Global intelligent transportation systems market forecasts to 2016
Research and Markets’ latest report, Global Intelligent Transportation Systems Market - Forecasts to 2016 finds that one of the main trends witnessed in the global intelligent transportation systems market is the increasing Government initiatives. For instance, the US Department of Transportation is planning to conduct a real-world test of smart vehicles. This test will include vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication. In addition, under the Pennsylvania Community Transportation Initia
Continental focusing on LED headlight innovations
Used until now in vehicle exterior lighting primarily for daytime running lights, tail lights, indicators, automotive supplier Continental claims light-emitting diodes (LEDs) now provide sufficient luminosity to function as low-beam or high-beam lights as well in irradiating the vehicle surroundings.
LEDs offer numerous advantages over halogen or xenon lights. They are more efficient and offer a higher degree of safety. The light emitted by the LED is more like sunlight than other light sources and is t
BT to provide new EGNOS network
BT has signed a contract with multinational space service company Telespazio, a Finmeccanica/Thales company, to provide new network services for EGNOS, the first pan-European satellite navigation system. BT will implement and manage a high availability, ultra-resilient network to carry positioning data for safety critical applications such as those used in airline and ship navigation. The network will connect more than fifty monitoring stations, control centres and uplink locations - including remote areas
Chile plans feasibility studies to extend three metro lines
Chile's transport ministry plans to launch feasibility studies to extend three metro lines in the capital, Santiago.
The plans include expanding the north-south line 2 south towards El Bosque and San Bernardo neighbourhoods and line 3, currently under construction, north to Quilicura, according to transport minister Andrés Gómez-Lobo.
The other proposal is to expand further south line 4, which connects Santiago's eastern neighbourhood of Providencia with the town of Puente Alto to the southeast of the
Decision to suspend bus lanes “flawed and data deficient”
According to the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT UK) the decision by Liverpool’s Mayor and council to suspend all of the city’s bus lanes in a nine month trial was rushed through and based on evidence that was flawed and suffered from a severe data deficit. Furthermore, it could even deter other local authorities around Britain from introducing measures that promote public transport to ease urban traffic congestion.
The Institute believes that the evidence used by the Mayor and Coun
New radar-based detection from ISS
Image Sensing Systems (ISS) has added the Autoscope RTMS Sx-300 to its traffic management product range, providing accurate, advanced vehicle detection, and the ability to detect up to 12 lanes of simultaneous detection, reporting vehicle presence as well as volume, occupancy, speed and classification information.
The device provides a fully automated set-up feature that self-detects and self-calibrates detection zones, providing users with a simple and cost effective installation process.
The combi
ITF's 2014 Summit: ''Transport for a Changing World”
With just over two months to go until the ITF Annual Summit on "Transport for a Changing World" on 21-23 May in Leipzig, Germany, additional speakers are being confirmed day-by-day. Joining ministers from the Forum's 54 members and over 20 invited countries will be:
Bertrand Piccard, Solar Impulse. The initiator, chairman and Pilot of solar impulse, the project to fly a solar powered aircraft around the world, will deliver a keynote speech at the "Sustainable Transport for All" plenary session on 23 May;
Rear-view cameras ‘more effective than parking sensors’
Rear cameras are more effective than parking sensors at helping drivers avoid objects while travelling in reverse, but they don't help in every situation, a new Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) study shows.
The study, conducted with volunteer drivers in an empty parking lot in the Los Angeles area, indicates that cameras would help prevent more reversing crashes into pedestrians in the vehicle's blind zone than parking sensors. Surprisingly, cameras by themselves worked better than sensors a
Bulgaria to get Europe’s longest road tunnel
The longest road tunnel in Europe will be built along the new 65 kilometre stretch of the Struma highway in Bulgaria. Two tunnels, totalling almost 37 kilometres, will be built underneath the Kresna gorge between the towns of Blagoevgrad and Sandanski.
The 150 kilometre Struma highway runs from the village of Daskalovo to the Greek border and is part of the Pan-European Transport Corridor IV and the Trans-European North-South Highway.
The tunnels are required for environmental reasons and will be
Abu Dhabi opts for average speed cameras
Drivers in Abu Dhabi will shortly have to change their driving habits and refrain from slowing down as they approach a speed camera and speeding up once they have passed it.
By the end of the year Abu Dhabi’s main roads will have average speed camera systems, or point to point systems, that calculate the average speed of a vehicle between two fixed points.
