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Portuguese motorway toll operator Brisa Auto Estradas de Portugal says it is saving over 10 per cent of its electricity costs – worth over US$430,000 – as a result of an energy efficiency plan which was launched in 2010. Electricity consumption accounts for 54 per cent of Brisa’s total energy expenditure, half of which is for the lighting systems of the motorway network.

The number of electric cars sold in the UK has fallen by over 50 per cent to just 215 in the first three months of the year despite Government incentives, according to figures from the RAC Foundation.Since 1 January, individuals and businesses have been able to claim a discount of up to £5,000 (US$8,193) on cars producing 75 g CO2/km or less under the Government’s Plug-In Car Grant scheme. A total of 680 cars have been purchased under the programme, taking the number of electric cars registered in the UK to

Iteris, which vews the Middle East region as a vital part of its global business development strategy, has announced today, on the opening day of Gulf Traffic in Dubai, UAE, an extension of its existing partnership with TrafQuest to include the distribution of its roadway sensors product line in the UAE. This includes the Vantage, Versicam and Pico video sensors for adaptive traffic signal control and the Abacus product for automated incident detection and data collection.

ITS Europe and Topos Aquitaine have signed the contract for the ITS World Congress 2015. Alain Rousset, president of Bordeaux Region, and founding member of Topos Aquitaine, the satellite application cluster of Aquitaine, and Anne Marie Keiser, VP of the Conseil general de Gironde and president of Gironde Numerique, witnessed André Perpey, president of Topos and Gunter Zimmermeyer, Ertico chairman, sign the agreement to host the 22th ITS World Congress in Bordeaux in 2015, under the theme “More ITS for gre

TomTom has announced it is targeting substantial cost savings in 2012 through a reorganisation and reducing some 10 per cent of the workforce. A company statement said that its research and development activities will be regrouped in ten product units - maps, traffic, navigation, automotive systems, PNDs, fleet services, fitness, mobile, POIs and speedcams - in a drive to increase development efficiency and reduce time to market.

TagMaster has announced that the port of Durban DCT has selected its CombiTag Classic RFID tags that combine short range identification based on proximity technology by HID Global and long range identification technology by TagMaster, in the latest in a number of deployments made by TagMaster partner Camco Technologies at Durban Pier1 and Port Elizabeth.

Granite Construction has announced that the Houston Rapid Transit Joint Venture team (HRT) has received full notice to proceed on the US$1.2 billion contract to expand the existing light rail transit system in Houston, Texas. The design/build contract was awarded to HRT in 2009 by the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas.

RBF Consulting has been selected by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to provide transportation planning and engineering for the Measure R funded I-605 Congestion ‘Hot Spots’ Feasibility Analysis. Hot spots are identified as major traffic congestion areas, attributed to increasing passenger car and truck traffic, localised capacity and/or operational constraints on the freeway, or arterial street system.

A broad range of safety, auto, insurance and alcohol industry groups and companies has called on the US Congress to pass legislation to provide funding for an advanced drunk driving detection research programme. They claim it could lead to more than 8,000 fewer highway fatalities each year and a nationwide economic cost saving of approximately US$130 billion annually. In a letter to House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee the groups called for inclusion of the ROADS SAFE (Research of Alcohol Detect

Airbiquity, a specialist in connected vehicle services, and Coulomb Technologies, the creator of the ChargePoint Network, have announced a joint partnership to integrate the ChargePoint Network’s driver services into Airbiquity’s Green Vehicle service portfolio. Using Airbiquity’s connected vehicle service delivery platform, Choreo, the two companies will make ChargePoint Network driver services available to Airbiquity EV customers, including station location, real-time availability and reservations.

After years of successfully cooperating for the Italian market, Nedap AVI and FAAC Group have announced a strategic global cooperation for solutions in vehicle access and parking. This strategic agreement will also include the marketing and sales of Nedap AVI products in combination with Zeag parking management systems. “The Nedap vehicle access product line fits naturally within the FAAC product range for vehicle access and parking. After years of cooperating for the Italian market, we are glad to also ext

Utah State University Research Foundation's Energy Dynamics Laboratory has announced that it has operated the first high-power, high-efficiency wireless power transfer system capable of transferring enough energy to quickly charge an electric vehicle. The lightweight, low-profile system demonstrated 90 per cent electrical transfer efficiency of five kilowatts over an air gap of 10 inches. The demonstration at EDL's North Logan, Utah, facility further validates that electric vehicles can efficiently be charg

Capita Symonds’ Innovations team has secured a contract extension, valued at over US$1.1 million to $11.2 million UK Highways Agency Traffic Information System (HATRIS) contract which will take the project through to the end of March 2012. The HATRIS system, which has been developed and enhanced by Capita Symonds since 2005, is used to monitor and report on vehicle journey times across set routes on the motorway and trunk road network. This enables the Highways Agency and Department for Transport to identif

Dana Holding Corporation has completed two transactions that will enhance its position for further growth in the emerging markets of China and India. The company has increased its stake in Dongfeng Dana Axle Company, a China-based commercial-vehicle axle joint venture, to 50 per cent and has also acquired the commercial-vehicle axle business of Axles India. "We are encouraged by the continued strong performance of the truck and bus markets in China, and of our partner Dongfeng, and look forward to the stren

UK highways servicing contractor, Ringway, has successfully delivered a scheme on behalf of Solihull Council to improve travel links in the Solihull area that includes a new variable bus lane, the first of its kind in the UK.The variable bus lane uses the Ringway-installed CCTV and digital signage to adjust the status of the bus lane in order that it does not remain empty during peak traffic times. “This pioneering bus lane is just one aspect of the ANITA Project, which has seen Ringway provide a dedicated

TomTom has announced the availability of Commercial Vehicle Restrictions integrated into TomTom Pro navigation solutions for the US. In some states, business vehicles can be restricted from using particular roads and classification varies by state and any vehicle that bears commercial license plates must adhere to these regulations.

Connected infotainment will be dominated by connected navigation, with global shipments reaching 27 million by 2016, according to a new report from ABI Research. However, widespread interest in multimedia streaming, social media integration, and in-car Wi-Fi is still unproven.

IBM has teamed with American Honda Motor Company and Pacific Gas and Electric Company on a new pilot project that will allow communication between electric vehicles (EVs) and the power grid. This project will demonstrate and test an electric vehicle's ability to receive and respond to charge instructions based on the grid condition and the vehicle's battery state. With visibility into charging patterns, energy providers will have the ability to more effectively manage charging during peak hours and create c

During this week’s 12th Asia Pacific Forum and Exhibition being held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a meeting of the ITS Asia-Pacific board of directors has overwhelmingly endorsed Melbourne, Australia, as the venue for the 2016 ITS World Congress. It is expected that decision will be formally ratified and approved at the ITS World Congress Board meeting being held in Tokyo, Japan, in May. Brian Negus, president of ITS Australia, told ITS International that being selected by nine votes to one over Singapore, th

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced that the University of Michigan will conduct a road safety field trial in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which will include the installation of wireless devices in up to 3,000 vehicles in one location, to evaluate the effectiveness of connected vehicle technology to prevent crashes.