Kent deploys PIPS JTMS systems
PIPS Technology has supplied and installed two Journey Time Measurement Systems (JTMS) in Gravesend and Tunbridge Wells for Kent Highway Services (KHS) in the UK. There are 21 different camera sites featuring a total of 34 PIPS P372 integrated Spike Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras spread across the two individual project locations, all of which are on single-lane carriageways. The cameras, linked via wireless communications to the JTMS software, read the number plate of every vehicle that
Meier Express chooses PTV
Meier Express, with headquarters in Bern, Switzerland, has opted for SmarTour from PTV for managing its fleet of vehicles. The transport company, which offers logistical transport services all over Europe, uses this high-end planning software to visualise complex transport processes, enable cooperative planning within the team of schedulers and joint scheduling of different types of transport in one single system.
Public meeting and webinar to discuss connected vehicle safety programme
A free public meeting and webinar to provide an update on the Connected Vehicle Safety and Policy Programme is being organised by the US DoT’s ITS Joint Program Office (ITS JPO). It will provide an overview of the entire research programme, including vehicle to vehicle (V2V), vehicle to infrastructure (V2I), safety pilot, safety policy, and human factors. There will also be a session on commercial vehicles designed to solicit input on US DoT's research plans for related commercial vehicle applications for s
Significant drop in Europe’s traffic congestion mirrors economic downturn
Inrix, a leading international provider of traffic information and intelligent driver services, has released its latest traffic scorecard which shows that, among the 13 European nations analysed, the countries impacted the most by the European debt crisis mirror those with the largest drops in traffic congestion. Portugal (-49%), Ireland (-25%), Spain (-15%) and Italy (-12%) were among those with the largest declines last year. Despite being considered the strongest European economies, troubles across the E
APT SkiData at Edinburgh airport
Parking technology specialist APT SkiData has won a significant new contract with Edinburgh Airport to replace the existing car parking technology infrastructure to manage and control the parking of more than 4,500 vehicles. The new system will make maximum use of the latest automatic number plate recognition and RFID technologies for speed and ease of access for visitors without sacrificing control.
First product to undergo Technology Partnerships
A Technology Partnerships study has been announced to evaluate the safety benefits of a solar-powered traffic signage system designed to minimise crashes on horizontal curves in the US. Part of the US FHWA Highways for Life initiative, evaluations will test the effectiveness of innovative road infrastructure safety technologies that are fully developed and market ready, but have had little use on US roads. Although horizontal curves make up a small percentage of total road miles, they account for 25 per cen
Electric mobility partnership announced
Volvo Car Corporation and Siemens have announced that they intend to jointly advance the technical development of electric cars through extensive strategic cooperation. The focus is on the joint development of electrical drive technology, power electronics and charging technology as well as the integration of those systems into Volvo C30 electric vehicles.
Fuel-saving technology world first for VW
Volkswagen’s latest efficiency technology, a cylinder shut-off system, will launch in the new 1.4-litre TSI engine from the start of 2012. The company claims it is the first manufacturer in the world to implement cylinder shut-off on a four-cylinder TSI engine in high-volume production. Fuel consumption is significantly reduced by temporarily shutting off two of the four cylinders under low to medium loads. Cylinder shut-off is active whenever the engine speed of the 1.4-litre TSI is between 1,400 and 4,000
Confidex expands in Latin America
Finland-headquartered RFID technology specialist Confidex has opened an office in São Paulo, Brazil, to be closer to the Latin American market where the company has already built up an extensive partner network and is engaged with key players in the industry to provide solutions for large deployments across the continent. Confidex centralises its R&D activities in Finland and already has offices across Western Europe, the US, India and China.
