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After much debate and delay, a unifying European Electronic Toll Service is now finally on the horizon, says ASFiNAG’s Klaus Schierhackl. Here, he talks with Jason Barnes about what that might mean. Aworkable European Electronic Toll Service (EETS) which will allow truck drivers to travel across the continent and pay tolls using a single account and OnBoard Unit (OBU) was originally timetabled to be in place and operating by October of this year. A lack of urgency from some of the stakeholders involved in t

High resolution cameras, video motion detection and modems are being fitted to school buses in Maryland, as part of a system designed to enforce and deter stopped-bus overtaking violations. A new video enforcement system is being installed to record drivers illegally overtaking school buses in Frederick County, Maryland. It is against the law to overtake a parked school bus that is loading or unloading students, yet a 2011 survey for the Maryland Department of Education found 7,000 cases of drivers illegall

UK-headquartered Paragon Software Systems has developed a low bridge avoidance mapping option for all UK versions of its routing and scheduling optimisation software. The optional Navteq mapping functionality eliminates the need to enter bridge height data manually into Paragon, simplifying and streamlining the creation of cost-effective, feasible transport plans that enable high vehicles to avoid low bridges on British roads. Users can enter their own bridge height data if necessary, but with this new opti

The Dutch are planning a new generation of smart roads that glow in the dark, to be phased in next year. Developed by Studio Roosegaarde and infrastructure management group Heijmans, the Smart Highway by won Best Future Concept at the Dutch Design Awards, and features road markings painted with a luminescent powder that charges up in sunlight and shines through the night. The new surfaces also include markings that become visible at certain temperatures, such as a snowflake symbol that appears in freezing

UK gas infrastructure specialist Forefront Utilities has invested in TomTom fleet management to improve customer service and fuel efficiency. The company has deployed a combined tracking and fuel management system to provide greater visibility of its mobile workforce and reduce costs across its 164-strong vehicle fleet. TomTom’s Webfleet online fleet management system provides managers with full visibility of a company’s mobile workforce, with live HD Traffic information enabling them to route drivers to c

Restarting city transportation systems following a natural disaster can take time. The impact of a storm cannot be predicted, but transportation systems and fleets of vehicles with embedded intelligence can provide the knowledge needed to get up and running faster. Machine to machine (M2M) technology can help collect and process information to better monitor and manage transportation systems on an ongoing basis. In the event of a disaster, technology could provide cities with critical data about bridges, r

A new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance suggests that China may miss its ambitious goals concerning alternative energy and clean transportation. The country’s economy is growing quickly and along with this, citizens are finding it possible to afford vehicles of their own. The Chinese government is not inclined to allow reliance on fossil fuels to linger longer than necessary, however, and recently launched an ambitious plan that would promote the adoption of electric vehicles. In July 2012, the Chine

According to a new analysis of the City of St. Louis' violator-funded red-light safety camera program carried out by safety camera supplier American Traffic Systems (ATS), drivers are adopting safer driving habits by stopping at red lights. As drivers comply with the law, the risk of dangerous red-light running collisions is reduced, and streets become safer for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists. The study reviewed nearly 350,000 red-light running violations issued in the city from the time the program bega

Telematics Update is hosting a free webinar that will explore how the EETS Directive could provide inter-operable tolling services and seamless mobility across Europe’s boarders. The interactive event will be held on Wednesday 6 November 2012 at 10-11 CEST and is open to the entire fleet telematics community. Due to the different devices and data collection methods used throughout Europe for road user charging (RUC), driving across boarders can be problematic. Truck drivers at present have up to ten differe

A joint venture between Dominion University and Virginia Beach city planners, the Centre for Innovative Transportation Solutions, will soon be shaping the city’s transportation future using computer simulations. City planners envision that the centre can help answer all sorts of questions, including the best place to add lanes or build a new road, what the traffic from a sports arena would look like, or what contingencies are needed to prepare for an accident or natural disaster that shuts down a key road.

