Search

New York’s Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg recently announced two pilot programs that will allow motorists to pay for parking remotely and view real-time kerbside parking availability all via an app on their phone or online. In the first pilot, motorists can pay for metered parking via a smartphone app (PayByPhone), the internet or by telephone for 264 spaces along eighteen blocks in the Bronx, as well as at the New York City Department of Transportation’s Belmont municipal parking field. The new technology will

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has awarded several contracts, which maximum potential value is US$37.50 million), to US-based Aecom Technology. Under the contracts, with a total potential value of up to US$37.5 million, the company will provide several services including project management, intelligent transportation system, geotechnical investigations and bridge inspection as the lead designer on I-80 (mainline reconstruction) and I-70 (Yukon interchange) in districts 5-0 (Allentow

The Intelligent Transportation Society of America’s (ITS America) 23rd annual meeting and exposition has concluded in Nashville, with all parties declaring it a major success. The four-day event brought together nearly 2,000 of the nation’s top transportation officials, business and technology leaders, researchers and policymakers, who explored solutions for easing traffic congestion, financing and improving the nation’s transportation system, advancing life-saving vehicle technologies, and much more throug

A diversity of tolling business models offers a wider toolbox of highway finance options, as the IBTTA’s Patrick Jones explains. The business models for America’s tolled highways have gone through several different evolutions over the last 75 years, reflecting a succession of shifts in transportation policy and politics, financing and funding models, urban patterns, customer needs, and technology. And with more and more decision-makers expressing renewed interest in tolling, it’s that very diversity that ma

A programme modernising road tolling equipment on Turkey’s national highway network has resulted in what is arguably Europe’s most advanced toll system, reports Jon Masters. Turkey has introduced a new system of technology for charging for use of its 2000km national highway network, heralded as the first full-scale use of passive RFID tags for electronic open road tolling in Europe. The new ‘Fast Passing System’ (HGS) is an upgrade of Turkey’s existing Automatic Passing System (OGS) technology, which uses

Electronic toll systems in Texas and Oklahoma could be interoperable as soon as 2014, according to toll authorities from both states. Moves to link tolling systems in Texas and Oklahoma will enable drivers with Texas tolling accounts or Oklahoma turnpike accounts to travel on the other state’s toll roads using their current toll tags. The tolls would be automatically billed to the out-of-state driver’s account. “Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said it would be good to have interoperability with other states,

Port Mann Bridge, designed to growing regional congestion and improve the movement of people, goods and transit throughout greater Vancouver, is now open for business. The widest bridge in the world, the Port Mann Bridge located in the metro Vancouver area, in British Columbia, Canada, features an Open Road Tolling (ORT) system, also called All Electronic Tolling (AET), which will ultimately cross all 10 lanes of traffic.

Delegates convened in Brussels for Europe’s 10th annual Road User Charging Conference in March, when both positive and negative developments came to light for advocates of more widespread introduction of RUC. Jon Masters reports. Goings on across Europe in recent months have again demonstrated how very sensitive road user charging (RUC) is politically. At the 10th annual Road User Charging Conference in Brussels at the beginning of March, a Danish delegation was notable for its absence, but Belgian governme

David Crawford looks at a global trend towards more efficiency in less space As buses gain increased profile in the public transport mix needed for modal shift, attention is turning towards improving terminal layouts for more efficient handling of services and passengers. Locations, too, tend to be in central areas of cities, where sites are restricted and land values high. Enter the dynamic bus station, which uses modern vehicle identification systems to optimise space use and streamline service operation

As part of its ITS Strategic Plan for Canada, En Route to Intelligent Mobility, the Government of Canada has announced federal funding for new technology development at the Port of Halifax, including an integrated port logistics system and the bridge air gap system. With larger ships accessing the port, there is a need to continuously monitor vessel clearances under each of the harbour bridges. The upgrading and enhancing of the bridge air gap system will enable the port to identify exactly the ship clearan

Data collected by the Montana Department of Transportation using Help’s 360SmartView truck safety screening system show significant results from focusing limited enforcement resources on trucks that are out of compliance with safety and credential requirements. The results, based on data from the 360SmartView system during the first year of operation at Montana’s westbound Billings inspection facility, include: a 23 percent increase in violations detected per inspection; a 25 percent increase in inspected v

Thailand’s Department of Highways (DOH) has implemented intelligent transportation systems (ITS) to help monitor the speed of vehicles on the highways in an effort to improve road safety and enhance traffic data management. The system was installed to monitor vehicles at danger spots along the highways north-east of Bangkok and uses microwave radar to detect vehicle location and speed

To improve interoperability of road charging systems, the European Commission must focus on better implementation of existing legislation and assess the need for new measures to encourage the development of a EU-wide electronic toll system, according to an own-initiative report adopted in the Transport and Tourism Committee. MEPs say incentives for road operators and toll service providers have not been sufficient and criticise lack of action by Member States to develop EU-wide standards, as set out in a Di

Q-Free’s Australian subsidiary, Q-Free Australia, has been awarded an order valued at US$2.9 million for on board units (OBU) by the Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) in Australia. Q-Free Australia, based in Sydney, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Q-Free ASA, operating in Australia for over ten years to implement and deliver new road user charging projects and to manage the ongoing service, maintenance and upgrade activities of existing installations. Q-Free Australia has been working with Roads and Maritim

Innovative use of fleet management-generated data has optimised passenger service running times and achieved full payback in its first quarter Metro Vancouver’s South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority (TransLink) has gained substantial benefits in bus idle time savings from a business intelligence (BI) solution, built from data captured in its ITS-based fleet management system. Delivered by public transport ITS specialist Init under a contract awarded in 2006, this includes on-board computers,

ITS America has chosen Dr John Miles as technical editor for a new web-based resource on ITS. With funding from the US Department of Transportation (USDOT), the society plans to publish in mid-2014 in partnership with the World Road Association (PIARC) on the latter’s website.

SS-Transport Simulation Systems is touting a recent deployment of Aimsun, its simulation-based prediction system, in the San Diego area as part of a U.S. DOT pilot program. The project, led by San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), won the Best of ITS Award presented at the opening plenary.

A U.S. DOT pilot program in Dallas aims to reduce traffic congestion along a 28-mile segment of US-75 through closer coordination of multiple transportation agencies and city governments.

teris won a $580,000 contract has the final integration phase of the San Mateo Smart Corridor Program, continuing a collaboration of 13 agencies and cities to design, deploy and integrate ITS solutions and strategies along the US-101 corridor in the county.

Laser Technology is showcasing its line of laser-based measurement instruments, highlighting real-world profile and event trigger deployments in North Carolina, Texas, Colorado and South America. The measurement systems are being used in red light cameras, license plate recognition and vehicle classification applications.