GM and LG to jointly develop EVs
General Motors and LG Group will jointly design and engineer future Electric Vehicles (EVs), expanding a relationship built on LG’s work as the battery cell supplier for the Chevrolet Volt and Opel Ampera extended-range EVs. Teams of LG and GM engineers will work on key components, as well as vehicle structures and architectures. Vehicles resulting from the partnership will be sold in many countries. Timing of the launch of the first vehicles resulting from the partnership will be announced closer to market
Hong Kong ticketing
Hong Kong MTR has awarded Thales a contract to supply an Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) and security access management system for West Island Line (WIL), South Island Line (SIL(E)) and Kwun Tong Line Extension (KTE), which are all new extensions, currently under construction, of the existing MTR rail network. The WIL, consisting of three stations, will add another 3km to the Island Line; SIL(E), with five stations, is a new 7km section; while KTE is a 2.6 km extension of the current Kwun Tong Line with two
Sweco acquires Inmind
International consulting group Sweco has acquired the ITS consulting firm Inmind, which has offices in in Gothenburg and Stockholm, Sweden. “Inmind’s core expertise in ITS will strengthen our offering to clients in this area and together we will be market-leading in ITS at both the regional and national level,” says Johan Dozzi, President of Sweco Infrastructure in Sweden.
Madrid LED switch
The city council for Madrid in Spain is to spend US$34.6 million by the end of 2013 on retrofitting 600 traffic lights in the city to new LED lights, which will bring about energy savings of 80 per cent. A contract to replace half the current incandescent bulbs has been approved by the city council and it also includes maintenance work to ensure efficient operation of the traffic light network
3M DFS cut speeding in Salford, UK
Community committees from eight local areas in the UK town of Salford have deployed 3M Driver Feedback Signs (DFS) to gather information on average vehicle speeds and encourage drivers to observe the speed limits. Urban Vision, a partnership with Salford City Council and Capita Symonds to manage the local highways on behalf of the council, has so far installed 50 DFS 700 units.
ETC Corp wins $88 million tolling contract
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has awarded a contract, valued at approximately $88 million, to Electronic Transaction Consultants Corporation (ETC Corporation) to provide a facility-wide replacement toll collection and audit system as well as related system maintenance services. Under the contract, ETC will implement its latest-generation Rite solution on the Port Authority’s toll facilities to deliver a number of advanced system features including a sophisticated toll data warehouse, an adva
New CGMP order for Q-Free
Q-Free has been awarded an order, valued at US$6.27, million for tolling tags from Centro Gestao Meios de Pagto (CGMP) in Brazil. This order is the third call-off from the earlier announced frame agreement of US$38million which was announced last October.
Alta Bicycle Share to run New York City scheme
Alta Bicycle Share has been chosen to operate a bicycle-sharing scheme in New York City. The company operates similar programmes in Washington, DC, Boston, Massachusetts, and also in Melbourne, Australia. It is expected that the New York scheme, which will roll out next summer, will be the biggest bicycle sharing initiative in the US with the establishment of 600 bike stations and 10,000 bicycles deployed. The scheme, which will cost US$50 million to operate, will not be funded from the public purse. Inste
$3 million data collection contract
Fugro Roadware has won a twoyear, US$3 million, contract from the US SHRP 2 (Strategic Highway Research Programme 2), for the collection of roadway data at highway speed, using ARANs (Automatic Road Analysers) on selected roads, within the six SHRP 2 naturalistic driving study sites.
Puerto Rico toll collection conversion milestone
The Puerto Rico Highway and Transportation Authority (PRHTA), working with TransCore, has converted two of its busiest and most essential AutoExpreso roadways to all-electronic toll collection as part of a US$26 million conversion project that is expected to be completed across all AutoExpreso roadways by next summer. The PR-52 north to south arterial highway, which includes five toll plazas, and PR-53 linking the south and east coasts of the island, with three toll plazas, were part of Phase I of the proje
Centracs deployed in Newport Beach
Econolite has announced that Newport Beach has become the ninth city in Orange County, California, to deploy the company’s Centracs advanced transportation management system. According to Ron Keith, Principal Traffic Engineer of Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), “As part of the strategies and solutions to address our evolving travel demands, OCTA is implementing signal synchronisation to 750 miles [1,200km] of road arterials, which includes more than 2,000 intersections. This synchronization p