News

The International Transport Forum, in partnership with the International Road Transport Union (IRU), the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) and the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) is working on a project which examines the impact of driverless trucks. It focuses on developments in Europe and North America, with some evidence drawn from other continents, such as automated trains and mining equipment in Australia. The aim is to consider whether driverless road freight trans

In a bid to reduce high levels of congestion on the Kwinana Freeway near Perth in Western Australia, the government is planning to introduce a smart motorway by converting the emergency stopping lane to a full-time running lane. The concept is similar to the smart motorways in use in the UK which use variable speed limits during busy times to manage congestion. The US$25 million (AU$47 million) project is expected to start in 2018-2019 and will also include: in-road detectors and full CCTV coverage to provi

Italian infrastructure company has launched a bid to buy Spanish toll roads operator Abertis, in a deal valued at US$17.9 million (€16.34 million), with the aim of becoming a world leader in transport infrastructure. The company is offering US$18.1 (€16.5 per share for each share tendered. Abertis owns Italy’s largest toll road manager and Rome’s two airports, as well as having a stake in Nice airport. It says the aim of the offer is to create a world leader in transport infrastructure with a diversified po

Global Traffic Technologies (GTT) has implemented its Opticom transit signal priority solution (TSP) in the city of Laval in Quebec, Canada in an effort to improve bus network performance and boost ridership. The TSP system is installed at 90 per cent of intersections in the city and on more than 300 buses and paratransit vehicles. The Opticom TSP system implemented by the Société de transport de Laval (STL) provides buses with a green light to keep them on time, while data derived from the GPS-enabled syst

Transport for London (TfL) and the Indian Ministry of Road Transport and Highways are to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on bilateral cooperation in urban transport policy planning, technology transfer and institutional organisation of transport. The decision to enter into the agreement was taken during the three-day official visit of the Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Shri Nitin Gadkari to Britain. Under the proposed MOU, TfL will share its expertise on the mobility and effici

The 23rd World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems, in Melbourne, has had a bigger than expected economic impact on the local economy and is now estimated to be US$34.5 million (AU$46.6 million), nearly twice the initial projection. The increase has been attributed to the higher than anticipated attendance figures. More than 11,500 Australian and international delegates participated, 4,500 registrations more than the target figure of 7,000. The high volume of visitors had a positive impact on the loca

Executives from Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) will discuss topics related to “LEAD the TRANSITion,” the theme of the UITP Global Public Transport Summit in Montreal, Quebec, Canada this week. CTS executives will present at both the Mobility as a Service – from vision to reality on 15 May and the Planning: system, trip and mobile apps session on 16 May. In addition, the company will feature its systems and projects will in the conference hall at Palais des Congrès de Montréal.

The International Road Federation has awarded its annual road safety accolade, the Find a Way Award, to the Korea Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The Find a Way Award was instituted as part of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 by IRF chairman Abdullah Al-Mogbel in recognition of the value of political leadership in driving road traffic injury reduction strategies. Korea has implemented a range of road safety measures, including the use of safety belts for all seat

The City of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is building the world's largest public transit system --- in just five years. It will be presenting the project at the Palais des Congrès, in Montreal, Quebec, during the global summit of the Union Internationale des Transports Publics (UITP), this week. Managed by The High Commission for the Development of Arriyadh (HCDA), the project includes six metro lines covering 176 km and 85 stations, in addition to 24 bus routes covering 1,900 km and 3,000 stations and stops. At a

The presence of just a few autonomous vehicles can eliminate the stop-and-go driving of the human drivers in traffic, along with the accident risk and fuel inefficiency it causes, according to new research by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Funded by the National Science Foundation’s Cyber-Physical Systems program, the research was led by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers with expertise in traffic flow theory, control theory, robotics, cyber-physical systems, and transportation engine

As part of its concerted efforts to further develop opportunities in Asia, Finnish manufacturer of electric drivetrains for heavy vehicles, Visedo, has signed a production and co-operation agreement with Asian electric motor producer TECO Electric & Machinery Company. Under the agreement Visedo will benefit from TECO’s significant production capacity and ability to service major tender projects worldwide and particularly in Asia. In turn, TECO will have access to Visedo’s unique expertise in developing sync

Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has reported that, after six months of operation, its new cashless all-electronic tolling system along I-90 has seen transactions of almost a quarter of a billion, with an accuracy rate of greater than 99 per cent. The system requires drivers to use an E-ZPass transponder where the toll is paid electronically from a pre-paid account. Cameras on gantries capture the licence plates of all vehicles which are then matched with an address for the owner, enabli

West Sussex County Council in the UK, in partnership with Balfour Beatty Living Places, has begun trialling the use of drones to inspect bridges across the county. Trials have so far been carried out on two bridges, resulting, they say, in around US$10,000 (£8,000) of savings compared to traditional inspections. Routine inspections are carried out on all bridges every two years to ensure they are safe for public use. Traditionally, inspection work requires traffic management to allow inspectors to safely ca

3M has entered into agreements to sell its tolling and automated license/number plate recognition business, which is part of 3M’s Traffic Safety and Security Division, to Neology, a provider of integrated solutions for tolling, electronic vehicle registration and public safety applications. Neology is a subsidiary of Smartrac, a portfolio company managed by One Equity Partners, a middle-market private equity firm. 3M’s tolling solutions include RFID readers and tags, automatic vehicle classification systems

Siemens Intelligent Traffic Systems is providing an in-kind investment of its connected vehicle hardware and software technologies to Columbus, Ohio, the recent winner of the US Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Smart City Challenge. Siemens’ investment, valued at US$385,000, aims to support the expansion of the ‘Smart Columbus’ initiative. The advanced hardware and software will act as the foundation for the city’s future connected vehicle efforts, enabling vehicles to communicate with traffic infrast