News

Local authorities in the UK are set to get the power to fine motorists for moving traffic offences. Control over the issuing of fines is set to move from the police, to local councils, should the proposals be approved next year. Currently, London boroughs are able to fine motorists for similar offences, while councils outside of London can only fine motorists over parking violations or for driving in bus lanes. However under the new plans, councils across the country will gain the power to issue fines fo

In cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), Michael Baker International is to provide construction services for the improvement of Freedom Road, a major roadway that connects the northern suburbs of Pittsburgh, Interstate 79 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike to State Route 65 (SR 65). PennDOT recently awarded the company a US$4.9 million contract to provide construction management and inspection services for phases one and two of the multi-year project. As part of the c

Finnish contactless ticketing and RFID tag supplier Confidex is to supply Lahti city’s public transport committee LSL, Lahden Seudun Liikenne, with smart tickets for the LAHTI2017 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, which take place in the city from 22 February-5 March 2017. The tickets are compatible with the Confidex Waltti travel card system, already in use in 13 cities in Finland and in three countryside transportation areas and planned to be rolled out across Finland as a whole by 2018. The ski

A report from the UK Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) has called for greater on track competition on long distance rail routes. It says the UK’s transport authorities have been resistant to open access competition on passenger routes. Open access operators are train companies that run services over similar routes and are not subject to franchising agreements. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has reported that where open access operates in the UK, such as the East Coast Mainline, passen

The Ohio River Bridges East End Crossing, now named the Lewis and Clark Bridge, has opened to traffic to connect SR 265 in Indiana with the Gene Snyder Freeway in Kentucky, marking the substantial completion of the $2.3 billion Louisville Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges project, which included the Downtown Crossing, now named the Abraham Lincoln Bridge. Parsons was the lead partner in the Community Transportation Solutions joint venture (JV). The JV served as the overall project’s general engineerin

BlackBerry has unveiled its BlackBerry QNX Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Centre (AVIC). Housed within the BlackBerry QNX facility in Ontario, Canada, the centre aims to accelerate the progress of connected and self-driving vehicles by developing production-ready software independently and in collaboration with partners in the private and public sector. As part of this initiative, BlackBerry QNX plans to recruit and hire local software engineers to work on ongoing and emerging engineering projects for co

The rising popularity of mobility services such as car sharing, rental and leasing is stoking significant interest in keyless access systems, according to Frost & Sullivan research. Following the saturation of radio frequency technology, Bluetooth low energy (BLE), biometrics and near-field communication (NFC) are poised to emerge as the next wave of wireless technologies in the automotive industry. This evolution from legacy vehicle access system to advanced access systems opens the market to specialist co

The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has been looking at stretches of the UK’s strategic road network that would most benefit from Government investment following the Chancellor’s commitment in his Autumn Statement to fund improvements to congestion hot spots. Philip Hammond said the Government would spend IS$1.6 billion (£1.3 billion) on improving England’s roads, including US$222 million (£220 million) on tackling congestion at pinch points and US$33 million (£27 million) on an expressway connecting Ox

The industrial and commercial sector is the largest part of the electric vehicle value market and that will continue to be the case according to analysis in the IDTechEx report, Industrial and Commercial Electric Vehicles 2017-2027. Buses are the largest part of that and they are mainly made in China for China, where typical orders are ten times the size of orders elsewhere. Less dramatically, construction, mining and agriculture do not see 70 per cent grants for EV versions yet they are steadily becomin

An informal meeting in Whitehall is due to take place early in 2017, according to the Guardian, in which ministers and officials will tell mobile companies that ‘drive safe’ modes, similar to the airplane mode that has become standard, must be included in basic software ahead of a broader crackdown on illegal mobile phone use on the roads. In spring 2017, the fixed penalty for using a mobile phone while driving without a hands-free device will double to US$248 (£200). The fixed penalty notice will increa

The European Commission has published a list of 19 lifesaving safety technologies that could be made mandatory on new vehicles in the next update of EU vehicle safety rules expected next year. The European Transport Safety Council (ETCS) welcomes the announcement but says several critical areas for action are missing, and the proposed timescale is far too long considering that most of the technologies are already available. ETSC says 26,000 people die on European Union roads annually, with at least

WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff has been awarded a contract by the American Center for Mobility (ACM) to develop a concept of operations, system requirements, and a procurement strategy for the technology elements of a major new connected and automated vehicle test site facility. The ACM will be built on more than 335 acres adjacent to Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, where B-24 bombers were made during World War II in a factory built by Henry Ford. It aims to become a national advanced automotive testing and p

Cohort business and road technology specialist SEA has been awarded a further contract by the City of Cardiff Council to help the Welsh capital to reduce the congestion impact of traffic growth. SEA’s ROADflow technology will be used to provide nearly 30 Flexi and Motion road traffic camera systems, plus Vision vehicles, to enforce yellow box-junctions and bus lane regulations. This latest order will double the number of bus lane cameras to about 20 and deploy a further five yellow box-junction cam

The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has made a US$499 million federal grant agreement with the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (FWTA) to build TEX Rail, a commuter rail line between downtown Fort Worth and the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. The project will link three of the region’s major activity centres and provide an alternative to travel on the area’s congested roads. The 26.8-mile commuter rail line will serve downtown Fort Worth, the City of Gra

According to Dr Peter Harrop of research company IDTechEx, there is still no agreement on the best type of electric motor to use in heavy trucks. The company’s analysis indicates that the booming, confusing traction motor business will rise to around US$400 billion in 2027. Its new report, Electric Motors for Electric Vehicles 2017-2027 navigates the jargon, the design options and the disagreements. The changing needs and evolving technology are matched to create forecasts and technology timelines based