News

The Royal Borough of Greenwich is partnering with Transport for London (TfL) to run a new consultation on changes to the West Parkside and Pilot Busway on Greenwich Peninsula. Residents are asked to help shape the final plan by submitting their views on the proposals. The proposals aim to create a dual carriageway with dedicated 24/7 bus lanes on either side of the central reservation and improve road safety. It also aims to keep journey times for bus passengers travelling to and from North Greenwich low

A UK university student researcher has made a breakthrough by designing and constructing a new system which ‘harvests’ the energy generated by a vehicle’s shock absorbers and feeds it back into batteries or electrical systems such as air conditioning. Ruichen Wang from the University of Huddersfield carried out the project to obtain his doctorate at the University and has published his findings. The article, Modelling, Testing and Analysis of a Regenerative Hydraulic Shock System, provides a summary of

Parking provider in the Swiss city of Geneva, Fondation des Parkings (Geneva FDP) has begun a digital parking enforcement pilot using automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) scan vehicles from Arvoo and Genetec. The pilot, which will continue until the end of November 2016, aims to ensure that drivers pay for parking while making parking payment enforcement more effective. Agendum parking data analytics will process the licence plate scans to provide parking attendants with data on violating vehicles a

Research carried out into average speed camera (ASC) effectiveness by the UK’s RAC Foundation concludes that the implementation of ASCs in the locations that have been assessed in its report has had the effect of reducing injury collisions, and especially those of a higher severity. Even taking into account other influencing factors, the report says the reductions are large and statistically significant. Researchers analysed detailed accident data taken from 25 sites where average speed cameras were inst

Work on a US$8.5 million (£7 million) pilot scheme to cut congestion along the M62 near Warrington in Cheshire, UK is to start next month. Highways England is delivering the innovative project at Croft Interchange to give drivers smoother and more reliable journeys along the eastbound M62, one of the busiest commuter congestion hotspots in the region. From next summer, smart motorway technology, such as electronic information signs and variable mandatory speed limits on the M62, will be used alongside

Global Traffic Technologies (GTT) has contracted with Jacksonville Transportation Authority in Florida for the expansion of its latest-generation GPS-equipped Opticom transit signal priority (TSP) system. The Opticom TSP system allows public transportation agencies to extend or truncate green cycle times at traffic signals for more accurate schedule adherence. In turn, transit vehicles are on the road less, which reduces fuel and fleet costs for more profitable operations. In Jacksonville, additional bu

Siemens has been chosen by the US Twin Cities of Minnesota and St Paul Metropolitan Council to manufacture 27 new light rail vehicles that will operate on the Metro Transit Southwest line expansion. Siemens will begin engineering the new vehicles, which will feature improvements including a redesigned middle section to improve passenger flow including wheelchairs and bicycles, ice cutters to remove sleet from the overhead wires that provide the electrical current to power the vehicles, and preferred seat

Google is ready to ‘graduate’ its self-driving car business into a stand-alone operation, according to Forbes. Speaking at the Nikkei Innovation Forum in Palo Alto this week, Google CEO John Krafcik, said, “Around a year ago we announced this new Alphabet structure and the ‘bet’ of Alphabet is sort of shorthand for these new entities that are forming within this new corporate structure. So this self driving car project is on its way to what we call a graduating project.” The announcement follows Googl

For the first time, Panasonic is to apply its integrated, intelligent automotive and traffic management technologies and other expertise to a connected transportation pilot and will partner with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to build a connected transportation program. Working with CDOT and other partners, Panasonic will focus first on connecting cars and the transportation system on I-70, one of the nation's most challenging corridors, as part of the state's RoadX program, Colorado's

Around 270 delegates at the annual conference of the Association of European Vehicle Logistics (ECG) on 20 and 21 October heard that the industry must embrace the accelerating shift towards digitalised processes and e-commerce in order to meet changing customer expectations and ultimately survive. The vehicle logistics sector must keep pace with the innovative rapid technological development in the wider automotive industry. However, legal uncertainty and a lack of uniform implementation of existing Europea

Engineering consultancy Ramboll has today published analysis on the potential revenue which could be generated by motorway advertising on gantries, designed to appeal to driverless car passengers. Figures have shown suggested income of over US$5.4 million (£4.5 million) in 2026, rising steadily over subsequent years as the new technology is introduced and leading to total revenue between 2025 and 2070 of over US$4.8 billion (£4 billion). Many have estimated that self-driving cars are likely to be common

Taking place in Stuttgart from 8-10 November, Vision, the international trade fair for machine vision, is rapidly approaching. A wide range of machine vision technology will be showcased at Vision, which aims to be the market place for all component manufacturers and a platform for system providers and integrators. Vision showcases the technological developments and trends in the industry and the organisers say this year’s event has three main technological 'hot' topics: embedded vision, 3D machine vi

The Contra Costa Transportation Authority in California, US, has awarded a contract to WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff for construction management services for the completion of the I-680 HOV (high-occupancy vehicle) Express Lanes project. The Authority, in cooperation with the California Department of Transportation, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and the Federal Highway Administration, seeks to improve traffic operations and relieve congestion with the construction of HOV express lanes on southbound

Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) has been awarded a $12.7 million, two-year contract extension from the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) in the US to provide automated fare collection (AFC) maintenance services. The contract also includes options for an upgrade path to support future updates, which could increase the value to US$52 million if all options are exercised. CTS designed and delivered MARTA’s Breeze Card, a card-based AFC system that utilises Cubic’s smart card ticketing

With climate change generating increasing challenges for road operators, the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) has begun a US$491,000 (€450,000) research project to help European road operators better address the impacts of climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Following a successful competitive bid, TRL is leading a consortium of six partners to deliver the two year DeTECToR (Decision-support Tools for Embedding Climate Change Thinking on Roads) project. The project is part of CEDR’