Search

Kathmandu metropolitan city is planning to operate a 24-hr metro bus system using double-decker buses that will carry more passengers and also provide night services, reports Ram Krishna Wagle from Nepal. An EOI for the operation of the metro bus has appointed a local company which plans to operate 10 buses initially. The company is funding the purchase of the metro bus from its own resources although the government has provided tax breaks for providing the service.

Spanish construction firm ACS has been awarded a US$1.52 billion contract to construct a new 27km eight-lane motorway in Edmonton, Canada. The contract also includes a concession to operate the road for a period of 30 years. Meanwhile, Spanish construction firm Ferrovial, working with local company SNC Lavalin, has been awarded the approximately US$1 billion contract for the 20km extension works of the Toronto 407 motorway towards the East. The contract includes the design, construction, financing and maint

City planners in China are conducting feasibility studies and initial planning to develop skytrain, an elevated transportation system, in order to ease deteriorating traffic congestion in the urban areas of major cities. The benefits of skytrain include shorter construction period, quiet operation and cheaper construction cost – about one tenth of the cost of metro systems. In addition, since the skytrain runs on elevated viaducts and stations are built above ground, there will be less disruption to the sur

Police in Catalonia, Spain, after a year-long investigation, have arrested ten people involved in a network to forge transport tickets, just as they were preparing to print a million tickets to be used in Barcelona's public transport system. The forged tickets were of a high quality and it is estimated that Barcelona's metro system alone lost at least US$1.6 million due to this scam. Autoridad del Transporte Metropolitano de Barcelona (ATM), the metropolitan transport authority for Barcelona, had already in

A decree published last week, aimed at reducing accidents on motorways, will make it mandatory to use rumble strips on new motorways from 1 July 2012. The plan includes installing rumble strips to combat drowsy driving. One-third of fatal motorway accidents in France are caused by drivers falling asleep at the wheel.

The US state of California has announced a statewide US$120 million battery electric vehicle (BEV) charging station network to supply 10,000 retrofitted charging systems at areas such as individual offices and homes, along with at least 200 public charging stations. Under the scheme, announced by Governor Jerry Brown, all major California cities are to have the charging infrastructure to be BEV-ready by 2015 with the state having a charging infrastructure that can support one million zero-emission vehicles

Cross Country Automotive Services, a specialist in driver assistance programmes, and its telematics subsidiary ATX Group have merged operations under a new business name, Agero.

Thales has been awarded a contract to implement a ticketing system for the Rapid MetroRail Gurgaon, a new metro transit system in the city of Gurgaon, connected to Delhi metro.

The organising committee of the 19th ITS World Congress & Exhibition, being held from 22-26 October 2012 in Vienna, Austria, have issued a reminder that the call for papers is open and that the submission deadline is 13th January, 2012.

TRW Automotive Holdings has announced its next generation of adaptive frontal passenger airbags. The dual contour passenger airbag is capable of adjusting both the airbag pressure and size to help tailor protection according to occupant size and other variables of a crash.

Zipcar, the leading car sharing network, has announced a pilot in San Francisco that includes full size cargo vans through a new offering called Zipvan. The vans will allow consumers to transport items too bulky for cars or pickup trucks, and give small businesses a new and more affordable option for transporting goods.

Société de Transport de Montréal (STM) has awarded Thales a contract for a high performance broadband radio network communication system. It will comprise a management system, over 250 wayside radios, onboard radios, antennas for installation throughout the tunnels and on STM’s train fleet, network security devices and CCTV cameras for monitoring passenger flow at all station platforms.

Canada-headquartered advanced digital imaging products specialist Point Grey has announced the appointment of ClearView Imaging as its exclusive distributor in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

BMW Group and Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) concerning a mid- to long-term collaboration on next-generation environment-friendly technologies.

Höft & Wessel is developing what it claims is the world's first Bluetooth reader for e-tickets as a wireless extension for handheld devices in long-distance passenger transport for the Danish State Railway (DSB).

Wabco Holdings has announced it will supply its adaptive cruise control (ACC) system to Yutong in China, the world’s largest manufacturer of buses, as part of an expanded long-term agreement to furnish advanced safety technologies.

InnovITS Advance, the UK research and development centre for telecommunications, automotive and electronics industries, has carried out a demonstration of capability in the area of eCall testing and certification.

South Africa’s Western Cape province has revealed plans to deploy technology – satellite trackers in all public transport vehicles, ANPR built into freeway cameras, and cameras at level crossings – in an attempt to reduce road deaths, according to a report by Independent Newspapers.

GetTaxi, which unveiled its revolutionary new way for businesses to order London black taxis earlier this year, has now launched a free consumer mobile app, enabling all smartphone users (iPhone, Android, Blackberry and Nokia) to order a taxi at the tap of a button on the mobile device or via a web interface.

UK fleet tracking expert, Tracker, has unveiled what it claims is a ground-breaking new technology that offers fleet managers the most accurate vehicle idling data available on the market. The company has patented its Transient Voltage Detection (TVD) technology and incorporated it into Tracker Fleet.