US$ 3.74 billion project, according to the
New Zealand upgrades crash analysis system
The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) has selected the New Zealand subsidiary of Unisys Corporation as the prime system integrator to lead the modernisation of the national crash analysis system (CAS).
Under the six-year contract, Unisys will lead the design and implementation of a new version of the CAS based on an open platform, which will provide the flexibility to integrate with other systems, departments and agencies. Unisys will host the CAS in its Auckland data centre and deliver the solution t
FTA says Highways Agency new name reflects importance of role
A government announcement has revealed that the UK’s Highways Agency will be replaced with Highways England and will be a government-owned company from April 2015. In support of the changes, the Freight Transport Association (FTA) has said that “the new name reflects the importance of its new role.”
In its first strategic business plan, Highways England sets out how the new body will deliver the Government’s US$23.5 billion road investment programme over the next five years.
The plan envisages spend