European and US experts in health, city planning, environment and transport recently met in Brussels at the Polis Environment & Health working group meeting to discuss integrating health aspects in transportation planning to improve urban mobility and gain substantial savings in public health. Brussels, Paris and London presented their policies and discussed the measures they had implemented, such as low emission zones, community travel plans, incentives for walking and cycling, awareness raising and promot

Europe’s Green eMotion project has announced the test phase of a project that will demonstrate Europe-wide roaming in an interoperable electromobility system and will provide access to new added-value services. Green eMotion will also support the promotion of cross-sector ICT standards for interoperability of electric vehicle (EV) services. Green eMotion is a major EU funded electromobility project; one of its objectives is to develop an IT system that defines the interfaces needed for pan-European electro

Drivers using the Windsor-Detroit tunnel linking Canada with the US will shortly be able to pay electronically on both sides of the border. Until now, electronic payment has only been available on the US side. Tunnel president Neal Belitsky said it’s part of a plan to eventually phase out tunnel tokens after 2013. “We’re going to be getting out of the token business,” Belitsky said. “It takes time to buy rolls of tokens. All that is going to disappear. If you look throughout the US or Canada, you can count

The latest study by IHS Research estimates detection sensor revenues declined by 4.3 percent in 2011 to US$102.2 million. However, recent events suggest demand for detection sensors, which are used to help optimise traffic flows and reduce roadway congestion, is likely to improve over the near term. The main cause for optimism is the recent and unexpected passage of the MAP-21 act by the US congress. MAP-21 legislation will set aside US$105 billion for improvements to America’s surface transportation infras

A new report by information service provider Global Information says that intelligent transportation systems (ITS) improve public transport and traffic management to reduce traffic congestion, promote smoother and safer driving and improve coordinate and overall smarter use of transport networks. The development of intelligent infrastructures – from roads to bridges – is primarily a governmental responsibility while the domain of developing intelligent vehicles belongs to the commercial side. Both private a

Vehicle charging systems provider ChargePoint has joined the Green Parking Council, a not-for-profit organisation providing leadership and oversight of the green conversion of parking facilities to sustainable, environmentally responsible assets. ChargePoint is the world’s largest network of independently owned charging stations for electric vehicles. As GPC’s newest Bronze Level member ChargePoint will encourage new, alternative parking practices and green conversion of parking facilities for electric vehi

Finland-headquartered environmental and industrial monitoring specialist Vaisala is to take to the road to demonstrate the functionality of its new mobile sensor technology to its customers in Europe during the winter. Starting in Vienna, Austria, Vaisala’s Tracks Across Europe mobile road weather tour will take vehicles equipped with the new Vaisala Condition Patrol DSP310 road surface monitoring technology through fifteen European countries that are especially prone to snow and ice. The tour will end at V

Swedish traffic enforcement supplier Sensys Traffic has been awarded a contract worth US$0.4 million by the Swedish Transport Administration for the monitoring of train pantographs using its Automatic Pantograph Monitoring System (APMS). APMS is designed to identify damage to pantographs and prevent overhead power wires being torn down. The system uses non-contact technology to analyse the condition of pantographs as the train passes at normal operating speeds up to 250 km/h. Once installed, the sensor is

Open Roads Consulting, US provider of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), has been selected by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to design and implement the Next Generation Advanced Traffic Management System (Next Gen ATMS). The project includes design, development, implementation, testing, maintenance and support for a single statewide platform to promote coordinated traffic management and operations across the state. Open Roads will design and implement the Next Gen ATMS using

Electric vehicle (EV) charging technology provider, OpConnect has introduced smartphone payment technology for its OpConnect network EV charging stations. EV drivers can use the OpConnect iPhone app, or other smartphone scanners to access free stations or to pay for a charging session at stations that require payment. Mobile payments are just one of many payment options available to OpConnect network members and non-members. OpConnect stations can be accessed in a variety of ways including using an email