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A special report, US Managed Lanes, by Fitch Ratings sees toll express or managed lanes (MLs) as especially difficult to assess for financial viability, saying that they vary enormously one to another and are likely to demonstrate very different performance and be subject to greater volatility than regular toll roads. But they say there is now sufficient experience with managed lanes (MLs) for some lessons to be learned. ML time savings compared to the regular lanes has been seen as the fundamental drive

The European Union (EU) will use US$831,000 from the Ten-T Programme to co-finance study on the creation of an intermodal hub in the Spanish region of Asturias. The aim is to foster intermodality and modal shift from road to other modes of transport. The study, which was selected for funding under the 2012 TEN-T Annual Call, will support the construction of an intermodal hub located within the area of industrial and logistic activities of Asturias (ZALIA) near the Spanish cities of Aviles, Gijon and Ovie

Smart parking solutions from Swiss-based Tinynode’s are to be added to Swarco’s road safety and traffic management portfolio in a partnership that sees the technology also added to Swarco’s own traffic solutions. Tinynode’s wireless vehicle detection systems for outdoor and on-street parking are used as part of smart parking solutions which enable motorists to locate a free parking space. The company says there are several million parking spaces in Europe alone that could utilise the system. The Swarco

Jenoptik’s Traffic Solutions division and its local partner Telco International are to install over 60 stationary speed and red-light enforcement systems in Qatar as part of the country’s initiative to improve road safety. The order, from the Qatar Ministry of the Interior, is for Jenoptik’s TraffiStar systems which use non-invasive sensors instead of in-road detectors to monitor traffic in both directions and across several lanes simultaneously. The systems will be housed in the new innovative design

OnLane, the lane departure warning system developed by US commercial vehicle safety technology provider Meritor Wabco is now available as an option on Freightliner Cascadia and Freightliner Cascadia Evolution models. Powered with SafeTrak technology by Takata, OnLane is a forward-looking, vision-based lane departure warning system designed to monitor road markings and the vehicle's position in the lane. The one-box solution integrates a camera and electronics system and delivers distinct and separate au

Following a report analysing the transport situation in the Bratislava region (BSR), the government is to invest some US$483.73 million into new transport projects in the region by 2015. Projects include the construction of infrastructure, improvement of public transport and the development of all types of transport, through the current Operational Programme Transport (OPT) and future Integrated Operational Programme Infrastructure. By mid-2014 the Transport Ministry plans to select an advisor for th

Peru's private investment promotion agency ProInversión plans to grant 37 transport, energy, infrastructure and water projects in the next two years, its executive director Javier Illescas said. Although ProInversión has launched tenders during 2013 for several major infrastructure projects, many of the original deadlines have been postponed numerous times. Among the projects postponed is the US$74 million concession for the Amazon waterway, initially set to be awarded in quarter four 2013, which has bee

The European Traffic Safety Council (ETSC) has welcomed the publication of a European Commission study which evaluates the effects of the implementation of Directive 92/6/EEC on speed limitation devices. The study recommends, as ways of improving the Directive’s effectiveness, exploring the options of introducing intelligent speed assistance (ISA) to the vehicles currently covered by the legislation, as well as extending its requirements to some light commercial vehicles. “ETSC welcomes today’s publicati

In order to tackle the problem of worsening congestion in Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital city, the authorities proposed comprehensive improvements, including the development of public transport, road pricing measures and road capacity improvements. Part of these improvements included an area traffic control systems (ATCS), using the Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System (SCATS) to manage the dynamic timing of signal phases at traffic signals. The ATCS also uses around 135 Flir TrafiCam vehicle presenc

New research from Research and Markets indicates that the overall traffic management market, which stands at a total revenue of US$2,580 million in 2013, is expected to grow to US$12.69 billion at a CAGR of 37.5 per cent from 2013 to 2018. Traffic management reduces congestion and promotes a regular flow of traffic. Traffic management also proves to be money saving as it reduces the wastage of fuel. It decreases the carbon emissions from the vehicles and thus supports to keep our environment clean. Trans

