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David Crawford explores the technical background of Brazil’s First multi-lane free-flow tolling system. The 2013 opening of Brazil’s first fully-operational, all-vehicle, multi-lane free-flow (MLFF) tolling system in the state of São Paolo has set the scene for a new phase of modern electronic fee collection (EFC) deployment in Latin America’s largest country. It has toll programmes at both federal and state levels, with São Paulo – the most populous state, with the largest road network – leading in the awa

ABI Research’s Dominique Bonte talks to Jason Barnes about trends in tolling and how a wider appreciation of technology options is sorely needed. Global Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) solution revenues will grow to $8.5bn by 2018, with ETC becoming a main source of funding for both Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) and Vehicle-to-X (V2X) cooperative infrastructures, according to a new report from ABI Research (Chart 1). But, says the report’s author, ABI Research vice president and practice director Dom

A new generation of ITS equipment is helping road authorities get to grips with cycle safety – and not a moment too soon as Colin Sowman discovers. Cyclists - remember them? Apparently not. At least not according to the OECD 2013 report Cycling, Health and Safety which contains the statement: ‘Cyclists are often forgotten in the design of the road traffic system’. Looking through the statistics that exist (each country appears to compile them differently) it is not difficult to see how such a conclusion cou

The Swedish government has presented planned investments as part of its national transport plan 2014-2025, which is based on an infrastructure proposal from 2012. A total of US$80.32 billion is to be invested in the transport network, US$23.7 billion in the operations and maintenance of roads, US$13 billion in the operation and maintenance of railways, and US$43 billion will go towards developing the transport system. The government is to invest US$30.6 billion in new railway infrastructure, including

Brazil's Odebrecht group is planning to invest some US$18billion in infrastructure projects by 2017. According to CEO Marcelo Odebrecht, the company will invest US$4.5 to US$7 billion per year over the next three years and much of it involves concessions and public-private partnerships (PPP), according to local reports. Through Odebrecht Transport, the company will be investing in transportation infrastructure projects such as federal highway BR-163 in the mid-western state of Mato Grosso, Galeão int

The UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has scooped a prestigious Green Mind Award for the best Green Innovation project in Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The project, Investigating Recycled Aggregate Materials in Construction, aimed to reduce the amount of solid waste accumulating in Qatar and MENA and provide a practical solution for a cheaper and sustainable aggregate supply into the region. As a result, the Qatar Construction Specifications have been updated and a recycling target has been

As a result of the public consultation to consider route options for the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme, the proposed scheme has been developed in more detail and plans to toll the road have been dropped. Changes that have been made in response to feedback from last year’s consultation include improvements to four junctions on the route and an updated local access road been proposed between two villages. The Highways Agency has now launched a ten-week consultation period, which forms par

With its integrated transport information system (ITIS) in ruins and waiting to be sold for salvage, Kuala Lumpur’s government has awarded a contract to improve its traffic management. GTC Global won the US$62 million contract last year to bring ITIS back on track. The company was recently acquired by Telekom Malaysia. In 2002, a traffic surveillance system costing more than US$93 million was launched to gather, process and supply real-time traffic information to reduce congestion in Kuala Lumpur. It we

A week-long police safety operation across Europe has led to the removal from the road of some 4,400 trucks for dangerous defects. The action followed checks of more than 137,000 trucks across 26 countries on 10-16 February. Co-ordinated by TISPOL, the European Traffic Police Network, the operation saw police carrying out a wide range of safety inspections that focused on speeding, alcohol, drugs, seatbelt use, tachograph infringements, excess weight, dangerous loading and document offences. A total of

Delcan’s Cheryl-Marie Hansberger details how Georgia’s Towing and Recovery Incentive Program (TRIP) has improved road safety and helped to reduce traffic congestion in the metro Atlanta region. By 2008, steady increases in population had led the Texas Transportation Institute to declare Atlanta, Georgia to be the third most congested city in the US. In an effort to increase road user safety and mitigate the effects of traffic, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and its local partners have imple

