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Ertico prepares for World Congress 2015

Hot on the heels of the 21st ITS World Congress in Detroit, Ertico - ITS Europe is already writing session proposals, contacting speakers and putting together the demonstration programme for the 2015 ITS World Congress. This will take place from 5-9 October in the French city of Bordeaux, one of the most advanced cities in Europe in terms of ITS adoption, and will have the theme of ‘Towards intelligent mobility – Better use of space’.
December 15, 2014 Read time: 4 mins
C-ITS could be compromised by parallel imports (Pic CohdaWireless)
Ertico

Bordeaux beckons  

Hot on the heels of the 21st 6456 ITS World Congress in Detroit, 374 Ertico - ITS Europe is already writing session proposals, contacting speakers and putting together the demonstration programme for the 2015 ITS World Congress. This will take place from 5-9 October in the French city of Bordeaux, one of the most advanced cities in Europe in terms of ITS adoption, and will have the theme of ‘Towards intelligent mobility – Better use of space’.

“We have carefully selected the topic to highlight what we believe is the way forward: smart cities, sustainability and multimodality,” said  congress director Didier Gorteman. Bordeaux will continue the ‘Big Data’ discussion and speakers will share their views on how improved access to traditional transport data, combined with end-user data from smartphones, social media and crowdsourcing, is fundamental to creating new data sourcing, data sharing and data exchange.

Delegates will also hear about Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) services and their strong contribution to the transport industry in terms of safety and efficiency.

The demonstration schedule will include connected and automated vehicles as well as cooperative intelligent transport systems in action on open roads in the city on cars, truck and motorbikes.

Bordeaux’s social programme will be taking advantage of its famous vineyards, excellent wines and fabulous food. “Delegates simply cannot miss the gala night in a magnificent Chateau,” said Gorteman.

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ITS South Africa

6992 ITS South Africa elects new president

Mike van Tonder has been elected president of the 5023 Intelligent Transport Society of South Africa (ITSSA).

Van Tonder was previously ITSSA’s vice-president and is the technical director and intelligent transport systems service line leader at engineering and technical services company Aurecon. He will oversee ITSSA’s vision to achieve a balanced and integrated transport system in sustainable cities with public transport as a mode of choice. “ITSSA is the enabler of smart transportation technology and therefore plays a vital role in social upliftment and economic empowerment in South Africa,” he said.

The organisation is not government-funded and its members pay for its projects, which poses another challenge. “We need to think differently and use the members’ available resources and cooperative agreements to fund these projects,” said Van Tonder. He also joins the executive committee which drives the strategic direction of the organisation and the appointment is a one-year, part-time position.


ITS UK

New guide to latest technologies

A new guide to help local authorities utilise new technologies to improve transport systems and reduce costs has been published by 288 ITS UK and 6674 the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

The guide sets out some of the advantages new technologies can bring in solving existing and future transport problems and illustrates how some local authorities have used technology to improve transport systems while managing, and in some cases reducing, costs. Examples range from smartphone apps to determine road and cycle path conditions, to Bluetooth systems that allow transport operators and planners to analyse journeys across multiple transport modes in near real time. It also discusses considerations such as open standards, security and privacy when implementing these new solutions.Traditional methods of ownership and operation can be replaced by buying systems as services and relying on cheap communications media such as remote hosting or ‘cloud’ solutions. Miles Elsden, chief scientist at the Department for Transport, hopes the guide will encourage more local authorities to take a fresh approach to the way they plan and procure for transport in the future.” The guide can be downloaded from the ITS-UKwebsite.


 ITS Australia

Parallel imports raise concerns


In a submission to a Government review of the Motor Vehicle Standard legislation, 858 ITS Australia is highlighting the risks parallel imports of new and used vehicles would pose to transport safety.

Susan Harris, CEO of ITS Australia, said: “Used and parallel import vehicles brought into Australia will have C-ITS equipment that meets specifications for a different region, not Australia. The C-ITS in such vehicles will not work in Australia.

“Drivers and purchasers of these vehicles may be unaware that they are missing out on this life-saving technology. 

“Within 10 years we expect the majority of new vehicles of all classes will come equipped with this life-saving technology. In contrast, imported vehicles intended to be driven in other regions will not have automatic access to this technology.”

She urged the government to give careful thought to the significance of regional variations in the technology as changes to the Motor Vehicle Standards Act are considered.  

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