Details of a multi-million pound project have been unveiled that will cut congestion and improve journey times on parts of the M60 and M62 in Greater Manchester. The smart motorways scheme – the first of its kind in the north-west – will be introduced on a 17-mile stretch of the network between junction 8 of the M60 near Sale and junction 20 of the M62 near Rochdale. The system will use the latest technology to monitor traffic levels, provide traffic information to road users, and ease congestion by usin

A consortium composed of Brazilian engineering companies Odebrecht Transport and Queiroz Galvão and local groups UTC Participações and Eco Realty-Fundo de Investimento em Participações, has won a tender to build and operate the upcoming US$3.9 billion metro line 6 located in south-eastern Brazil's São Paulo city. Also known as the Laranja (orange) line, the subway will run some 15.9 kilometres between the Brasilândia and San Joaquin stations, with fifteen stations in all. It will connect the universitie

The European Traffic Police Network, Tispol, has come out in support of new European legislation, effective from 7 November 2013, requiring EU member states to exchange information on drivers who commit traffic offences in other countries. Tispol believes this information exchange will ensure that foreign offenders can be identified and punished across borders. It further improves the consistent enforcement of road safety rules throughout the EU by ensuring equal treatment of offenders. The legislation c

According to Paul de Vos, strategic advisor at engineering and consultancy firm Royal HaskoningDHV, European policy forces local authorities to make huge investments in traffic noise reduction. Until 2017, European governments will be spending US$168 billion for noise barriers, quieter roads and measures related to the negative effects of traffic noise, including damage to health. However, by simply making cars quieter, the total cost to the taxpayer could be reduced by a factor of twenty.

Germany’s Physical Technical Institute (PTB) has approved Jenoptik’s TraffiStar S350 laser scanner system for the German market. The approval enables the company’s Traffic Solutions division to provide police and local authorities in Germany with a fixed speed enforcement system that uses non-invasive sensors instead of in-road loops or piezos. The TraffiStar S350 is housed in the specially-designed TraffiTower, enabling the system to be used for a range of applications, including on road bends or obscur

Officials in Mandaue City, Philippines are implementing several programs to make it a smarter city to address challenges and opportunities that the Asean economic integration will pose to the local economy. Among the plans are a traffic management and emergency response scheme, drainage and flooding, an updated comprehensive land use plan (CLUP) and a new investment code, all of which is aimed at encouraging expansion of domestic manufacturing.

New research from ABI Research forecasts that the global market for driver monitoring systems (DMS) will reach 64.8 million units by the end of 2020 with the majority of shipments being accounted for in vehicles sold in the Asia-Pacific region. Driver monitoring systems were first introduced as far back as 2006 when Toyota launched its innovative driver attention monitor system. Toyota’s system functions by directly monitoring the driver’s face using a discrete in-dash camera and was initially offered as

Birmingham City Council has unveiled its Birmingham Mobility Action Plan (BMAP), a twenty-five year vision for improving transport in the congested UK city, which planners estimate will have an extra 80,000 cars on its road by 2031, bringing the network to a grinding halt.

Seattle-based traffic data company Inrix is working on a feature that will provide toll road users with detailed real-time data on traffic speeds, travel times and incidents by dedicated lanes versus general purpose lanes. This data will allow constantly updated reports on relative speeds in general lanes versus express lanes and other parallel roads and will allow for more accurate routing. Drivers should be able to start getting data which will enable them to know what their time savings will be on to

In Australia, Melbourne's Yarra Trams, the largest tram system in the world, is dramatically improving service on its 250 kilometres of double tracks. By using IBM big data, the cloud, mobile and analytics the company is able to reconfigure routes on the fly, pinpoint and fix problems before they occur, and respond quickly to challenges, whether it's sudden flooding, major events in the city, or just rush hour traffic. As a result, the iconic 100-year old system is consistently beating its own service