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The UK Highways Agency has awarded the US$589 million contract for the design, implementation, delivery and operation of the new free-flow charging system to sanef. The seven-year deal includes the opportunity to extend up to a further three years. New technology will allow drivers to use the crossing without having to stop at the barriers to hand over payment. Road users will be able to pay through a variety of methods including telephone, text, online and at retail outlets. Pre-paid accounts which qual

A review of pre-warning solutions for problematic commercial vehicles approaching tunnels

Colin Sowman looks at how a ruling regarding ANPR cameras in a small English town could have wide-reaching implications. Superficially it was an easy decision: the local council and traders wanted, and were prepared to fund, automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras installed to deter crime in Royston, a small town (population 17,000) in rural England.

David Crawford investigates innovative congestion management in Florida. The largest US city by area is well into the implementation of an ambitious congestion management system (CMS) on the scale of those of higher-profile centres such as Seattle and San Francisco. Regional agency the North Florida Transportation Planning Organisation (NFTPO) aims to ensure that commuters on major highways in Jacksonville can rely on a minimum 72km/h (45mph) driving speed in normal conditions.

ABI Research forecasts that the total number of software-as-a-service or SaaS-based subscriber units will increase from 1.06 million at the end of 2012 to 16.8 million on a global basis by the end of 2018. SaaS-based telematics services are defined as software-based telematics applications residing in the cloud (in either a public or private cloud infrastructure), where the intelligence or data processing essential to the functioning of the application is performed in the cloud rather than by software/ha

Ford Motor Company has made its first technology acquisition in thirteen years, with the purchase of startup company Livio, in a bid to accelerate its efforts to help drivers safely access content on their smartphone while on the road. Livio, which is based in the Detroit suburb of Ferndale, Michigan, develops software that enables drivers connect to their smartphones through their car radios or dashboard infotainment systems.

Video management systems specialist OnSSI is to partner with vision systems supplier HTS to integrate the OnSSI Ocularis video management platform with HTS license plate recognition (LPR) and vehicle identification recognition systems (VRS), including automatic vehicle make and model identification. Integrating Ocularis with the HTS systems enables users to utilise Ocularis investigative tools to monitor and interrogate data recorded by the LPR and VRS solutions, to provide security professionals with a

Blip Systems, Danish supplier of Bluetooth and wi-Fi traffic management solutions, has appointed Irish ITS systems integration specialists Bandwidth Telecommunications as their value added reseller. BlipTrack works by placing small sensors in road networks and anonymously tracking. This real time traffic flow data in enables road authorities to proactively manage the road network to minimise delays and congestion.

As many as nineteen state-owned enterprises have agreed to join forces to construct a toll road that will connect Java’s two biggest cities, with a major section of the highway expected to be built offshore. The Jakarta-Surabaya toll road is slated to span 775 kilometres, and will cost around US$13 billion, according to M. Choliq, the president director of construction firm Waskita Karya, one of the companies participating in the project.

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is to test and develop an advanced wireless network for PSA Singapore Terminals (PSA), the world’s largest trans-shipment hub. The network will strengthen PSA’s management of innovative unmanned systems, including automated guided vehicles (AGV), which are currently being developed. PSA will be able to command and control its AGV fleet reliably and safely, through a robust wireless mesh network, a group of wireless devices which can boost the reliability and conne

A partnership of the UK’s department for Transport (DfT), British telecom (BT) and Cambridge-based wireless firm Neul is working on a project to transform the A14 between Felixstowe and Birmingham into the country’s first internet-connected road. The smart road, which aims to prepare the country for future technology from wireless toll chargers to automated cars, will include a network of sensors along an eighty-kilometre stretch, with data transmitted over white space, temporarily unused gaps in the dig

According to a new market report published by Transparency Market Research, "Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 - 2019," the global market for ITS is expected to reach a value of USD 30.2 billion by 2019, at a CAGR of 11.1 per cent from 2013 to 2019. The demand for ITS systems is rising globally due to increased congestion in metropolitan areas. Development and deployment of intelligent transportation system not only r

The Iowa Department of Transportation has developed proposed administrative rules to govern implementation and placement of automated traffic enforcement systems on the primary highway system. The proposed rules will cover both fixed and mobile speed and red light enforcement camera systems. Adoption of rules for automated traffic enforcement will provide local governmental agencies with a defined process for documenting a critical traffic safety issue at a specific location and implementing the warrant

The Philippines’ government has recently approved a US$612 million contract for the Metro Manila Skyway (MMS) Stage 3 Project which will connect the Southern Luzon Expressway to the Northern Luzon Expressway. The flood free, mostly elevated six lane expressway, is approximately 14.2 kilometres long and is expected to reduce congestion and reduce travel times on major roads in Manila.

Brazil's federal government will launch tenders by 12 October for three new federal highway concessions totalling 2,765 kilometres, according to transport minister César Borges. Falling under the country's US$110 billion transportation logistics program, the largest concession involves 1,100 kilometres of highway through the Federal District and the states of Goiás and Minas Gerais. An 851 kilometre stretch in the state of Mato Grosso will also be tendered, while an 814 kilometre highway segment between

The Spanish cities of Malaga, Zaragoza and Santander are the first cities to join CIUDAD 2020, the R&D&I (research, development and innovation) smart cities reference project, led by Indra in partnership with Ferrovial Agroman, Atos, Fagor Electrónica, GFI Informática, Fractalia, Daedalus, Tekia and iSOCO. One of the most novel aspects of the project, which has is aimed at developing a new, efficient and sustainable smart city model in which citizens play a central and active role. People generate a lar

Machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions supplier Orbcomm has completed the acquisition of Comtech Mobile Datacom Corporation’s (Comtech) sensor enabled notification system (SENS) operation, which includes satellite hardware, network technology and web platforms. This acquisition supports Orbcomm’s multi-network operator strategy and strengthens its position as a provider of satellite and cellular communications for the M2M industry. The opportunity also complements Orbcomm’s recently acquired GlobalTrak busi

Infotainment and safety solutions provider Delphi Automotive is to debut its MyFi connecting with safety concept car at the IAA Frankfurt show, which the company says is unique in that it connects infotainment with active safety. By locating important information in the driver’s forward view, MyFi uses voice recognition, text-to-speech, large touch screens, reconfigurable displays and workload management technologies to tailor information to the driver depending on the driving environment. When linked wi

Speaking at the launch of South Africa’s 2013 Transport Month, Transport Minister Dipuo Peters pledged to spend more than US$500 million on planning, building and operating integrated public transport networks in more than thirteen cities in the country. The major cities of Johannesburg and Cape Town have already constructed over 20 kilometres of dedicated bus lanes. Both cities will expand operations to carry up to 100 thousand passengers a day on each system, while the bus rapid transport system in Joh

According to Ingo Flomer, director of Product Management of UK company Axell Wireless, UK transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin’s intention to upgrade the rail network to enable passengers to access high-speed mobile broadband does not go far enough to promote an integrated communications infrastructure that supports cellular (3G and 4G) coverage on-board trains. Flomer says the UK has significant technological hurdles to overcome to connect rail passengers to the cellular network. The coverage would ha