Air Quality & Weather Systems

Timothy Compston looks at the rise of Uber and ride request mobile apps. There is little doubt that the advent of Uber has come as major shock to established taxi operators and has caused regulators, cities and DOTs to rethink current regulations so they can keep pace with the changing dynamics of the marketplace.

Idaho Transportation Department’s (ITD) research program has initiated a project to evaluate an innovative new wildlife-detection system that may bring improved safety to area highways and reduce personal injury and property damage. The project is the result of a request from ITD’s northern Idaho office, and is a partnership between ITD and the Western Transportation Institute (WTI) of Montana State University. Collisions between wildlife and vehicles can be a big problem, and common in rural states such

Rhode Island-based message sign manufacturer SES America recently played host to state governor Gina Raimondo and Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian. The occasion enabled SESA president Phil Perut and his team to show their expertise in manufacturing dynamic message signs for highway use, along with the latest technology such as DMS Connect, a sign directly connected to the cloud to provide real time travel information and the latest solar powered sign technology.

A system designed and installed by Swarco Traffic and using water level sensing technology from OTT Hydrometry, is being used in an intelligent flood warning system that has been installed at a ford in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, UK. The system monitors water level in the Finham Brook where it passes under the A452, and warns drivers when potentially dangerous conditions arise.

Now that the European Parliament voted to approve legislation to measure real driving emissions (RDE), FIA Region 1 has called for swift implementation and strengthened targets to restore consumer and decision-maker trust. RDE seeks to complement laboratory tests and check whether announced NOx emissions levels are confirmed in real driving conditions. However, the package includes a conformity factor of 2.1 whereby on-road vehicles would be allowed to emit more than twice the official limit from 2017 to

Transport for London (TfL) has launched a new five-year industry-led programme to reduce the emissions of London's freight and fleet operators. The programme will work across the industry to increase the availability and uptake of low emission vans and lorries. It will bring together freight and fleet operators, vehicle manufacturers, fuel providers and the public sector. TfL says that 85 per cent of London's goods are transported by road and that freight makes up 17 per cent of London's road traffic.

Advanced traveller information system (ATIS) solutions provider Iteris successfully disseminated real-time actionable traveller information to residents and travellers in Virginia, West Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia during the record-breaking storm that brought up to 40 inches of snow in parts of the US East Coast. A snapshot of Iteris’ system dissemination statistics showed that: Telephone calls to the 511 phone system increased 231 per cent; Website user sessions surged by 1,210 per cent; Mobile ap

Four cities have been awarded significant funds to promote green vehicle technology after successfully bidding for a share of a multi-million pot created to support the take-up of plug-in electric cars across the UK. Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin announced the winners of the Go Ultra Low City Scheme, after the successful cities proposed a number of initiatives to support greener vehicles as part of a government competition.

In the wake of the VW emissions scandal in late 2015, the European Commission has published its proposed revision of vehicle type approval legislation. In a clear effort towards reform, the Commission calls for market surveillance for vehicles after their release. The proposal increases the oversight of type approval authorities and introduces regular checks from independent market surveillance authorities.

Lufft’s new WS800 weather sensor detects lightning and other environmental parameters including ambient temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, rainfall intensity and volume as well as global radiation. It detects the radiated electromagnetic waves of a thunderbolt and Lufft said the WS800 is resistance to electromagnetic radiation, which occurs on high speed train rails. The unit is small enough fit into the existing housing of the WS700 and communicates with the stan