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The Vietnamese transport sector has been a major recipient of Japan’s official development assistance (ODA) in 2013, receiving nearly US$776 million. A Ministry of Transport (MoT) report shows that, by the end of this year, eighteen Japanese-funded transport projects valued at US$2.34 billion have been completed and put into operation. Japan is currently helping Vietnam implement 28 other transport projects totalling US$7.42 billion, and working with other donors to channel approximately US$4 billion

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has confirmed that Transport for London’s (TfL) financial support to local transport projects through the Local Implementation Fund (LIP), will be held constant at US$240.8 million a year for the next three years to 2016/17. LIP funding has been protected through TfL's savings and efficiencies programme in recognition of the vital role the boroughs play in local delivery of the Mayor's Transport Strategy, despite a reduction in TfL's Central Government funding. Th

Fleet management systems (FMS) have an established presence in France, Germany, UK, Italy and Benelux, with 70 per cent of fleet managers claiming familiarity with FMS – 37 per cent are already using it and 33 per cent are testing it. In general, fleet owners display a positive attitude toward FMS, and 35 percent of respondents in a recent Frost & Sullivan survey consider it an absolute necessity. Large fleets are keener to adopt these solutions than small and medium fleets, clearly indicating a lack of awa

Within a broader review of US transport infrastructure securities, including ports and airlines, Fitch Rating analysts say the recent slow growth in aggregate traffic is likely to continue but that many established toll roads look financially solid because of their pricing power - tolls that have been well below revenue maximising levels. Their pricing power has been somewhat reduced, Fitch says, by strong increases in toll rates on many toll roads, which mean they have less scope for big increases in to

NFU Mutual, the UK’s leading rural insurer is urging drivers to consider the risk of ‘ghost brokers’ when insuring their car online. Illegal middlemen, known as ‘ghost brokers’, using fake websites that look very much like the real thing, are targeting people looking for cheaper car insurance by offering them products that are non-existent. The fraudsters are posing as legitimate insurance brokers targeting those people who are more likely to consider cut price insurance to help save money. Accordin

MarketsandMarkets recently conducted a study on the "Fleet Management Market (Fleet Analytics; Vehicle Tracking & Fleet Monitoring; Telematics; Vendor Services) By Vehicles (Trucks; Light Goods; Buses; Corporate Fleets; Container Ships; Aircrafts) Worldwide Market Forecasts and Analysis (2013 - 2018)", which analysed and studied the major market drivers, restraints and opportunities in North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa. The study indicates that the fleet manageme

Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed the National Wealth Fund (NWF) to allot US$6.07 billion for infrastructure projects involving the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). The RDIF has already selected eleven transport infrastructure projects involving ports, toll roads, metro, telecommunications including trunk lines to scarcely populated areas and a Europe - Asia fibre optic line, power energy and water supply.

Recent Plugtests interoperability events for intelligent transport systems (ITS) cooperative systems organised by European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), in collaboration with Ertico, enabled participating automotive companies to test the interoperability of their solutions. They also ran tests to assess their compliance with the latest standards developed by the ETSI ITS technical committee. Hosted by consulting and testing organisation CETECOM, the event included a workshop on future persp

The VTT Technical Research Centre in Finland is involved in an extensive international Drive C2X project that tests and develops intelligent transport solutions, aimed at improving safety and efficiency in road traffic and reducing the carbon footprint of motoring. The project includes large-scale testing of inter-vehicle communication and communication between vehicles and the roadside infrastructure system. The tests are being carried out using cars from Mercedes-Benz, Opel and Volvo in slippery and deman

On-street trials of AGD Systems’ latest intelligent radar detection system, the 318, developed for the detection and monitoring of vehicles in single lanes or highways environments, are now under way in the UK, Taiwan, South Africa, Turkey and Qatar. The new above-ground intelligent radar detector has been designed in response to market demand for accurate strategic detection, the new radar is equipped with an intuitive, Bluetooth-enabled graphical user interface allowing users to configure and set cust