“Everyone travelling here in Abu Dhabi has to make sure to drive within the speed limit,” Dr Atef Garib, a roads and traffic expert at Abu Dhabi Po
‘Intelligent transportation key technology enabler of smart cities’
New research by ABI indicates that by 2025, penetration of ITS technologies in smart cities will range from 20 per cent (autonomous vehicles) to 98 per cent (traffic management). With more than two-thirds of the global population expected to live in urban contexts by 2050, the deployment of smart cities technologies and intelligent transportation services in particular, will become key policy areas for local governments.
While numerous smart city projects are currently testing or deploying multimodal tr
Aberdeen opts for APT EV charging
Aberdeen City Council in Scotland has chosen electric vehicle (EV) charging from APT Technologies to support its aim to reduce air and noise pollution through encouraging the use of more sustainable and quieter transport modes. The contract also includes a three-year maintenance package.
The first installation saw eight double 7kW units, two wall-mounted 7kW units and one double mixer post with 7kW and 3kW power supplies installed into local authority premises to service fleet vehicles and give council e
Be our guest at Intertraffic Amsterdam
If you haven’t already registered for Intertraffic Amsterdam 2014, then do so now. It’s quick and it’s free until Sunday 17th March. As of the 18th March only invitations extended by exhibitors and media partners enable free registration and access. Without an invitation, visitor registration will cost €40 in the week prior to the show and €70 during show days.
Future Railway launches pantograph design competition
As part of the UK’s rail electrification programme, FutureRailway is launching a competition to design a Pantograph Dynamic Behaviour Measurement Device for use in Rolling Stock Maintenance Depots.
Currently pantographs cannot be run too close together and are limited in the speed they can achieve. Electric trains which can run at faster speeds whilst coupled together in multiple could improve both train performance and network capacity. Improvements in pantograph capability are thought to be needed to r
Global fleet management system market 2012-2016
TechNavio's Global Fleet Management System Market 2012-2016 report forecasts that the fleet management system market will grow at a CAGR of 26.66 per cent over the period 2012 to 2016.
One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the expansion of fleet size of commercial vehicles. The global fleet management system market has also been witnessing an increasing number of in-vehicle technologies. However, the increasing operating cost of vehicles could pose a challenge to the growth of thi
TomTom launches speed cameras service in Brazil
TomTom’s speed cameras service is now available in Brazil. The company has worked with MapaRadar to enhance the service, which will be delivered directly to devices as a hosted service, or via a server-to-server bulk feed.
Drivers will benefit from up-to-date warnings of nearby fixed and red light cameras, as well as speed enforcement zones.
Car manufacturers can easily integrate the world-class service in their in-dash and mobile navigation systems. Backed by OpenLR, the open standard for "procedure
Doha Metro contract awarded
A consortium led by Spain’s FCC and comprising Archirodon (Greece), Yüksel (Turkey) and Petroserv (Qatar) has announced that it has been awarded a US$700 million contract to build the Red Line, a section of Doha Metro.
The contract includes building three elevated stations and a 6.97 kilometre section and the construction of a tunnel.
The execution period is 31 months and the project will create more than 1,000 jobs, the consortium said. The metro is due for completion in 2019.
US Communities national cooperative awards traffic control contract
Tapco today announced it has been awarded a multi-year contract to supply traffic control products and solutions to participants in the US Communities Government Purchasing Alliance. Barron County, WI served as the lead public agency and awarded Tapco the contract after carefully evaluating proposals from other manufacturers.
This is the first time the US Communities cooperative purchasing program has provided access to a competitively solicited contract for traffic control and related products and solu
Canberra's speed cameras to be reviewed
Road safety researchers from the University of New South Wales Transport and Road Safety Research are to review Canberra's speed cameras to determine how effective they are at preventing accidents.
The capital's fixed-speed cameras have come under fire since it was revealed there has been an increase in accidents at intersections where the cameras are installed. The location of point-to-point cameras has also been criticised.
The territory has 33 safety cameras, made up of fixed-speed cameras, red lig
TRL provides expert opinion on A83 landslide
Following the recent landslide on the A83 in Scotland, the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory’s (TRL) Dr Mike Winter, head of Ground Engineering and Regional Director, was able to provide a rapid response when he was called upon for advice.
TRL has worked closely with Transport Scotland over the last decade undertaking research and offering independent expert opinion on the risks associated with the potential for landslides across Scotland.
TRL’s opinion was particularly sought on strategies for re-op