News

German automotive supplier ZF has acquired a 40 per cent stake in Hamburg-based Ibeo Automotive Systems, a specialist in LiDAR technology and the development of environmental recognition software with a particular focus on applications for autonomous driving. The two companies plan to develop the next generation of LiDAR technology for vehicle applications and autonomous driving, without the rotating mirrors contained in current LiDAR systems. According to ZF, LiDAR expands its current sensor portfo

According to China’s news agency Xinhua the futuristic Transit Elevated Bus (TEB-1) has conducted its first road test in the northern city of Qinhuangdao, in the Hebei province. The 22m long, 7.8m wide and 4.8m high TEB-1 can carry up to 300 passengers. Designed to help ease traffic congestion on China’s roads, the passenger compartment of the bus rises far above other vehicles on the road, allowing cars to pass underneath. It will run on a fixed route on rails places at the edges of the two lanes it str

In a deal worth around US$2.4 billion, US-based Verizon Communications is to acquire Fleetmatics Group as it seeks to accelerate its position as a provider of fleet and mobile workforce management solutions. Fleetmatics has developed a wide range of software as a service (SaaS)-based products and solutions for small and medium-sized businesses. According to Verizon, the combination of products and services, software platforms, strong customer bases, domain expertise and experience, as well as the recent

As part of a long-term strategy to improve traffic safety, Western Australia Police (WAPOL) has awarded Jenoptik’s Traffic Solutions division a contract by the for the delivery, installation, maintenance and in part the operation of an initial total of 81 speed and red light enforcement systems. The seven year, US$21 million (AU$28 million), contract includes options for extension for up to four years as well as for a possible program expansion with additional camera systems. The total volume for Jenopti

Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS) has been awarded a $33 million contract by the Miami-Dade County’s Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW) to modernise the Cubic-supplied EASY Card revenue management system and provide 10 years of back office cloud computing and support services. The project provides a significant technology refresh and expansion of customer services at a fraction of the cost for new system procurement. The award includes Cubic’s contactless bankcard and near field commun

Q-Free is to supply toll tags to Portuguese tag service provider Via Verde, part of the BRISA Group, under an exclusive three-year frame agreement valued at around US$9-11 million (NOK75-90 million). Delivery will begin immediately. Via Verde is the leading DSRC tag service provider in Portugal with more than three million active customers. Q-Free, which has delivered approximately four million tags to Portugal over the years and expects demand to be significant in the coming

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has awarded International Road Dynamics (IRD) a US$3,377,105 contract to maintain and maximize performance of the state-wide weigh-in-motion (WIM) network. IDOT currently has 34 active IRD WIM systems that will be covered under this agreement. IRD will be responsible for the repair, maintenance, and service activities of the in-road scales and sensors, roadside electronics, queue detection and camera surveillance systems, and PrePass preclearance weighing

Self-service ticketing technology developed by UK company Parkeon has been installed across Sydney, Australia to make multimodal travel easier and more convenient for users of the Opal smart card scheme. The company has provided 255 ticket vending and smart card recharge machines for Transport for New South Wales train, light rail and ferry terminals to issue disposable single-trip cards and enable subscribers to reload their cards via cash or card. Parkeon developed self-service technology based on i

Work will begin this summer on the first major improvements to US Interstate 66 inside the Capital Beltway, Virginia, in 15 years. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) project is part of a comprehensive initiative to transform the I-66 corridor, giving commuters and other travellers a variety of fast and reliable choices for getting to and from work. Toll revenues will fund multimodal improvements, giving commuters expanded options for travel. To jumpstart the process, the Commonwealth Transp

The London Borough of Bexley is installing automated enforcement systems to capture moving traffic contravention at several key locations. The contract for the Videalert fixed/redeployable cameras has been awarded to OpenView Security Solutions and will supplement the council’s existing fleet of CCTV cars and enable enforcement to be extended to improve driver compliance. The Videalert CCTV enforcement system combines automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) with video analytics to automatically cap

Following the announcement in March of a contract award by Slovenia’s motorway management company Družba za Avtoceste v Republiki Sloveniji (DARS) to a consortium of Q-Free and Telekom Slovenije, the National Revision Commission of Slovenia has completed the complaint review process and all complaints have been rejected. The contract to deliver a nationwide truck tolling system for the country will be finalised in the near future. Q-Free will provide the system delivery, including the enforcement back

UK company Delphi Automotive has been selected by the Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA) as a strategic partner to implement autonomous mobility concepts. The company will provide a fleet of fully autonomous vehicles and will develop a cloud-based mobility-on-demand software (AMoD) suite and will conduct a trial of an urban, point-to-point, low-speed, autonomous, mobility-on-demand service in Singapore's Autonomous Vehicles Test Bed located at a business park in the western area of the city. D

Nearly US$500 million will be made available for transportation projects across the US in the eighth round of the highly successful and competitive Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program. Announcing the funding, US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx highlight how this will improve safety and economic opportunity in two US territories, 32 states and 40 communities across the country. This year’s TIGER awards include US$19 million to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania fo

Jumpstartfund's Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) has agreed to collaborate with Deutsche Bahn in Germany to create an ‘Innovation Train’, a conventional train that will use HTT’s new technologies to increase efficiency and bring a modern digital presence to today's train transportation. HTT's approach to creating the Hyperloop system has led to the development of additional technologies such as augmented reality windows and a digital ecosystem through its community. These developments will sup

American Traffic Solutions (ATS) has called the findings released last week by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) ‘a stark reminder of the high stakes drivers, passengers, pedestrians and other road users face when red-light safety camera programs are turned off.’ The analysis of 14 cities that had ended their red-light camera programs during 2010 to 2014, found the rate of fatal red-light running crashes jumped 30 percent compared with the expected rate had cameras remained in use, accor