News

US-based weather forecast provider Global Weather Corporation (GWC is launching a free subscription program Weekend Road Conditions Preview providing a snapshot preview of the changing road surface conditions as of Friday morning for the upcoming weekend for all major roadways in North America and Europe. Weekend Road Conditions Preview is based on the company’s more comprehensive RoadWX technology, which forecasts road surface conditions and corresponding weather forecasts.

UK-based Ricardo Energy & Environment, working with technology partner OPUS Inspection, has launched a vehicle emissions monitoring service for the measurement of emissions from vehicles on UK roads. Installed at locations of interest, the system records driving emissions in a completely non-intrusive manner from each passing vehicle, including nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and ammonia. The system can also be linked to automatic number plate recogniti

Swedish company Fältcom, a Telia subsidiary, has closed a deal with the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) to supply its IoT platform MIIPS for an upgrade of 475 traffic signals in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island in an effort to improve traffic flow at intersections. It is estimated that there are more than 13,000 traffic lights in New York City. Fältcom’s Linux-based MIIPS is already used by the DOT in a program which connects buses and digital displays to provide travel inf

The UK government has announced a new US$28.5 million (£23 million) fund to accelerate the take up of hydrogen vehicles and roll out more cutting-edge infrastructure. Hydrogen fuel providers will be able to bid for funding in partnership with organisations that produce hydrogen vehicles to help build high-tech infrastructure, including fuel stations. The funding will boost the creation of hydrogen fuel infrastructure and uptake of hydrogen-powered vehicles. A competition will be launched this summer,

UK companies Arup and Mabey have installed what they say is the world’s first modular glass-fibre, reinforced polymer bridge, with Mabey becoming the first licensed distribution partner. The post-tensioned bridge is designed to be assembled in hard to reach sites where large cranes or heavy machinery cannot be used. Part-funded by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) the modular bridge is expected to be of particular interest to the rail industry, providing a safer alternative to level crossings w

Joint venture company Nevis Technologies is to supply its smart ticketing solutions to UK bus company Lothian Buses, providing a platform of interoperable ticketing products that can be integrated with Lothian Buses’ existing infrastructure. This allows Lothian Buses to offer smart card ticketing which could also be used across other modes of transport, including rail, subway and ferry. Nevis Technologies is a joint venture company between smart transportation technology provider Rambus and Strathclyde

Parking equipment manufacturer WPS has won a further landmark contract to provide its ParkAdvance technology for the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales. ParkAdvance is a pay-on-foot system designed featuring a new IP-based operating system architecture that enables the parking system to simply and directly connect with multiple technologies being deployed in car parks both now and in the future.

With distracted driving causing a dramatic rise in ‘swerve to avoid’ crashes, Claims Management & Adjusting (CMA) has welcomed a clarification by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) that traffic flow CCTV is not personal data. In a stance criticised by drivers, fleet operators and insurers, Highways England has apparently used the Data Protection Act to justify the deletion of footage after only seven days, even when it might prove liability in a serious accident. It has also cited the cost of st

Siemens has been chosen by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), a US independent special district that provides sustainable, accessible, community-focused transportation options for Santa Clara County, California, to provide innovative electrification technology to power the Guadalupe Corridor light rail line. VTA’s infrastructure modernisation will replace 27-year-old systems with Siemens’ new technology that includes advanced monitoring and diagnostic features to streamline maintenance a

Ford is introducing technology that can automatically brake for pedestrians at night; the pedestrian detection system processes information from a radar located in the bumper and a windshield mounted camera; while a database of pedestrian shapes enables the system to distinguish people from objects such as trees and road signs. The camera delivers more than 30 snapshots every second and the video live-feed and viewing angle enables the system to pick out pedestrians, even in low-light conditions, illumin

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