InfoConnect delivers accurate travel information on all levels
Deryk Whyte provides an overview of how the New Zealand Transport Agency's InfoConnect concept was developed. Historically, the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) (formerly Transit New Zealand) has faced challenges in communicating effectively with road users, its customers, about highway-related events or incidents in a timely, accurate manner. Prior to 2007, Transit relied on a third-party organisation to collect and disseminate national road condition information. This often resulted in incomplete infor
Delivering accurate vehicle identification
In the Netherlands, TNO, the independent research organisation, has been engaged in a project on behalf of the RDW, the Dutch vehicle registration and licensing authority, intended to look at the feasibility of using electronic means to make vehicle identification more accurate and less susceptible to fraud. Electronic Vehicle Identification (EVI) has been in existence in various forms for several years now but TNO was tasked with finding out whether OnBoard Unit (OBU)-based applications could be complement
Simplifying enforcement systems type approval
Martyn Harriss looks at what we can do to simplify the type approval of enforcement equipment in Europe. I doubt that there are many who can remember the days when policemen hid in the bushes with stopwatches and flags to catch speeding motorists - and I'd suggest that back then there were few who were caught who would have dared question the accuracy of those watches or those who operated them. Probably, fewer still here in Europe could have dreamt that a supranational body such as the European Union (EU)
Total Car Parks acquires seven new car parks in the UK
UK-headquartered Total Car Parks has announced the acquisition of seven new car parks around the UK. The company manages over 30 sites nationally, offering a full range of car park operation services; from general management to the transformation of development land into functioning car parks.
Siemens starts deliveries of cloud based InView system
Bournemouth Borough Council on the south coast of England is the first local authority in the country to deploy Siemens InView, the company’s all new fault management system designed specifically for the traffic market. It allows traffic managers to keep a record of traffic monitoring and control equipment and to track the status of that equipment, including maintenance issues, running costs and equipment reliability. Cloud based, with a web browser interface, InView offers fault reporting and asset managem
DriveCam to be deployed across Linde North American fleet
Linde North America has made a five-year commitment to deploy DriveCam’s driver risk management solution in its entire fleet of 1,250 vehicles in US and Canada. A member of the Linde Group, a world-leading gases and engineering company with around 51,000 employees in more than 100 countries worldwide, Linde North America awarded the contract after an extensive trial and over multiple competitive solutions.
Entries open for the RAC Future Car Challenge 2012
Entries for the third annual RAC Future Car Challenge, which takes place on Saturday 3 November, are now being invited and for this year there are even more opportunities for manufacturers to get involved with the Challenge and events linked to it, such as the Regent Street Motor Show. The event, which is owned by the Royal Automobile Club, and sponsored by RAC Motoring Services, was first introduced in 2010 to showcase low energy use vehicles. It features competitors driving electric, hybrid, hydrogen and
VW opens new vehicle plant in China
Prof Dr Jochem Heizmann, member of the board of management of Volkswagen AG, who is to be responsible for the new ‘China’ board of management function, and Dr Michael Macht, board member responsible for Group production, have inaugurated a new plant for Shanghai Volkswagen (SVW) in Yizheng, Eastern China, together with Hu Maoyuan, chairman of SAIC Motor Corporation. The plant is designed for an annual production capacity of 300,000 vehicles.
Webinar on connected vehicle applications for traffic management
The US Department of Transportation (US DoT) will be hosting a free public webinar on 9 August, 2012 from 1:00-5:00pm (EST) to provide updates and promote discussion on the intelligent network flow optimisation (INFLO) concept.
