A natural fit
Xerox Chairman and CEO Ursula Burns will deliver the keynote address at today’s opening plenary in Fort Washington. Two years after leading the company’s $6.4Bn acquisition of ACS, Burns provides some insights into Xerox’s expanding role in the transportation sector.
AMG transmission system used in Blackwall Tunnel refurbishment
AMG Systems has announced it has been selected to supply the transmission solution for the refurbished Victorian-built Blackwall Tunnel under the river Thames in London. The three-year refurbishment programme, costing over US$113 million, is being undertaken by Transport for London (TfL) to bring the tunnel up to European safety regulations. P. Ducker Systems (PDS) is undertaking the task of supplying the tunnel systems for the project.
Transport Ministers meet in Germany today for global summit
Transport Ministers from the 52 member countries of the International Transport Forum at the OECD gather in Leipzig, Germany today for a three day summit on the future of global mobility.
Paths to cleaner, more secure US transportation solutions – Pew report
A new report released by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change examines cost-effective solutions to begin to cut US transportation emissions and oil use now and move toward cleaner, alternative fuels. From burning oil, transportation accounts for more than one-fourth of all US GHG emissions. The report, Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from US Transportation, identifies reasonable actions across three fronts – technology, policy, and consumer behaviour – that could deliver up to a 65 per cent reduction i
Wabco to supply emergency braking technology to Hyundai
Wabco Holdings has entered into a long term agreement with Hyundai Motor Company, South Korea’s largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles, to develop and supply its OnGuardPlus system.
Volvo addresses blind-side turns
Volvo has developed a system that aims at solving the problem of the truck driver's blind spot on the passenger side and the results of the research were demonstrated yesterday in the Intersafe 2 EU project in Wolfsburg, Germany. In Europe, between 30 and 60 per cent of all accidents resulting in injuries occur at intersections. Intersafe 2, an EU-funded project, aims at developing and demonstrating a Cooperative Intersection Safety System (CISS) that is able to improve traffic safety at road junctions by a
Vulnerable road users face safety problems
Concern is growing in Europe over the safety standards for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and powered two wheeler riders. A total of 169,000 pedestrians, cyclists and users of powered two-wheeled vehicles (PTW) have been killed on European roads since 2001; 15,300 of them in 2009. The figures have been published in the new Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) report and reveal a decrease in the number of deaths by 34% for pedestrians and cyclists, and just 18% for PTW riders compared to
Research into weather impact on transport
Finland's VTT Technical Research Centre is heading a research project into the harmful impact of weather phenomena on transport in the EU. The EWENT project will set a precedent as no previous studies have been conducted on this scale. It will investigate evidence that heavy rainfall in particular impacts on European transport as with climate change, the occurrence of extreme weather is expected to increase. Weather is a major factor in traffic flow and safety as sudden storms and flash floods can paralyse
Australia to develop national smart managed motorways trial
Australia's 2011 federal government budget, announced yesterday, will provide AU$61.4 million over three years for the development of a national smart managed motorways trial to improve congestion, lower urban emissions, and expand the capacity of existing outer city road infrastructure networks.
China TransInfo wins traffic data collection and service system contract
China TransInfo Technology Group has signed an agreement with the Planning Institute under the PRC Ministry of Transportation (MOT) to provide technical development and services for a pilot project to build and operate a traffic data collection, analysis, and service system for national trunk roads in China. According to the contract, which is valued at around US$1.8 million, China TransInfo will develop software applications, build a database, provide information processing services as well as support appl
Exhibition space at ITS World Congress going fast
With over five months to go before the 18th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems gets underway in Orlando, Florida (from October 16-20), 89 per cent of the current exhibit floor plan has now been reserved, according to ITS America's director of business development, Barbara M. O'Connor.
Hughes Telematics partners with Location Labs
Location Labs, a provider of mobile location-as-a-service infrastructure and applications, has announced a partnership with Hughes Telematics (HT) to include the Location Labs Universal Location Service (ULS) as part of HT's telematics service offering. Location Labs' cloud-based ULS API will supplement HT's connected service offerings by enabling drivers to use their smartphones to request the location of any contact in their mobile address book.
Digital Recorders wins region-wide contract
Digital Recorders has been awarded a combined, region-wide contract valued at approximately US$1.2 million by North Carolina’s Triangle Transit Authority (TTA) and Durham Area Transit Authority (DATA), for the company’s automatic vehicle location software and its passenger advisory systems. According to David L. Turney, the company’s chairman and CEO “This region-wide order is unique in that it marks the first time the Digital Recorders automatic vehicle location software is being adapted to enable the shar
Future EV owners can make money from the power grid
In what is being claimed as a landmark research report published by Ricardo and National Grid in the UK, the market potential is demonstrated for an electric plug-in vehicle fleet of the future to provide balancing services to the power grid on a commercial basis, returning value to vehicle owners while improving the carbon efficiency of grid operation.
Major growth for fleet management systems in the Americas
According to a new research report from the analyst firm Berg Insight, the number of fleet management systems deployed in commercial vehicle fleets in North America was 2.1 million in Q4-2010. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.6 per cent, this number is expected to reach 3.8 million by 2015. In Latin America, the number of installed fleet management systems is expected to increase from 0.9 million in Q4-2010, growing at a CAGR of 20.6 per cent to reach 2.3 million in 2015.
Econolite Canada offers RTMS G4
Econolite Canada has announced it has expanded its vehicle detection and traffic measurement capabilities by offering RTMS (Remote Traffic Microwave Sensor) G4 to the Canadian transportation management industry. According to the company, RTMS G4 is the newest generation radar sensor for vehicle detection and traffic measurement, adding to Econolite Canada's growing portfolio of strategic ITS capabilities.
Two initiatives announced to cut road works disruption in London
A joint US$1.6 million fund to research and develop new technology to reduce the disruption caused by road works was announced yesterday by UK Transport Secretary, Philip Hammond and the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. Confirmation of a lane rental scheme for roadworks was also announced at the same time.
Metrorex plans new Bucharest underground link
Bucharest underground operator Metrorex has nearly finished plans to develop its new US$1.35billion M6 underground mainline to link the city centre with Henri Coanda International Airport. The new M6 in the Romanian capital will have a length of 14km and take in 12 stations. Metrorex has changed the initial project plans by adding two new stations to cover the residential area and Baneasa Commercial Park.
Vitronic joins sustainability initiative
Machine vision specialist Vitronic has announced it is supporting energy efficient and resource-saving production and automation processes as a partner company in the Blue Competence sustainability initiative of the German Engineering Federation (VDMA). The scheme aims to create a closer network focused on sustainability among mechanical and plant engineering companies. In order to become a Blue Competence partner, companies need to fulfil clearly defined sustainability criteria and standards.
Chinese EVs for Rotterdam
Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD and Rotterdam City yesterday entered into an agreement to deliver BYD's all-electric e6 vehicles as part of the Netherland's green transportation project "75-EV-RO" - the first e6's anywhere in Europe. The Netherland's Prince Maurits van Oranje, Vice Mayor of Rotterdam Mrs. A. van Huffelen, Chinese Ambassador Mr. Zhang Jun and BYD's Henry Li (Auto Division GM) were all present for the signing ceremony in Rotterdam City Hall.