News

As part of their efforts to reduce the number of people killed and injured in road crashes, the New Zealand Government and NZ Transport Agency have recently installed a MetService decision support service for the Transport Operations Centres (TOCs) in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. TOC staff, as well as key Agency staff and road network contractors, are now receiving Severe Road-Weather Advisories prepared by MetService meteorologists, warning of weather events that could impact road safety, traf

We speak to trend researcher Sven Gábor Jánszky, head of the renowned 2b AHEAD think tank in Leipzig, on the world view of Generation Y, the mobility-related preferences of digital citizens and their disruptive effects on the transport systems of the future.

Siemens has received the Transport Ticketing Global Award in the 2017 Digital Champion category for its current project with Swiss South Eastern Railways Südostbahn (SOB). The company has provided one of the first commercial be-in/be-out ticketing solutions, built on Siemens SiMobility and incorporating services for intermodal transport. Passengers can download the Connect ‘permission to ride’ app to their smartphone; this is detected by a system installed in the public transport vehicle and enables p

Daimler is ramping up the expansion of its network for electric cars by making a strategic investment in American charging solutions provider ChargePoint. ChargePoint already has a large customer base in North America and is planning expansion into Europe, which will be supported by the Daimler investment. Daimler’s investment in ChargePoint enables it to move forward with its corporate strategy on electric mobility and its new electric vehicle brand, EQ. The company is also focusing on expansion of its

Managed lanes throughout the US are off to a good start in 2017, according to Fitch Ratings in its latest managed lanes peer review. Actual performance is so far exceeding Fitch’s rating case for the sector as a whole, with 95 Express in Northern Virginia and NTE (segments 1 and 2) in Texas proving to be notable examples. Also boosting long-term prospects for managed lanes is the performance on the longest operating facility, SR-91 in Orange County, California. This state road is seeing strong compound a

Volvo Cars has selected TomTom’s HD Map to power the first phase of the Volvo Drive Me programme, the company’s research project into autonomous driving. This will see real drivers will integrating autonomous driving into their daily lives on public roads. The first group of drivers will be recruited in Gothenburg, Sweden, with further pilot schemes organised in London and China. TomTom’s HD Map, is a digital map-based product that helps automated vehicles precisely locate themselves on the road. TomTom

Specialist management consultancy Baringa Partners has responded to the UK Chancellor’s Budget announcement of support for electric vehicles, saying it is a positive first step but doesn’t go far enough. Senior consultant Natalie Bird says the transport sector trails the energy and industrial sectors on decarbonisation. Despite significant uptake in electric cars since 2011, the rate of eligible vehicle registrations slowed substantially last year. Although the UK’s 2050 Greenhouse Gas target theoretical

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) is to partner with private local investors and the Ministry of Transportation in Indonesia in a US2.5 million contract for the exploration of the feasibility for a Hyperloop system for Indonesia. The initial focus will be on Jakarta and a full exploration of Hyperloop transportation connecting Java and Sumatra. With a population of over 260 million, Indonesia is the fourth most populated country in the world. Jakarta’ population of over 10 million people faces

Siemens will unveil Plus+, a new generation of traffic controller and signals at Traffex 2017 at the NEC, Birmingham next month. The new solution includes newly designed and dedicated on-street equipment and fully integrated design, configuration and installation tools, ensuring the most efficient traffic signal implementation available today. The Plus+ system uses advanced technology to distribute intelligence and control around the intersection, rather than it all being centrally located in the contro

Ways to boost private sector investment in infrastructure will be the focus of a regional seminar held by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EBRD), the World Bank Group and the G20 Global Infrastructure Hub on 9-10 March in Athens. The event will bring together policymakers from 20 countries in eastern Europe, central Asia and the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean, private and institutional investors as well international experts on infrastructure project finance. They will discuss po

The Flir Traficon Academy is offering training on automatic incident detection and traffic data collection in Bruges, Belgium on 22 and 23 March. The training focuses on the solutions and applications Flir Intelligent Transportation Systems (FLIR ITS) offers for fast detection of incidents on highways and bridges, detecting incidents and fire in tunnels and accurate traffic data collection on highways and bridges. After this interactive and hands-on training, participants will be able to select the righ

An advertorial for a new Jaguar car, which appeared in the Guardian newspaper, received two complaints that it was irresponsible because it encouraged unsafe driving practices. Advertising regulator the Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) concluded that the advertorial was irresponsible because it was likely to encourage unsafe driving practices and stated that it must not appear again in its current form. The ASA said the advertorial was aimed at business executives and primarily promoted a car that

In an effort to improve air quality, Singapore is to introduce the Vehicular Emissions Scheme (VES) to replace the Carbon Emissions-Based Vehicle Scheme (CEVS) for all new cars, taxis and newly imported used cars with effect from 1 January 2018. The new scheme will cover four more pollutants to reduce harmful vehicle emissions and will be applicable for all cars and taxis registered from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2019. The VES rebate or surcharge for a car or taxi will be determined by its worst-perf

TrafficCast International has completed the implementation of its latest generation Bluetooth signal sensor detector technology, BlueTOAD Spectra, in Florida. In December 2016, the Florida Department of Transportation's Traffic Engineering Research Laboratory (TERL) approved the new BlueTOAD Spectra dual-radio Bluetooth detection system for inclusion on the State's Approved Products List (APL). At the same time, several Florida local agencies also tested the BlueTOAD Spectra. Seminole County, a Blue

Knight Architects and Arup have submitted plans for Luton Airport Gateway; a new bridge which will form part of the US$244 million (£200 million) mass passenger transit (MPT) system linking London Luton Airport with Luton Parkway railway station. The MPT will enable fast, easy access from central London to the UK’s fifth biggest and fastest-growing major airport in 30 minutes by providing a seamless transfer time of just five minutes from Luton Airport Parkway to the airport terminal. The system will be a f