News

Ordered to cut air pollution levels by Brussels, a group of EU cities are taking the European Commission to court over its decision to relax car emissions standards, making their objectives even less attainable, according to EurActiv France. The EU’s muddled position on air pollution has angered the bloc’s major cities. For Paris, Madrid and Copenhagen, the EU’s decision to give carmakers more freedom to pollute is unacceptable. But since it was discreetly added to the Official Journal of the European Unio

United Bridge Partners, (UBP) and ETAN Industries are to team up to provide back-office services for the Dominion Boulevard Project in Chesapeake, Virginia, US, following an award to UBP subsidiary, UBP Dominion from the City of Chesapeake for the development of a complete Open Road Tolling (ORT) back-office system for the project.

A mathematical model that could significantly reduce traffic congestion by combining data from existing infrastructure, remote sensors, mobile devices and their communication systems has been developed by a research team from Australia’s Swinburne University of Technology. Swinburne‘s Congestion Breaker project utilises intelligent transport systems (ITS), a field of research that combines information and data from a range of sources for effective traffic control.

One year after its debut, Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) says its investment in wrong-way driving detection technology is proving to be very successful – none of the 47 wrong-way driving incidents where these systems have been installed has resulted in a wrong-way crash. Working with the Rhode Island State Police, RIDOT identified 24 high-risk locations for installing this technology at select ramps along I-95, I-195, Route 146, Route 10, Route 4, Route 6 and Routes 6/10 at Memorial Boule

A coalition of over fifty 50 automakers, state transportation agencies and other groups has written to the White House and other federal policymakers urging them not to open a portion of the wireless spectrum reserved for connected vehicles in the near future, says Reuters. The letter was signed by major auto trade groups representing nearly the entire auto industry, including Toyota Motor Corp, Ford Motor Co, General Motors Co, Volkswagen AG and Honda. It came after a cable industry trade group and some te

Integrating intelligent transport systems (ITS) into South Australia was the focus of a recent ITS Australia showcase event, when a full house heard presentations from Minister Stephen Mullighan, Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, and ITS leaders. South Australia is supporting technological innovations to create safer and more efficient transport systems by adopting connected vehicles and infrastructure.

SES America (SESA) recently completed the manufacture and installation of full colour LED dynamic Trailblazer signs for the Michigan Department of Transportation and is set to soon begin manufacturing of additional signs for the next phase of this ongoing work. The signs are part of integrated corridor management along I-75 designed by the Michigan Department of Transportation. Each sign is part of SESA’s Messenger 5000 embedded DMS series, a line of embedded DMS designed to display travel time, toll rate,

D'Artagnan Consulting has been awarded a contract by the Washington State Transportation Commission (WSTC) to prepare a detailed state-wide road usage charge (RUC) demonstration implementation plan in preparation for a project expected to start in 2017. The company is working with Berk Consulting, WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff and several DBE firms and the work will entail updating the WSTC body of materials assessing RUC since 2012 that was successfully completed at the direction of the State Legislature.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has released a solicitation for a full and open competition to procure services for non-personal, technical support services for the Connected Vehicle Pilot deployment and program evaluation. The Connected Vehicle Pilot Deployment program includes three phases: Phase 1: Concept Development Phase, Phase 2: Design/Build/Test (for which this solicitation will ascertain that the objectives of the program are met), and Phase 3: Maintain and Operate.

German consumers are concerned about the practicalities of owning an electric car, according to a survey by market research company GfK. For 54 per cent of those interested in buying an electric car, purchase premiums and tax benefits were not a reason to choose one. However, three out of four consumers looking to buy a new car considered the environmental aspects and low noise of an electric vehicle to be important. Lower maintenance costs compared to petrol or diesel vehicles were also key, while 72 per c

Traffic management agencies and city planners will soon have access to real-time data to better manage traffic flows on the streets of Cebu City and Metro Manila. The World Bank, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and Grab, a third-party ride booking app provider, have launched the OpenTraffic initiative, which it is hoped will help address traffic congestion and road safety challenges.

The UK Department for Transport (DfT) has released its circular on Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 (TSRGD), which it says represents a significant contribution to the Government's deregulatory programme. TSRGD prescribes the designs and conditions of use for traffic signs, including road markings, traffic signals, pedestrian, cycle and equestrian crossings, to be lawfully placed on or near roads in England, Scotland and Wales.

New connected vehicle data environments are now available in the US. Department of Transportation's Research Data Exchange (RDE). This web-based data resource collects, manages, and provides access to archived and real-time multi-source and multi-modal data to support the development and testing of intelligent transportation system applications. The RDE now houses the following three additional data environments:

Connected car verification systems provider Spirent Communications is to continue its technical partnership with Aston Martin Racing throughout the 2016 World Endurance Championship season. Spirent is working with Aston Martin Racing during testing to evaluate automotive technologies on the 2016 V8 Vantage GTE race cars, such as the accuracy and performance of GPS receivers and interference monitoring.

The NFC Forum and the Global Certification Forum (GCF) have entered into a cooperation agreement that represents a major step toward the objective of providing interoperable contactless public transport access and ticketing using a broad range of NFC-enabled devices worldwide. The agreement allows both GCF and NFC Forum labs to run NFC Forum analogue and NFC tag test cases and recognise test results across both organisations.