Air Quality & Weather Systems

From 1 May 2017, NZ Transport Agency commences a new five-year road-weather data and data visualisation service with the Meteorological Service of New Zealand (MetService). MetService is contracting Finnish road-weather forecasting company, Foreca to provide high-resolution road-weather forecasts which are based on MetService’s own forecasting services and a range of additional weather and road information. The services will provide MetService road-weather forecasters with considerably enhanced, yea

US-based weather forecast provider Global Weather Corporation (GWC is launching a free subscription program Weekend Road Conditions Preview providing a snapshot preview of the changing road surface conditions as of Friday morning for the upcoming weekend for all major roadways in North America and Europe. Weekend Road Conditions Preview is based on the company’s more comprehensive RoadWX technology, which forecasts road surface conditions and corresponding weather forecasts.

UK-based Ricardo Energy & Environment, working with technology partner OPUS Inspection, has launched a vehicle emissions monitoring service for the measurement of emissions from vehicles on UK roads. Installed at locations of interest, the system records driving emissions in a completely non-intrusive manner from each passing vehicle, including nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and ammonia. The system can also be linked to automatic number plate recogniti

US traffic control equipment supplier, McCain, has enhanced its range of full colour dynamic message signs (DMS) by incorporating Swarco’s LED technology. The range, including variable message, blank out and lane control signs now includes new features that improve viewing and maintaining dynamic message signs, while offering lower power consumption. McCain signs are used communicating traffic conditions, emergency alerts, detours, lane changes, rerouting, and the like to drivers. Building on technology

London’s first Low Emission Bus Zone has been launched in Putney High Street, one of the most polluted areas of the capital. The clean bus zone, which runs a total of 145 buses on seven scheduled routes, will now be serviced by cleaner buses in a move to cut harmful nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. The route is the first of 12 new Low Emission Bus Zones to be introduced at air quality hotspots. The zones represent the most extensive network of clean buses of any major world city. The routes are one‎ p

Variable message sign (VMS) and ITS solutions manufacturer, Bartco UK and sister company, Mobile Visual Information Systems (MVIS) have achieved ISO registration in quality and environmental management. Bartco UK and MVIS, which supplies Bartco UK ITS on a rental basis, have been registered by the NQA against the provisions of standards BS EN ISO 14001:2015 in environmental management and BS EN ISO 9001:20115 and National Highways Sector Scheme 8 in quality management. The quality certification provid

The Victorian government in Australia has released a tender for its Road and Rail Minor Works Program, which aims to deliver new car parks, more comfortable waiting areas and better passenger information at train stations across rural and regional Victoria. It also aims to improve cycling infrastructure at stations with new, secure bike cages and hoops to make it easier to ride to the station and catch the train. The US$17 million (AU$22.5 million) program will also upgrade bus stops, signage and acce

As part of their efforts to reduce the number of people killed and injured in road crashes, the New Zealand Government and NZ Transport Agency have recently installed a MetService decision support service for the Transport Operations Centres (TOCs) in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. TOC staff, as well as key Agency staff and road network contractors, are now receiving Severe Road-Weather Advisories prepared by MetService meteorologists, warning of weather events that could impact road safety, traf

Six full colour full matrix electronic warning signs from Swarco Traffic have helped Network Rail and Transport for London (TfL) to reduce the number of oversized lorries hitting a railway bridge on London’s South Circular road by more than a third since being installed last summer. In the six-month period from January to July 2016 before the signs were introduced there were 11 crashes at the Thurlow Park Bridge in Tulse Hill. In the six months since their installation, there have only been seven inciden

Blank out and lane control dynamic message signs developed by SES America (SESA) have been approved by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and are now included in the MassDOT Qualified Traffic and Control Equipment List. SESA’s blank out signs offer customised solutions to meet the needs of a wide variety of projects and are capable of displaying multiple phases of both text and graphics messages, in any colour and any size. The company’s lane control signs (LCS) provide intelligence via N