News

Construction group Strabag, as part of a consortium including Krakowskie Zakłady Automatyki, is to modernise the 20 km long section of rail between Cracow and Rudzice and expand the suburban railway in Cracow. The project includes the construction of a new metropolitan rail line to serve Cracow’s suburbs, which will see new track and stations built and existing ones e modernised. A total of 55 bridges are to be erected, including two rail bridges over the river Vistula with a length of 234 m and 227 m. The

A new survey from UK insurance website Gocompare.com Van Insurance asked van drivers what they think of the new technology that might affect their business. Safety was a concern when it came to new technology. Over 50 per cent of respondents said they thought futuristic technology might provide a safety risk. This was of particular concern to drivers in both Belfast and Norwich – with 71 per cent of the respondents in those cities naming it as an issue for them. The next most worrying factor for drivers was

California is planning a US$2.3 million initiative that will generate electrical power from traffic, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The California Energy Commission recently voted to fund two piezoelectricity projects, which convert pressure into power. One pilot will test a 200-foot-long piece of asphalt on UC-Merced’s campus, which is designing a 200-foot stretch of asphalt that will be sowed with inch-wide piezoelectric generators, which will be stacked within arrays below the road where it is

London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner, Will Norman, has named the 73 junctions in the Capital with the worst safety records as he unveiled a new approach to delivering improvements for pedestrians and cyclists. Transport for London’s (TfL’s) new analysis uses the last three years of casualty figures on the TfL road network to identify the junctions with the poorest safety records so that they can be targeted for work. This analysis will now continue each year as part of a new approach that will see work

Canadian patent licensing company WiLAN is to acquire intelligent transportation systems (ITS) supplier International Road Dynamics for an equity value of approximately US $47.4 million (CA$63.5 million). The acquisition is part of WiLAN’s growth strategy which will see it operate under the Quarterhill name from around the beginning of June 2017.

Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), California, has awarded Iteris a contract to conduct a Vehicle-to-Infrastructure State of the Practice Review. The study will cover connected vehicle technology between vehicles (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) and will make recommendations for how the OCTA can advance their development and use as the technologies and their applications mature.

Now that the company’s integration with Gatso is complete, the board of directors of Sensys Gatso Group has started the process to recruit a new CEO for the next phase of the Group’s development. Current Torbjörn Sandberg will remain in the role until a new CEO has been recruited. “Following the successful merger between Sensys Traffic and Gatso, the company will increase its focus on growth opportunities. Torbjörn has been instrumental in the efficient integration of the two companies and in setting a stro

Now that the company’s integration with Gatso is complete, the board of directors of Sensys Gatso Group has started the process to recruit a new CEO for the next phase of the Group’s development. Current Torbjörn Sandberg will remain in the role until a new CEO has been recruited. “Following the successful merger between Sensys Traffic and Gatso, the company will increase its focus on growth opportunities. Torbjörn has been instrumental in the efficient integration of the two companies and in setting a stro

German automotive supplier Robert Bosch is to collaborate with Chinese internet group Baidu and map providers AutoNavi and NavInfo, in a deal that will use data collected by Bosch’s radar and video sensors in vehicles to generate and update high precision maps for automated driving. In addition, Bosch and Baidu have set up a test vehicle for partially automated driving on Chinese motorways. The vehicle, based on a Jeep Cherokee, is equipped with Bosch components, including five mid-section radar sensors and

The UK’s Oxford City Council has launched a street mapping trial project which it hopes could transform how manages its services across the city and pave the way for the development of autonomous vehicles. As part of the Smart Oxford project, the trial by the council and the University of Oxford’s Robotics Institute (ORI) will see sensors attached to a city council street cleaner in the city centre to create 3D maps. At the same time, the research team at the ORI is exploring data such as road and pavement

At no cost to the city or its tax-payers, local transportation solutions company Gridsmart has deployed six of its new Streetsmart wi-fi traffic-time collection system in its home city of Knoxville. The new six-intersection traffic management area will provide real-time, comprehensive travel times, congestion mapping and traffic count data, allowing the city to study and better manage travel trends at major intersections, potentially reducing congestion. Streetsmart uses wi-fi signals generated in vehicles

Investment firm Platinum Equity is to acquire Arizona-based American Traffic Solutions (ATS). Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. ATS provides road safety cameras and toll and violations management solutions throughout North America. The company has more than 3,500 installed school bus stop arm, red-light and speed safety cameras serving more than 30 million people. ATS’s Fleet Services business provides both toll and violation management solutions to fleets and rental customers. Accordin

UK-based vehicle engineering, research and product testing centre HORIBA MIRA has joined forces with Coventry University to launch a new automotive research centre dedicated to developing intelligent connected vehicle technology. The Centre for Connected & Autonomous Automotive Research will pioneer and test new developments to support the rapid growth within the global intelligent mobility sector and address future transport needs. An initial team of up to 20 academic staff members and doctoral resea

A consortium of nine regional councils in New Zealand has awarded public transport ticketing provider Init the contract to provide a new bus ticketing system, which will be rolled out from January 2018. Otago, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Manawatū-Whanganui, Hawke’s Bay, Taranaki, Northland, Nelson, and Invercargill councils have been working as a consortium to replace the ageing technology currently in use. The new system will enable passengers to check balances and top-up the credit on their cards online

Experts at the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) have welcomed the announcement that a new car practical driving test will come into force in the UK on 4 December 2017. The independent organisation led the trialling of the proposed changes in a country-wide controlled study of their impact on how people learn to drive, and on how people drive post-test. The changes, which include the use of a satnav to promote independent driving and revised manoeuvres, are designed to promote greater independence and