Intercomp has integrated RFX wireless weighing technology with its AX90 axle scale systems to provide a cable-free operation with wireless communication to a variety of devices. Calibration is stored at the scale providing users with the ability to interchange all components. Alternatively, users are able to interface their own indicator to the scales using analogue output versions. Available in a variety of lengths, capacities and configurations to weigh anything from single to multi-axle vehicles, AX90

Siemens is launching a new range of traffic solutions, including the ST950 traffic controller, its Stratos traffic management solution and a complete range of above-ground detectors. The new ST950 traffic controller family represents the very latest in a long line of proven and highly successful traffic controllers designed and built in the UK by Siemens and includes a host of new features and new levels of accessibility and safety to the market. Integral UTMC OTU, 4-stream MOVA 7, easy to follow web sty

Highway Resource Solutions has expanded its Intellicone product range to include Intellicone Traffic Management Unit (TMU) and Intellicone Sentry. The TMU system enables traffic management staff to detect breaches at remote barriers and relay this to Intellicone portable site alarms within a work site. When combined with Intellicone enabled Dorman cone lamps, this helps create safer working environments. The Intellicone Sentry, a rapidly deployable ultrasonic beam sensor, detects vehicles breaching

Secure entrance control specialist Automatic Systems has expanded its range of pedestrian access SlimLane speed gates with the new SlimLane SC (short cabinet) which has a smaller cabinet length of 1,274mm. Developed in response to the increasing issue of lack of space, it offers a compact solution without compromising on detection system and safety features. Security features on the SlimLane range are said to include a high-performance detection system based on a high processing capacity and a high-densi

Road pricing can have a detrimental effect on the mobility and employment levels of low income households. Colin Sowman talks to Floridea Di Ciommo to discover why. Since the road pricing and tolling were first introduced it has been acknowledged that such schemes could have a disproportional impact on low income households but a study in Madrid, Spain, has revealed just how regressive such measures can be. The findings revealed that the consequences of a proposed road pricing scheme would be a 17% increas

The latest variable message sign (VMS) from French manufacturer SES is fully powered by solar panels, making it possible to install a sign virtually anywhere without the need for cables or mains power. Ideal for many applications from highway to urban, the signs use high intensity LEDs in a choice of character matrix, line matrix or full matrix display and are compliant with EN12966 European standards. With a display height of 160mm to 457mm, the signs are ideal for large VMS to small lane control signs

The latest variable message sign (VMS) from French manufacturer SES is fully powered by solar panels, making it possible to install a sign virtually anywhere without the need for cables or mains power. Ideal for many applications from highway to urban, the signs use high intensity LEDs in a choice of character matrix, line matrix or full matrix display and are compliant with EN12966 European standards. With a display height of 160mm to 457mm, the signs are ideal for large VMS to small lane control signs

Veronet, the latest interface for traffic node control from Austrian engineering and software company Andata allows a completely new access to intelligent traffic control, for highly automated evaluation of optimal green and cycle times of any traffic situation and intersection configuration. Control algorithms for traffic nodes (node control objects calculate the best traffic control parameters such as turnaround and green times, taking arbitrary control targets in real time for a given traffic situati

The latest roadside cabinet developed by Ritherdon is said by the company to be the world’s first passive roadside cabinet. To ensure that the product performed as specified in EN 12767, two full-scale crash-tests were carried out on the product. The tests examine two parameters to define the safety level of the vehicle occupants at the time of impact: acceleration severity index (ASI) and theoretical head impact velocity (THIV). The car was crashed into the passively safe cabinet at 35km/h and 100 km

A year after it went live, Colin Sowman examines the technology used for Gothenburg’s congestion charging system and the effect the scheme has had on commuters. When it comes to long-term planning, the Scandinavians take some beating.The West Swedish Agreement is a case in point. Introduced in 2009, the Agreement runs through to around 2027 and aims to create an attractive, sustainable and growing region, and over that timescale the number of journeys is expected to increase by a third. Therefore the Agreem