GIS/ Mapping & Location Based Systems

New Highways England chief executive announced

June 22, 2015

Jim O’Sullivan has been appointed as the new chief executive of Highways England and will lead the government-owned company which is responsible for delivering US$17 billion of improvements to England’s motorways and major A roads by 2020. O’Sullivan is an experienced engineer who is expected bring significant leadership experience the role. He has a broad range of experience working on safety critical transport projects, in the utilities industries and in world renowned businesses including British Airw

Trafficware adds trip impact analysis to Synchro software

June 16, 2015

Trafficware’s release of its Synchro plus SimTraffic Version 9.1 traffic optimisation and simulation tool adds traffic impact analysis (TIA), a feature designed to assess the adequacy of existing or future arterial traffic generated by proposed property developments. Synchro’s traffic impact analysis will streamline traffic engineers’ workload by automatically generating routes into and out of a proposed development, automating calculations for trip assignments and distributions and facilitating planning o

Virtual surveying boosts efficiency in Utah DOT

June 12, 2015

Overlaying a geographic information system with data from a new surveying system is paying dividends for Utah DOT. While building new roads tramways, metros and bicycle paths or installing smart systems to control traffic is the high-profile end of transportation planning and management, ensuring existing infrastructure and systems are serviceable and working is arguably more important. After all, at any given point the existing infrastructure will always carry more vehicles than new.

Vehicle data services launched for business and government

May 6, 2015

A new analytics platform and two associated services for measuring traffic and people movement have been launched by the vehicle data specialist Inrix. Inrix Insights is the first system of software to provide business and government with vehicle data for transportation and urban planning, retail site selection and measurement of advertising and marketing campaigns, the company claims. The platform leverages real time GPS data from a growing global network of over 250 million vehicles and con

Trafficware adds trip impact analysis to Synchro software

April 1, 2015

Trafficware’s release of its Synchro plus SimTraffic Version 9.1 traffic optimisation and simulation tool adds traffic impact analysis (TIA), a feature designed to assess the adequacy of existing or future arterial traffic generated by proposed property developments. Synchro’s traffic impact analysis will streamline traffic engineers’ workload by automatically generating routes into and out of a proposed development, automating calculations for trip assignments and distributions and facilitating planni

Trafficware upgrades ATMS software

March 26, 2015

Trafficware’s latest version of its advanced traffic management system, ATMS.now 2.2, will support both of the widely popular Google Maps and Microsoft Bing Maps web-based mapping systems, says the company. As Trafficware’s product development is driven by customer feedback, ATMS.now 2.2 provides more flexibility and convenience selecting mapping capabilities from an array of resources versus being limited to a single source. The latest release also includes enhanced analysis tools, the expanded measu

Additional accuracy enhances ITS options

March 19, 2015

High accuracy and reliability of GNSS location data is available using the EGNOS services to be ready for Galileo’s expanding satellite constellation. Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) are increasingly a building block for ITS applications from road user charging and E-call to tracking & tracing of freight. Even while the European Space Agency is still assembling the Galileo constellation, EGNOS (the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service) is already providing the basis of a range of ser

PTV aids big data analysis in traffic

March 19, 2015

PTV Group has introduced a smart visualisation tool which it says has been developed for big data in traffic-related projects, a powerful GIS tool aimed at supporting GIS specialists and transportation professionals alike. PTV Visum Data Analytics combines map data with any traffic-related input and spatial information and visualises all data, allowing users to understand their networks in order to develop smart strategies and solutions. PTV Visum Data Analytics assists in getting started with graphical dat

Introducing rubber-banding for transport planning

November 18, 2014

Software and consulting group PTV has launched a new version of its Visum 14 transport planning software with additional functions including ‘rubber-banding’ which enables users to model spontaneous detours. The company says that this describes the way starting point, main activity and intermediate stops are connected with a metaphorical rubber band.

UK’s M6 to get VMS to boost safety

November 18, 2014

Four of the latest variable message signs (VMS) are to be installed around junction 35 of the M6 motorway at Carnforth, giving drivers better warnings of incidents and other information about the motorway such as weather conditions. As part of the work, new CCTV cameras will be mounted on the VMS signs and standalone masts, allowing Highways Agency traffic officers at the North West Regional Control Centre at Newton-le-Willows to monitor and manage motorway incidents more effectively. A similar, US$2