Rail technology provider Wabtec Corporation has signed a US$34 million contract with Sound Transit, a commuter railroad serving the Seattle region, to design, install, test and commission a positive train control (PTC) system. Sound Transit's commuter rail line covers 82 miles and carries nearlythree3 million passengers annually. Under the contract, Wabtec will provide its interoperable electronic train management system (I-ETMS) equipment and installation for sixteen locomotives and eighteen passenger

Austrian-based traffic technology group Swarco has appointed Cees de Wijs as its new Chief Executive Officer. De Wijs, who has almost 20 years of experience in traffic and transport telematics across all transport modes, will take up his new position on 1 January. De Wijs, aged 45, is a Dutch national and holds a PhD degree in engineering from Delft University of Technology. He previously worked for Royal KPN Group and Logica where he was transport and logistics group director, responsible for the comp

Cubic latest introduction provides a short cut for transit authorities looking to offer travellers mobile, smart phone payment options. Transit operators wanting to provide travellers with a mobile fare payment option now have an ‘off-the-shelf’ solution in Cubic’s NextWave. Through the use of near field communications (NFC) technology, NextWave turns travellers’ mobile phones and tablets into the equivalent of a ticket vending machine able to instantly re-load contactless transit cards. It also enables the

Australian study quantifies the benefits of SCATS to the motorists, the environment and the economy. Opportunity weekday cost savings potential of some AUD16 million (US$15.2 million) has emerged from rigorous analysis of a one-day study of Australia’s Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System (SCATS) in operation. This represents 27% of the total cost of a real alternative semi-adaptive traffic control. The estimated indicative annual weekday-based value is AUD3,900 million (US$3,705 million) or 0.9% of t

The volume of global transport could double or even quadruple by 2050, according to a new study released by the International Transport Forum (ITF). GDP growth, freight intensity of economic activity and demographic change are important drivers of this growth, but key determinants for the level of future increases are policy choices, according to the ITF Transport Outlook: a report containing long-run scenarios for global transport activity and related CO2 emissions. China and India drive transport volu

New low-level traffic lights designed for cyclists have been authorised for use following safety trials, the first time the lights have been used in the UK, transport minister Stephen Hammond has announced. More than 80 per cent of cyclists favoured the use of low-level signals during the track-based trials of the system, which works by repeating the signal displayed on main traffic lights at the eye level of cyclists.

A new road weather information system developed by Hyundai Engineering and Construction (Hyundai E&C) can provide drivers with reliable real-time traffic and road condition information, says the company. The system, developed in concert with Hyundai Motor Company and Hyundai Mobis, can help alert drivers of traffic congestion and potentially hazardous road conditions up ahead by collecting data from all cars, such as ambient temperatures and road conditions. It also processes information from various roa

The European Investment Bank (EIB), Europe’s long-term lending institution, has provided further funds to support the latest step in Crossrail’s development with a loan of up to US$814 million to Transport for London (TfL). The facility will be used for financing a fleet of new high-capacity air-conditioned trains as well as a new maintenance depot. Finance contracts were signed in London this week by Steve Allen, TfL’s Managing Director Finance and Jonathan Taylor, European Investment Bank Vice President.

Beginning in the first of quarter 2014, Kapsch TrafficCom is to supply on-board units (OBUs) for Norway’s electronic toll collection system, AutoPass. The Norwegian Public Road Administration, which is responsible for the Norwegian public road network, is currently adapting the standards for on-board units to the European norm EN15509 and will replace the native AutoPass OBUs that are currently in use. Along with Norbit, Kapsch is one of two companies that successfully demonstrated its experience and te

David Crawford reviews developments in near field communications for mass transit payments. ‘A carefully-designed and well-implemented mobile near field communications (NFC) solutions can give passengers a compelling experience that will encourage them to make greater use of public transport.’ That was the confident conclusion of a recent joint White Paper drawn up by the International Association of Public Transport and the global mobile operators’ representative group GSMA.