News

US engineering services firm has appointed Ralph Ehlers as vice president of rail and transit, Canada. Ehlers will focus on implementing new rail lines, expanding existing systems, and providing project management services for all elements of mass transit, including mainline railways, commuter rail, high-speed rail, bus rapid transit (BRT), and urban transit. With more than 26 years of global transit and roadway design experience, Ehlers has led programs using alternative project delivery methods, includ

Highways England’s US$236 million (£191 million) scheme to improve journeys for drivers using a major interchange on the M1 in the Midlands has been officially opened. The major upgrade to improve the flow of traffic at junction 19, where the M1, M6 and A14 meet, is intended to the journeys made by more than 150,000 vehicles through the area every day. The new east-west link between the villages of Catthorpe and Swinford now runs beneath the M1-M6 link, and the M6, and connects the villages with the A

Econolite Group has finalised negotiations with Savari and is forming an exclusive partnership to accelerate the deployment of vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) safety applications for the connected and automated vehicle (CAV) market. The agreement provides Econolite exclusive distributorship of Savari’s StreetWAVE roadside units (RSUs) to the Americas, Middle East and Africa. By combining Savari StreetWAVE RSUs with Econolite’s intelligent transportation system solutions, Centracs ATMS and Cobalt controll

The latest IDTechEx Research overview report, Electric Vehicles 2017-2037: Forecasts, Analysis and Opportunities, forecasts that electric vehicles will be a US$731 billion market in 2027, profoundly changing society by 2037. This report provides forecasts in numbers and value for 45 types of electric vehicle across land, water and air. We have taken a bottom up approach in assessing each of these 45 vehicle types. The fact-based number and value ten year forecasts in these 45 categories and the twenty y

US traffic control equipment supplier, McCain, has enhanced its range of full colour dynamic message signs (DMS) by incorporating Swarco’s LED technology. The range, including variable message, blank out and lane control signs now includes new features that improve viewing and maintaining dynamic message signs, while offering lower power consumption. McCain signs are used communicating traffic conditions, emergency alerts, detours, lane changes, rerouting, and the like to drivers. Building on technology

TomTom Telematics is to collaborate with SOTI on a project that will see the SOTI’s enterprise mobility management software, MobiControl, made available to manage TomTom PRO 8 series driver terminals. SOTI MobiControl gives fleet managers complete remote control of the TomTom PRO 8 series, an open-platform device that is easily customised with apps to meet the needs of specific users and functions. Content and user profiles on devices are managed centrally, so drivers have access to the most appropriate

Multi-million pound road improvement schemes announced today by Highways England are set to help unlock the development of more than 4,000 homes and more than 10,900 jobs. The improvements, worth a total of US$92 million ((£75 million), will create opportunities around Derby and Daventry in the Midlands, Oldham in the North West, Durham in the North East and Taunton in the South West. Highways England is making a US$15.3 million (£12.45 million) contribution towards the schemes from its Growth and Hou

UK insurance company AXA UK has responded to the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee’s report on connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV), saying it will help influence the recent Vehicle Technology and Aviation Bill (VTA) and demonstrates the important considerations that need to be taken on-board. According to David Williams, technical director at AXA UK, the report rightly flags data access and standardisation as an important element of the CAV world going forward. He says it is impo

German software provider PTV Group is expanding its international business in the transport and logistics sectors, with the appointment of a new managing director for its local branch office in Shanghai, China. With experience in all facets of transportation, Oscar Jiang Jing is charged with boosting the group's business in the Chinese market. In addition to the existing office in Shanghai, a further two regional offices will be established in Beijing and Chengdu within the next three years. The compa

The Syndicat Mixte Intermodal Régional de Transports (SMIRT), a group of transport authorities in northern France, is to deploy the Conduent Mobility Companion Platform to deliver a new solution that simplifies ticket purchase and route information for passengers. The solution, called passpass.fr, enables door-to-door trip planning and combines a range of bus and train travel options from the 14 local transportation authorities in SMIRT, as well as access to carpooling and bike hire. Passengers enter

London’s first Low Emission Bus Zone has been launched in Putney High Street, one of the most polluted areas of the capital. The clean bus zone, which runs a total of 145 buses on seven scheduled routes, will now be serviced by cleaner buses in a move to cut harmful nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. The route is the first of 12 new Low Emission Bus Zones to be introduced at air quality hotspots. The zones represent the most extensive network of clean buses of any major world city. The routes are one‎ p

Car-sharing and ridesharing services provider RideCell is to partner with Auro Robotics, maker of driverless zero-emission shuttles to deliver autonomous transportation solutions to universities and corporate campuses. RideCell also provides a fleet management infrastructure that enables Auro to maintain its autonomous fleets across multiple university and corporate customers. The RideCell mobility platform allows students and faculty to request a shuttle on demand, and also provides important benefits f

A new report by the UK House of Lords Science and Technology Committee says the government should broaden its focus so work on connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV) benefits all sectors and not just road vehicles. The report, Connected and Autonomous Vehicles: The future? also states: While we cannot say with any certainty what the impact on congestion will be, it is possible to imagine a situation of total gridlock as CAV crawl around city centres. It is important the right policy decisions relating to C

Redflex Traffic Systems, provider of public safety technology throughout North America, has been awarded a Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce 2017 Impact Award as an ‘exceptional innovator’. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the Impact Awards recognises companies in the Phoenix-metro area for their leadership in the business community and positive impact on the economy. While Redflex is best known for operating automated red-light and speed camera programs, the company has helped develop numerous fa

Gewi has announced a new component for its TIC software which will collect Waze data and automatically take action based on the specific event type and subtype, enabling the software to automatically create road repair projects based on user-generated pothole reports from Waze. The process uses the project feature of the software, which allows the user to decide what action to take when a pothole is reported, such as sending a notification to the maintenance department based on the pothole location. Furt