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Washington Metro has joined Chicago and New York in making plans to accept contactless bank payment cards at the turnstile, as a mass-market switch to EMV-based chip cards appears increasingly likely. Washington Metro has awarded Accenture a US$184 million contract to replace the existing fare collection systems for Metrorail, Metro-operated parking facilities, Metrobus and MetroAccess services. The new system will enable passengers to continue to use existing SmarTrip cards, while expanding fare paym

The first smart motorway scheme in the UK’s south west has been officially launched, covering seven miles of motorway around the Almondsbury interchange and including junctions 19-20 on the M4 and junctions 15-17 on the M5. It is designed to help reduce congestion and improve safety and journey times by introducing variable speed limits and opening the hard shoulder during busy traffic periods. The improvements to the M4 and M5 use a range of technologies and operational systems to reduce congestion and

An expanded portfolio and increased development over the past few years has prompted Nedap AVI (Automatic Vehicle Identification) to change its name to Nedap Identification Systems. From specialising in long-range RFID solutions for vehicle and driver identification, the company’s portfolio now includes long-range identification of people in and around buildings, wireless vehicle detection sensors for on-street parking guidance and remote management of vehicle entrance points to restricted city zones.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has released the first draft of its five-year MassDOT Capital Investment Plan (CIP) for FY2014-FY2018. The US$12.4 billion program makes long-term investments and represents the first unified, multi-modal capital investment plan covering all MassDOT highway and municipal projects, regional airports, rail and transit, including the MBTA and Regional Transit Authorities. The proposal, which must be approved the state's Department of Transportation

On 13 and 14 November 2013, international road safety experts from more than forty countries met at the joint International Road Traffic Safety Data and Analysis Group (IRTAD)/Ibero-American Road Safety Observatory (OISEVI) Conference in Buenos Aires to discuss issues related to the collection and analysis of road safety data as a critical tool to design effective road safety policies. The critical importance of better data to improve road safety has led members to issue the Buenos Aires Declaration on B

Inrix is to partner with BMW with the introduction of what is said to be the industry's first in-car intermodal navigation system. Debuting in BMW ConnectedDrive systems in the new i3 and i8 electric vehicles, Inrix intermodal navigation integrates local public transport connections into journey planning. The service monitors real-time traffic conditions, alerting drivers to faster alternative modes of transportation when major delays occur along their route. Upon selecting an alternative mode, the sy

West Virginia’s Department of Highways (WVDOH) has awarded intelligent transportation systems (ITS) provider Open Roads Consulting a contract to implement a video analytics monitoring system to enhance the advanced transportation management system (ATMS) deployed in the Transportation Management Center (TMC). Open Roads’ OpenTMS ATMS system has been deployed state-wide by WVDOH since 2008; the company says its modular and extensible architecture will seamlessly integrate the video analytics monitoring sy

In the wake of the December derailment of a New York passenger train that came off the tracks as it sped too fast into a turn, the Maryland Board of Public Works has approved a US$13 million contract to begin installing positive train control equipment, which uses GPS and radio signalling to react automatically if a collision or derailment is anticipated.

According to a new report from Navigant Research, by 2022 there will be more than 35 million electric vehicles (EVs) on roads worldwide. The report, “Electric Vehicle Market Forecasts”, provides forecasts, market sizing, and market share analysis for the overall light-duty (LD) vehicle market and LD EVs, plug-in hybrid EVs, and battery EVs.

Qatar’s Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has awarded include the contract for the design and construction of the first 45 kilometre phase of the ambitious 180k kilometre New Orbital Highway.

Finnish supplier of contactless smart tickets, Confidex, is supplying several million contactless smart tickets to one of Europe’s largest public transportation operators, Azienda del Consorzio Trasporti Veneziano (ACTV) in Venice, Italy.

According to the latest research report from research and Markets, the global intelligent transportation system (ITS) market is expected to reach $24.75 billion by 2017 at an estimated CAGR of 12 per cent. North America is seen as a market leader in the ITS market. This report deals with all the driving factors, restraints, and opportunities for the ITS market, which are helpful in identifying trends and key success factors for the industry. The report also profiles companies active in the field of ITS a

USDOT has released its new ITS ePrimer, a web-based textbook on intelligent transportation systems, providing transportation professionals, educators, students, and others with a series of up-to-date, web-based modules describing key ITS topics, with a multi-modal perspective. The ITS ePrimer replaces the Intelligent Transportation Primer first published in 2000 in collaboration with the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and ITS America. Public and private agencies and educational institutions

Volkswagen is to expand adoption of Inrix real-time traffic information to all Golf models equipped with its Car-Net navigation service. Initially introduced in the 2013 GTI and GTD models across Europe, Inrix traffic information will now be available to owners of new Golf, Golf S, Golf SE, Golf Plus and the recently introduced 300 PS Golf R models in 17 European countries. The collaboration enables Inrix to provide drivers with insight into real time traffic conditions, travel times and the fastest rout

In a contract worth US$6.4 million, Finnish engineering firm Pöyry is to design the Vauhtitie underpass bridge, the opening of the nearby railway tunnel, and the road layout of the Vauhtitie area of Helsinki for the Helsinki City rail loop. In addition, Pöyry's water maintenance network designers will design the pipe and cable transfers required by the rail loop. Pöyry architects are also involved in the design of the Hakaniemi station and its road tunnels. The Helsinki City rail loop is a commuter rail

Officers working as part of the US Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s (CSVA) Operation Safe Driver pulled over 74,765 during the weeklong enforcement blitz in October, nearly three times the 2012 figure, the group said. Of those, 29,048 drivers were in trucks or buses, while the rest were in passenger vehicles, CVSA said in a statement on 9 January. Car drivers were cited or warned for speeding 56 per cent of the time they were pulled over during the enforcement effort, compared with just 7.3 per ce

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has inaugurated its traffic signalisation system (TSS), an advanced real time traffic management network that is expected to greatly improve traffic and pedestrian and commuter safety in Metro Manila. A new Metro command and control centre houses the system which features 25 new fibre optic high definition pan-tilt-zoom traffic control/video surveillance cameras and 36 45-inch video screens for traffic monitoring. MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino sai

US-based McCain has released the latest upgrade to its Omni eX intersection control software, which the company says expands traffic operations and communication capabilities. Usability improvements allow users to intuitively modify the entire database of timing parameters directly from the controller front panel. In addition, extra security features enable agencies to limit and track user access through unique logins and passwords. The latest version offers transportation agencies an even more powerful

Germany-based TÜV Rheinland has acquired OpenSky Corporation, US provider of information technology (IT) consulting services, expanding its IT infrastructure and security services in the US. Based in Tolland, Connecticut, OpenSky’s services enables large enterprises to streamline IT infrastructures, protect information assets and accelerate the adoption of strategic technologies. The company will continue to operate as a separate business unit, with the executive and management team staying in place und

David Crawford examines the political and industrial background to the tolling technology debate. Saving the US State of California ‘millions of dollars’ in tolling infrastructure costs by encouraging new technologies is the professed aim of a legislative Bill, SB 242, which is currently moving through the State’s Senate (upper house) process. According to its sponsor, Republican State Senator Mark Wyland, permitting alternatives to the current FasTrak-branded radio-frequency identification (RFID)-based sys