Mobile payment and transit trial underway in Taiwan
Taiwanese Cathay United Bank has launched a trial for mobile payments and transit in Taipei. The project enables bank customers to use their mobile phones to make contactless payments at local stores and to access the Taipei public transit system. The NFC-capable microSD cards used as a secure element in this project are supplied by Giesecke & Devrient Secure Flash Solutions. The mobile security card SWP microSD card is the first in Taiwan that is compliant with MasterCard PayPass standards. This card has b
Developing an integrated WIM/ANPR enforcement system
The weigh in motion market remains especially buoyant and technological development continues to reflect this. Although there are major differences in operating philosophies, particularly between developed and developing countries, both the numbers of countries using Weigh In Motion (WIM) technology and the numbers of systems that they deploy are on the increase.
Debating the future development of ANPR
What future is there for automatic number plate recognition? Will it be supplanted by electronic vehicle identification, or will continuing development maintain the technology's relevance? In recent years, digitisation and IP-based communication networks have allowed Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to achieve ever-greater utility and a commensurate increase in deployments. But where does the technology go next - indeed, does it have a future in the face of the increasing use of, for instance, Dedi
Dubai metro - the world's longest automated rail system
David Crawford reviews the recent opening of Dubai's Red Line. The US$7.6bn Dubai Metro, the Phase I Red Line of which started partial operation in September 2009, will be the world's longest driverless rail system on its planned completion in 2011. With a total length of some 75km, it will then overtake the 68.7km Vancouver SkyTrain and be able to carry over 1.2 million passengers on a typical day.
Russia's high speed toll link - aims and opportunities
Construction of a new toll link between the Russian capital of Moscow and the country's second-largest city, the port of St Petersburg, is due to start in 2012. Here, ITS International takes look at the project to date and the opportunities for foreign companies to get involved. The construction of a new toll link between the Russian capital Moscow and the country's second-largest city St Petersburg has a number of aims. It will lead to the creation of a high-speed vehicular link between the two which will
Future of US cooperative infrastructure networks
Peter H. Appel, the new Administrator of the USDOT's Research and Innovative Technology Administration, on his vision of the US's future cooperative infrastructure networks. Peter H. Appel comes to the post of Administrator of the US Department of Transportation's Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) from a background in transportation-related work which stretches back over 20 years. Most recently with management consultancy A. T. Kearney, Inc., where he focused on busin
Siemens unveils Sepac 3.51 traffic control software
At this year’s IMSA (International Municipal Signal Association) Conference, which ends today in Orlando, Florida, Siemens has released the latest Sepac local traffic controller software which incorporates new features that help make intersections safer and improve the use of traffic signal priority for public mass transportation, without interrupting the general traffic flow.
TomTom debuts software alliance programme
TomTom Business Solutions has announced the launch of the TomTom Software Alliance Programme, a software integration, marketing, and sales programme that delivers additional value to commercial fleets by integrating core TomTom fleet management technology with industry leading software.
Call for crash barrier redesign
The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) in the UK is calling on the government to redesign crash barriers to make them more motorcycle-friendly. While crash barriers have saved the lives of thousands of drivers, hitting a crash barrier is a factor in eight to sixteen per cent of rider deaths. When they hit a crash barrier, riders are 15 times more likely to be killed than car occupants. In a crash, barrier support posts can worsen injuries by five times.
TRW announces next-gen pedestrian protection system
TRW is announcing its next generation pedestrian protection system (PPS) - a robust and reliable system using a combination of acceleration and pressure sensing technologies to detect a pedestrian impact. "While the auto industry continues its focus on reducing injuries in single and multiple vehicle crashes and reductions in deaths and injuries have been realised in developed markets, pedestrian fatalities continue to increase globally," said Peter Lake, executive vice president of sales and business devel
Golden River wins TfL contract for wireless vehicle detection system
Transport for London (TfL) has awarded Golden River Traffic a framework contract for the supply of wireless magnetometers for SCOOT deployment and associated services. With an initial contract duration of 12 months and potential to extend for up to a further four years, Golden River, a division of Clearview Traffic Group, will be supplying the M100 Wireless vehicle detection system which is a cost effective alternative to inductive loops and ideally suited to SCOOT and MOVA deployments.