News

Swarco Traffic has appointed Tony Logan as sales manager to support the roll-out of Smart City Messenger, its next-generation of mobile variable message signs (VMS). Logan has particular expertise in the VMS market, having recently led the development and delivery of a broad range of traffic design, management and operational maintenance projects. Smart City Messenger has four central features: the only full colour portable VMS in the UK; a long-lasting fuel cell power unit enables year round unatten

SES America’s (SESA) latest interactive webinar aims to show transportation officials how to cost-effectively upgrade their dynamic message signs (DMS) to the latest technology, while providing clear, visible communication to drivers. The free webinar takes place on Wednesday and Thursday 15 and 16 February and more details and joining information are available on the SESA website. (link http://web.sesamerica.com/full-color-dms-retrofit-webinar-registration-overview?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&u

Tanzania opened a new public transport system in its commercial capital, Dar es Salaam this week, in an effort to ease the journeys of millions of commuters, reports Reuters. A city of four million people, Dar es Salaam until now has had only a haphazard transport system, based on mostly private mini-buses. The new Dar es Salaam Rapid Transit System network, paid for by a US$290 million loan from the World Bank, will comprise more than 100 buses operating on dedicated bus lanes into the centre of the cit

The US state of Ohio and the Ohio State University are funding the US$45 million Phase 1 expansion of the Transportation Research Center's (TRC) new 540-acre SMART (Smart Mobility Advanced Research and Test) Center. To to be built within the 4,500 acres of the TRC’s independent automotive testing facility and proving grounds, SMART aims to be a hub for testing of automated and autonomous vehicles, designed to enable car manufacturers and suppliers to expand their testing. Phase 1 of the expansion will in

The I-75 South Metro reversible express lane project In Atlanta, Georgia, US, will open this weekend along almost 21km between Highway 138 and Highway 155 on the new double-lane addition to the I-75 median. The lanes will carry traffic northbound toward downtown Atlanta during the morning rush hour and southbound during midday and peak afternoon and evening traffic. Parsons prepared conceptual design reports for the project, including lane configuration and access studies, as well as the environmental

New Zealand’s first on-road research trial of autonomous vehicles has been launched at Christchurch Airport, with the arrival of a fully autonomous Smart Shuttle which will begin testing in the next few weeks. Christchurch International Airport has partnered with the country’s intelligent transport system (ITS) supplier, HMI Technologies for the trial, which will use a French manufactured NAVYA ARMA autonomous shuttle vehicle operating on private roads of the Christchurch International Airport campus. Th

Cost-effective, high-resolution light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors capable of long-range object detection will be necessary for high to fully-automated driving applications. Demand for 3D mapping and imaging, better overall performance, automated processing of graphic data gathering and self-sufficient sensor with best-in-class performance in low-visibility conditions are factors driving the development and adoption of LiDAR sensors within the advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) sensor suite

Flir is offering two-day training course on incident detection and data collection from 22-23 March at the Novotel in Bruges, Belgium. The interactive and hands-on training aims to provide participants with the ability be able to select the right camera for a project (analogue, IP, thermal), configure the detection boards on a fundamental level and manage received events and data from the detectors. More details and registration information are available on the Flir website. (link http://www.flir.eu/

US transportation company Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) has agreed with the city of Toulouse, France to open a facility for the development and testing of Hyperloop-related technologies. As part of this agreement, the city, known Aerospace Valley, is providing a 3,000 square metre facility along with outdoor terrain. The agreement will enable HTT and local government to tap regional aerospace talent pool for continuous development and improvement of Hyperloop technology in Toulouse, France

Interoperable smart ticketing systems supplier Rambus Ecebs is to partner with Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) in Scotland in a pilot program for the newly announced host card emulation (HCE) ticketing solution, which will be delivered by Nevis Technologies, the joint venture company formed between Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), Scotland’s regional transport partnership and Rambus Ecebs. Roll-out for the first HCE ticketing solution is planned during 2017. The program uses a com

The city of West Bend in Wisconsin, US, is to upgrade its traffic pre-emption solution to Global Traffic Technologies’ (GTT) Opticom, which works alongside intersection controllers to help ensure emergency vehicles can move through intersections rapidly and safely. The Opticom emergency vehicle pre-emption (EVP) system in West Bend is used by both fire and police vehicles. It has been deployed to two of the city’s busiest intersections and 49 vehicles. There are plans to expand to further intersections i

Zero tolerance on drink driving, additional hazard perception training and graduated forms of licensing should become the norm to help tackle the risks faced by young drivers and motorcycle riders in Europe, according to the YEARS report (Young Europeans Acting for Road Safety. More than 3,800 young people (aged 18-24) are killed each year on EU roads – the biggest single cause of death for this age group. A report by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) and the UK Parliamentary Advisory Council

The Council of British Chambers of Commerce for Europe (COBCOE) has announced a trade delegation to Dubai, UAE, to provide UK and European businesses with access to decision-makers in the UAE focusing on the theme of Future Cities. Europe is currently active in many of the critical Smart City technologies like IoT, sustainable design, urban mobility and renewable energy, while Dubai is home to an ambitious smart city project, with a pledge to make 25 per cent of all journeys in UAE driverless by 2030.

TomTom and Mappy have extended their long-term relationship, increasing Mappy’s access to TomTom traffic data from ten countries to the whole of Europe, matching its coverage access to TomTom maps. Mappy is also positioned to leverage TomTom’s next generation map database, leading the way to smarter mobility. Mappy is licensing TomTom map and traffic information to power its Internet mapping site and mobile consumer app via app stores. Mappy leverages traffic information from TomTom when calculating a ro

Parsons has been awarded a three year initial contract with two optional renewals by the Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) to continue running its Freeway Service Patrol (FSP) program on Oahu, one of the most congested regions in the United States. Under an existing FSP contract that ends this year, Parsons has been delivering these services on the island for the last four years, providing roadside assistance to motorists, helping emergency responders at traffic incidents and removing roadway de