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IAV and Microsoft are teaming up to develop a ‘connected highly automated driving’ (CHAD) vehicle, the companies announced at CES 2016. The vehicle will connect with Microsoft’s Azure and Windows 10 to prevent pedestrian accidents. In addition they claim the new technology will also increase driving comfort. This new vehicle-to-X (V2X) communication connectivity approach uses data from the vehicle’s surroundings to improve smart service for convenience and enhance safety by anticipating and mitigating po

As part of its I-4 Ultimate and Beyond the Ultimate widening projects, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has awarded a contract to WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff to design the reconstruction and widening of a nine-mile segment of I-4 in Seminole County. The project involves reconstruction and widening of I-4 from the existing six-lane divided interstate to a ten-lane divided interstate. The concept design proposes the addition of two new barrier-separated express lanes in each direction for a tot

The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) has elected Earl J. (Buddy) Croft III as its 2016 president. Croft was elected president for a one year term by the IBTTA’s international membership at its 2015 Annual Meeting in September. Croft is currently the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority (RITBA) in Jamestown, Rhode Island. Since 2006, Croft has led a state-wide team responsible for finance, operations and maintenance of Rhode Island’s four larg

The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County Texas (Metro) selected Init to provide a state-of-the-art bidding, time-keeping and dispatching software solution (Mobile-Perdis), together with a link to a third party scheduling system, enabling it to streamline labour and time intensive tasks to better manage their nearly 1,600 vehicle operators. Using Mobile-Perdis, Metro will be able to meet their specific dispatching needs without extensive customisation. Driving and work rules will be arranged i

A new application programme interface (API) developed by UrbanThings for Bristol City Council claims to provide easy and free access to a huge wealth of transport data in one place, making it possible for innovative technologies to be developed. The Bristol API supports the Council’s approach to opening up data sets, as it already does through the Bristol open data portal and is being further developed by the Bristol Is Open project. The wider aim is to work with the technology community to explore ways

Australian DTI Group, which provides advanced surveillance systems, solutions and services to the global mobile security industry, is setting its sights on the intelligent transportation systems (ITS) sector, with a compact in-vehicle enforcement system. The system utilises high definition recording with internal and external vehicle cameras, including thermal imaging cameras and integration of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR). Data from the cameras is transmitted to a sunlight readable touch s

Connected car services provider Airbiquity is to partner with software technology specialist Arynga to enable remote software update campaigns for connected car systems and components from the cloud. They claim that ability to plan and execute cloud-based software update campaigns will provide significant financial benefits to automakers in the years ahead as vehicles are increasingly engineered to receive them, in addition to vehicle enhancements for consumers purchasing connected cars. Automakers wi

Following a successful trial, New Zealand smart parking specialist Smart Parking has been awarded a US$939,000 five-year contract for the provision of 3,000 parking sensors in the Wellington central business district street parking areas. The system comprises of RFID-equipped SmartEye sensors flush-mounted in the parking bay, which use advanced sensing technology to detect when a vehicle has occupied a parking space. SmartRep backoffice software collates and analyses the live information on how parkin

Gentex Corporation and TransCore are teaming up to provide auto manufacturers with a vehicle-integrated tolling solution that enables motorists to drive on all US toll roads without a traditional toll tag on the windshield. Currently more than 75 per cent of new car registrations are in states with toll roads with over 50 million drivers accessing these roads each year. The two companies have signed an exclusive agreement to integrate TransCore's universal toll module (UTM) technology into Gentex's elect

TomTom Telematics has announced the acquisition of Polish fleet management service provider Finder, effective as of the end of December 2015. This acquisition adds more than 60,000 subscriptions to the TomTom Telematics installed base and, says the company, strengthens its position as the major fleet management and telematics service provider in Europe. The total installed base of TomTom Telematics has now passed the 600,000 vehicles landmark. “Poland is one of the fastest growing telematics markets i

The Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport Corporation (NMMT) has launched the Ridlr mobile ticketing service for buses in Mumbai, enabling passengers to book tickets in advance via the Ridlr app available on Google Play Store. Ridlr is a commuting app which provides real time information for diverse transit modes, including train, bus and metro along with mobile ticketing needs. Ridlr also gives its commuters live traffic updates so that the commuters can steer clear of congestion by taking alternate routes.

Transport services and town centres across London have been given a New Year boost, as the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) confirm US$218 million in funding for the London boroughs in 2016/17. The annual borough funding is provided by TfL to help the boroughs pay for local transport projects set out in their Local Implementation Plans (LIPs). LIPs are plans that show how the boroughs will support the Mayor’s Transport Strategy in their area. For 2016/17, TfL's financial support for the boroughs’ LI

The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) has selected Connect 202 Partners as the preferred developer for its first highway public-private partnership, the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway. The consortium includes Fluor Enterprises, Granite Construction and Ames Construction, with Parsons Brinckerhoff as the lead designer. The South Mountain Freeway will be constructed with four lanes in each direction - three general-use lanes and one HOV lane - and includes modern features including rubberised

UK-based Q-Free TDC has received orders from three different customers at a total value of US$3 million. The orders comprise deliveries of weigh-in-motion (WIM) services and equipment to the Department for Transport in the UK, in addition to one customer in the US and one customer in Pakistan. The orders will be delivered during 2016. “The order in the US is a breakthrough in this market, and I am pleased to see that our offering through Q-Free TDC is attractive both in existing and new markets,” comm