Features

Pete Goldin talks with ITS America about the continuing efforts of US Congress to finalise a transportation reauthorisation bill and how this will impact the ITS industry

Two phases of an arterial reconstruction project in Salt Lake City have provided a compelling cost-based argument for moveable barriers.

Jenoptik Robot’s Ralf Schmitz talks about enforcement deployments in developing countries, and how those with long-established histories still have much to learn. In the enforcement sector, the concept of technology provider also being responsible for operations is hardly a new one. Nevertheless, it has gained significant traction over the last five or six years and has the potential to radically change the complexion of the industry according to Jenoptik Robot’s Director, Sales Ralf Schmitz.

Does parking cause congestion, or can it help alleviate the problem? By John Van Horn

With all the debates over the most suitable future technology or technologies for charging and tolling, is it not time for the industry to look at what the rest of ITS is doing and bring a rank outsider - the smart phone - closer into the fold? By Jack Opiola, D'Artagnan Consulting LLC

Leading automated enforcement system suppliers talk about how they see machine vision technology affecting the sector in the coming years

Is US tolling as fragmented and divided as some would have you believe? And are the technology suppliers so very entrenched? ITS International spoke to the market's leading suppliers. A few years back, the prevalent view was that the North American tolling market was characterised by fragmented, proprietary solutions, each existing in splendid isolation. The reality is that a combination of pragmatism and good old market forces have seen some concerted moves made towards interoperability in many areas.

David Crawford looks at the somewhat patchy success to date of trying to involve the private sector in operating traffic management centres

The Big Apple's loss is the City of Angels's gain, according to Ken Philmus

Harry Voccola talks to ITS International about where he sees the intelligent transportation industry heading

David Crawford investigates a far reaching initiative in integrated travel. The Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO), an operator of high speed commuter rail in the north eastern US, is not one of the world's best known transit providers. Its 13 stations along a single east-west route (three of them interchanges with other regional commuter lines) handle 40,000 passengers a day, travelling to and from Philadelphia, the US' fifth most populous city.

An overview of European efforts to increase disabled access to public transport, by David Crawford

Chris Cheever and Chris Thomas of Fontinalis Partners discuss the funding outlook for the ITS industry – where the money’s going to come from, and what needs to happen to facilitate change

A study of the German local public passenger transport market, initiated by Göppel Bus and carried out by Consultatio Venture, revealed unsurprising results that would apply to just about any operation in this sector throughout the world: the pressure on costs and capacity peaks pose the greatest problems for local public passenger transport operations.

The cost, environmental and other benefits of the bus trailer concept are obvious. Used in several areas of Germany, as well as Austria, Switzerland, and Luxembourg, vehicle sizes can be adapted to passenger demand. The Ruebenacker group, a public transport provider in the Black Forest region of Germany, is one of more than 20 bus operators in the country that have deployed bus trailers, also referred to as bus trains. The company owns 81 buses and transports nearly six million passengers a year in the Blac